18 



The Florists* Review 



August 11, 1921 



as it is possible for you to do so. 

 Till! ciistoiiicr to ■Nvlioiu vou si'll is the 

 jXTsoii who tiiiiiiiccs your ))usiui'ss. You 

 al)soluti'ly caiiiiot be sueeessful as a 

 retail Horist unless you have buyers of 

 your tlowiTs and ]»lants, and these cus- 

 tomers are the jicrsons who advertise 

 and liuild u}) your trade for you. There- 

 fore, always know that the llowers and 

 plants which you sell them are of the 

 best ((uality and will ])rove in every way 

 uj) to their exjiectations. Do not de- 

 ceive your customers, for it is desir- 

 able that you should have their con- 

 tinued jiat roiia;;i'. 



Cultivate Confidence. 



There is no line of business where 

 the customers depend so much on the 

 integrity of the jterson from whom they 

 buy as the retail florists'. When some- 

 one wislies to send a present of flowers 

 to a friend, or a floral tril)ute as an ex- 

 pression of sympathy to relatives of a 

 deceased ac(|uaintance, the order is 

 often telephoned or telej^raphed, or the 

 person orilerinfj conies to the store and 

 trusts absolutely to the advice {jiven by 

 the salesperson as to what flowers would 

 be most desirable. The customer pays 

 often without ever seeinf^ the flowers 

 with which the onler is filled. If such 

 an order is not jiroperly filled or if 

 for any reason the customer loses con- 

 fidence in the iiitefjrity of the man- 

 a{,''i'""-'iit i"i<i service, it will Ije impossi- 

 ble to build up a p(>rmanent and success- 

 ful business. I am stronj^ly of the 

 opinion that this is the cause of more 

 failures to carry on a successful retail 

 florists' business than any other. There- 

 fore, tlie successful manager of a retail 

 flower store should always be most 

 watcliful to see that all customers are 

 dealt with honestly and that any griev- 

 ances of customers which nun- occur for 

 iiny cause whatever are at once adjusted 

 to their batisfa<-tion, as well as to that 

 of the person to whom the buyer may 

 have sent the flowers or plants. I am 

 firmly convinced that the rejjlacing of 

 flowers or ])lants for a dissatisfied cus- 

 tomer so that he or she is j)erfectly 

 satisfied, even though there is doubt 

 about the complaint being justified, is 

 the best advertising a retail florist can 

 get. 



Service Counts. 



lie jtronipt with deliveries. It is 

 l)etter not to book an order for delivery 

 at a certain time, even to the extent of 

 losing the, sale, than to be un.-ible to fill 

 the order at the time specified. A nice, 

 iie.-it and clean delivery, at the hands of 

 an agreeable iierson, is a great help and 

 encouragement to customers. 



It is adxisable to do a reasonable 

 .'imouut of newspaper advertising, for 

 the purjiose of kccjiing the name of 

 your business jirominently before the 

 public. Alany orders for flowers are 

 given by customers at a time of sudden 

 liercavement and the retail ilorist whose 

 iiaiiie is always in the public mind is 

 likely to be the one who receives the 

 • irder, as his name conies first to the 

 buyer's mind when wanting flowers. 

 However, it is well never to forget that 

 the best advertising the retail florist 

 can liave is satisfied customers who are 

 always telling their friends where they 

 can buy the freshest flowers of the best 

 «|Uality and where pleasant, prompt 

 service is .'ilways given. 



Take jiarticular care to have all the 

 persons associated with your business 

 know that they must be honest to the 



business by selling the flowers and 

 l)lants at a price which will maintain 

 good salaries for themselves and make 

 the business pay a profit, and that every 

 customer must receive honest and care- 

 ful service; and that any grievance 

 which a customer may have must be re- 

 ])orted promptly to the manager, so that 

 the good will of all customers may be 

 retained. 



Use Foresight. 



Almost any person can conduct a 

 business so as to make a profit on the 

 stock which is sold, but to be the most 

 successful requires a wise, careful, 

 thoughtful person who will have the 

 foresight to see prospective losses be- 

 fore they occur and by prompt, atten- 

 tive action keep the losses from hap- 

 pening. It is often the neglect to 

 exercise this foresight and thereby pre- 

 vent losses from occurring that keeps 

 so many retail florists from attaining 

 the success which they should. The old 

 proverb, ' ' Do not wait until the horse 

 is stolen before you lock the stable 

 door," explains fully the thought which 

 I wish to convey in this respect. 



Always be alert for new ideas. These 

 come to one's mind seldom without 

 one's having seen or heard of them 

 somewhere else. It is money well in- 

 vested for the manager of a florist's 

 business to travel and to meet at least 

 once each year with other florists in 

 convention, where the common interests 

 of the luhiness can be discussed in a 

 friendly business manner. The wide- 

 awake manager will never miss an op- 

 portunity to visit the stores and green- 

 houses of other florists and thereby 

 gatluM- new ideas for the more success- 

 ful carrying on of the business. But I 

 wculd I'dvise strongly against experi- 

 menting too much in new ideas, espe- 

 cially in the growing of plants and flow- 

 ers, until you have proved that the new 

 is belier than the old. 



Tlie older and more experienced a 

 florist is in the business, the more fully 

 he should realize that the business must 

 not be allowed to get in a rut, but must 

 always be one oi: continued improve- 

 ments and show a desire for something 

 which is a little nicer in flowers and 

 decorative art than has heretofore been 

 used. 



??^liSi)liS4ll>SiJl«4!l^l^l^l^li«illiSi!^Sai^liS^ 



FOR THE HOLIDAY 



?s\ir)«Yiri^r7StirrsvirirSYir7Stir/svir)^rrsvir)rstirrS{iri«^ 



CHRISTMAS PLANTS. 



Increasing Demand. 



Some years ago, wlien carnations 

 wholesaled at from 8 to ID cents each at 

 Christmas time, florists were .able to sell 

 these at $3 jjcr dozen and great quan- 

 tities were sold, but now that growers 

 demand 25 cents and more for these 

 flowers, which necessitates their being 

 sold at $6 per dozen and upwards, the 

 flower-buying ]mblic seems to think 

 the jirice excessive and if they have to 

 expend such a sum for a gift of flowers 

 they would rather have a plant, whether 

 it be a flowering plant or any kind of 

 foliage i)lant. Even at high prices, 

 cut flowers are exceedingly scarce in 

 the month of December, owing to the 

 difliculties of production, .and florists 

 have for some years grown more and 

 more jilants, especially flowering plants. 

 Our ex])erience has shown that even in 

 times of great financial stress, even dur- 

 ing the Avar, well grown plants have al- 

 ways had a ready sale at Christmas 

 time. The demand is growing from 

 year to year. The store man re(|uires 

 a variety of plants for his Christmas 

 ])usiness, but he must be careful in his 

 selection. Three or four ardisias will 

 suffice in one store, but the same man 

 can s(dl 20(t or ;')0() solanuiiis. A dozen 

 Pandanus Veitchii in a store should not 

 ap])ear to be too many, but some of 

 these may be left on h.-ind while the 

 same florist will sell a hundred Boston 

 ferns. It is well, however, to have a 

 variety to choose from. 



Cyclamen in Trent. 



I should ])lace the cycl.'imen in the 

 front rank .as a (>hristmas ]ilant. In 

 the first place, it has beautiful foli.'ige; 

 the flowers coming u]i from the crown 

 are well placed; the colors are desirable 



rnpor ro.id liy Williiim C. Iliill. of Monlrciil. 

 on "ClirisliiKis I'lMiits." .it tlii> convention of the 

 ('iinn(li;in Florist ■;' iind (ijinicncrs' Association 

 at I'eterboro Aiifiist 9. 



at the season, and the whole plant is 

 compact and sturdy looking. It takes 

 continuous and skillful attention for at 

 least fifteen months to produce this 

 plant. Neglect for a few days will 

 often spoil it, and for this reason we 

 often have unsalable plants left on our 

 hands. In the summer months it is one 

 continuous fight against thrijjs, the 

 mite and green fly, and if you have 

 Florida fern caterpillars on the place 

 and they get at the cyclamens they will 

 strip the center foliage in one night. 

 Spraying once a week with nicotine 

 preparations will keej) these enemies in 

 check. But it is a real pleasure to have 

 fine cyclamens for Christmas. They sell 

 well, carry well, keep well; and your 

 customer is well pleased. 



For Canadians Only. 



Az.'ileas are now procurable again in 

 Canada. Good plants are invoiced in 

 Belgium at 50 cents each and up- 

 wards, delivery charges are high, and 

 many hazards are taken by the im- 

 l)orter. But if the plants arrive in good 

 order and in good time to allow gentle 

 forcing, a good profit can be made. The 

 variety Madame Petrick is the best for 

 the holidays. Verva'ueana is also a 

 good one, but needs more time to flower. 

 The large plants meet the demand for a 

 high-pric(Hl gift, but the popular price 

 is around .$10. Need I dwell on the fact 

 that the azalea, while standing hard 

 forcing, needs a few days in a cool 

 house before selling? Much dissatis- 

 faction is caused by the disposing of 

 these ])lants in an unfinished state. 



Begonias Offer Variety. 



The begonia family will furnish the 

 grower with a good many ujis and 

 downs. Plants of the Prima Donna type 

 ;ire easily grown, but they are so much 

 in evidence all summer that they do not 

 sell well at Christmas. Chatelaine and 

 [Conclnded on paRc 22.] 



