With Mother’s Day — one of the busiest holidays of the year for florists — right around the corner, the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau is offering tips for those ordering something for mom.

The BBB has taken 32 complaints against Wisconsin florists in the past 36 months regarding non-delivery of product, poor quality and other thorny issues. Large, online companies have even more. So, if you’re ordering flowers online and you want to come out smelling like a rose on Mother’s Day, make sure you follow this advice:

# Before ordering flowers, check out the company’s reliability at www.wisconsin.bbb.org. You can find information on florists nationwide at www.bbb.org.

# Use local florists, if possible. When ordering online, you’re placing your order with a large call center, who will forward your order to a local florist. Since the call center may charge as much as 30 percent for this service, you might get more for your money by calling the local florist yourself.

# Ask about refund policies. Will you get a full or partial refund if your flowers are not delivered on time?

# Order from a company that offers a 100% guarantee. If something goes wrong, such as late delivery, wrong color or dead flowers, a company that offers a 100% guarantee will come through with another order — maybe not that day, but mom will understand.

# Be specific. If you order a “spring bouquet,” and you don’t want carnations, make sure you say so.

For more information, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.wisconsin.bbb.org or 920-734-4352 in Appleton or 800-273-1002 elsewhere in Wisconsin.

source : www.postcrescent.com