68 



The Florists^ Review 



May 6, 1920 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



II ^ ^x WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



BETTER TELEGRAPH SERVICE. 



In the May 1 list of additional mem- 

 bers of the F. T. D., Mothers' day is 

 the subject emphasized by the front 

 page. On the back page Secretary 

 Pochelon outlines the way to better 

 telegraph delivery service, which it is 

 the duty of members of the F. T. D. to 

 follow. The points touched upon are 

 vital ones to the florist who wishes to 

 improve his own service and to see it 

 improved by his fellow florists. Whether 

 you have few or many telegraph orders, 

 read it carefully: 



The necessity of every member to write plainly 

 every order for out of town Is of the greatest 

 Importance In order to have the delivery ex- 

 ecuted In the proper manner, so that it muy be 

 a credit to the one sending the gift, as well as 

 to the florist who fills the order. State exactlj 

 what is wanted and be correct in giving name 

 and address, city it is from, and when order is 

 to be delivered. 



If possible, persuade your customer not to 

 specify any particular flowers or plant, bo ai to 



Sive the florist at the other end some leeway in 

 Illng the order. This will avoid many disap- 

 pointments and will be of material help to the 

 business. 



Flowers at special dnys always command high 

 prices (this applies particularly to large cities); 

 so it would be advisable to have the purchaser 

 spend as much as possible. All orders to the 

 large cities should not be less than $3 and, if 

 possible, $5, but we should under no circum- 

 stances refuse an order for a less amount. The 

 cost of doing business in the larger cities has 

 mounted to an alarming degree; hence the state- 

 ment above is sounded as a warning. 



It is also important that any member receiv- 



ing an order should acknowledge receipt at once, 

 and if any extra charges should be Incurred, 

 such as messenger service, the sender will know 

 of this fact. 



Do unto others as you would have them do 

 unto you. 



FLOWERS FOR FUNERALS. 



Blight Colors to Clieer. 



The thing that is needed more than 

 anything else about a house of mourn- 

 ing is a little cheerfulness. There was 

 a time not so long ago when everything 

 seemed to be done with the object of 

 depressing the spirits of the surviving 

 members of the family rather than of 

 buoying them up and giving them new 

 hope. For instance, there was the un- 

 dertaker, with an affected solemnity; 

 there was a long white or black scarf 

 hung on the door-bell knob, and then 

 about the casket was massed a lot of 

 stereotyped pure white designs, espe- 

 cially if the departed had reached a 

 certain age in life. It is hard to under- 

 stand why white flowers were necessary 

 for an aged person; surely, when alive, 

 he had been just as fond of the bright 

 blooms as of the pure white and the 

 florist should think of the effect on 

 those still living. 



"When I was a boy double white tube- 

 roses w^ere used freely in funeral work; 

 most people had the greatest antipathy 



to them and said the odor reminded them 

 of a funeral. But since the florists have 

 been "Saying It with Flowers" there 

 has been a marked change for the better. 

 True, the undertaker, like the poor, "we 

 have always with us," but the scarf 

 on the door is fast giving way to a 

 spray of choice flowers. It is a common 

 thing in any city now to see the flower 

 spray instead of a scarf. The sprays 

 have been made sometimes with orchids 

 and other bright flowers. 



About the casket white is conspicuous 

 by its absence. Recently, in an excep- 

 tionally fine assortment of funeral of- 

 ferings, made by the best florists of the 

 city, there was not a single solid white 

 piece. The occasion was the funeral of 

 a florists ' wife and many of the offerings 

 came from brother florists; in this great 

 symphony of flowers the most critical 

 could not detect a note of discord. One 

 could not help thinking how depressing 

 they would have looked had they all 

 been white. 



Free Flowers from Designs. 



We should all remember that the mis- 

 sion of flowers on such an occasion is to 

 counteract, in a measure, the sting of 

 death for the survivors, to give them 

 new hope and make them feel that the 

 sun will shine again, as well as to em- 



^MittiiiiioiiuiiHUKMUuiuiiaiuiittnuoiiiinuiionBnnDOUHniianiMiauoiiMiiniaannnuain 



F. T. D. MEMBERS 



— who wish to insure the greatest satisfaction 

 will send their CHICAGO orders to — 



moHmmiiinn 



THIS NAME ON THE BOX IS A 



GUARANTEE OF SATISFACTION 



MEMBER 

 FLORISTS' 

 TELEGRAPH 

 DELIVERY 



CHICAGO'S 



LEADING FLORIST 



RAILWAY EXCHANGE BUILDING 



