We speak with our users everyday and certain questions keep coming up. We’re going to try and answer at least one of these questions in each newsletter.
One of the questions we are asked most frequently concerns the order-taking process. Some florists think FloristWare makes them take orders backwards!
When developing FloristWare we tried to make sure it works the way you work. We didn’t want you to have to do things differently. There were a few times we had to bend this rule and the order process was one.
When most florists take an order they start with what the customer wants to send - because this is the part of the order that is most interesting to the customer and florist.
FloristWare gets the where and who first. While this is a departure for most florists there is a very good reason.
We get the where first because we want to make sure you can fill the order before you waste a lot of time. We spent a lot of time in shops and too often we saw florists spend twenty minutes haggling over prices and the number of roses they could put in an arrangement only to realize they wouldn’t be able to fill it at all because the customer wanted it delivered across town in 10 minutes.
We also need to know whether you will be filling the order yourself or sending it out by wire - this can affect not only pricing but design considerations as well.
Next we look at who is sending the order. This is vital because it lets you see our notes on this customer allowing you to serve them better.
It also lets you see their spending history which allows you to always make the biggest possible sale. If a customer spends a $120 on average you need to know that before you start talking product - otherwise you might end up selling them a $30 bouquet when they were prepared to spend much more!
Getting the customer name also gives you access to all the recipient information including order histories, notes (what they like / what they don’t) as well as the customer’s spending pattern as it pertains to that recipient.
Taking the order in this sequence is the only way to guarantee the highest possible level of customer service and the biggest possible sale. If this is not important to you probably shouldn’t even bother with a POS system.
