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M is for Mother’s Day and Morning News

Woody Felty of Royer’s talks Mother’s Day with Fox 43’s Amy Lutz.

Kids love flowers.
“What kid hasn’t picked flowers out of the yard and carried them inside?,” said Woody Felty, Royer’s vice president of merchandising.
Woody visited Fox 43 on May 2 to discuss Mother’s Day, which is May 11. He appeared in-studio with Fox 43 Morning News co-anchor Amy Lutz.
“My daughter thinks the yellow ones that are growing in the grass are, in fact, flowers,” Lutz said. “I have not had the heart to tell her otherwise.”
“They’re still pretty, aren’t they?” Woody said of dandelions. “Even a weed has some color and texture.”

‘Mom’s going to share’

But if plants and flowers are more to your liking, Woody offered a range of options, from traditional mixed bouquets and plants to trendier succulents and terrariums. He noted that an estimated one-third of American adults will buy cut flowers or plants as a gift for this Mother’s Day.
Terrariums, he said, are “pretty much a self-contained arrangement.” The glass dome creates condensation that then waters the plant, resulting in “a rain forest, tropical feel.”
Children like giving gifts to Mom, too. He suggested a plush teddy bear, or a box of chocolates “because Mom’s going to share.”
For mothers receiving fresh-cut flowers, Woody said, can make them last their longest by recutting the stems at least one inch from the bottom and add preservative (a packet should come with the flowers) to the water. A bouquet from Royer’s is designed to be dropped into a vase without much effort on the part of the recipient.
“It’s pretty much a drop and go,” Woody said.
To view the segment, click on this link.

Making of Mother’s Day: Charmed Cube arrangement

It’s Mother’s Day, but many days go into making it a truly special occasion.
Our central design department in Lebanon is handcrafting thousands of arrangements across eight days in order to help meet the needs of our stores.
Below are photos of one team making our Charmed Cube arrangement. It comprises a four-inch raspberry-colored cube; hot pink carnations; pink mini-carnations; lavender daisy pompons; lavender button pompons; and babies breath.
Think Mom would like it? You can click here to send her one.

M is for Mother’s Day and a morning on abc27

Karissa Shatzer of abc27 is live with Barry Spengler, Royer's vice president of operations, at our Camp Hill store.
Karissa Shatzer of abc27 is live with Barry Spengler, Royer’s vice president of operations.

Having completed three live segments and starting her fourth, abc27’s Karissa Shatzer knew a lot more about Mother’s Day flower options than when she began.
What she didn’t know was which one(s) she liked best.
“Well, after this, it might be even harder to choose because there’s so much here,” she told viewers.
Shatzer interviewed Barry Spengler, Royer’s vice president of operations, at our Camp Hill store on May 4, 2015.
Among the options Barry offered:

  • Silk arrangements, which are good for people who suffer from allergies;
  • Cut-flower arrangement, already made, for $15 to $30;
  • Dendrobium orchids, which are popular for proms, too;
  • Rose bunch, which Mom can design and arrange;
  • Gerbera daisies.

“That’s a really popular flower,” Barry said. “We sell an awful lot of Gerbera daisies.”
You can see more suggestions by watching the entire segment:

Mother’s Day: making of our Traditions Basket

It takes a variety of flowers and many hands to create our Traditions Basket.
In fact, Royer’s team members working in our central design department in Lebanon handcrafted hundreds of the baskets in the days leading up to Mother’s Day.
The baskets comprise Baker Fern, pink mini carnations, red carnations, daisy pompons (lavender, yellow and white), alstroemeria, gypsophilia (baby’s breath), and a bow.
You can follow the design process in the slideshow below; to order a Traditions Basket, click here.

Royer’s delivers Mother’s Day flower and plant tips to Fox 43

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Barry Spengler of Royer’s Flowers talks Mother’s Day with Fox 43’s Heather Warner.

Barry Spengler, Royer’s vice president of operations, has a simple message when it comes to Mother’s Day.
“The key,” he told Fox 43’s Heather Warner, “just don’t forget Mom. That’s bad.”
Barry offered a number of options, from one or two roses wrapped up to a mixed bouquet in a vase to porch plants such as gerbera daisies or calla lilies.
Potted plants want to be outside, he said, and require a lot of water.
“People under-water these,” he said. “They need a lot of water. I get a gallon jug, fill it all the way up. And I usually dump most of the gallon a day on it. All of the excess will run out. …
“And every once a week, I usually add the fertilizer to the jug and fill it.”
You can view the entire segment below.

Don’t let ‘DOGs’ take a bite out of your Mother’s Day order

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Our Google search for “flowers hershey, pa” returned several sponsored links from what appear to be local florists.
On one website, there’s this message: “Hershey, Pennsylvania Flower Delivery by our local florist to Hershey TODAY!”
The owner of that website is in Michigan.
On the home page of another of the websites is this: “Best Hershey, PA Same Day Flower Delivery!” The page lists Hershey-area hotels, schools, funeral homes. It even includes a Hershey weather forecast.
The company behind that website is out of New Jersey.

‘Deceptive order gatherer’

Each of the companies is what is known in the floral industry as an “order gatherer,” or sometimes derided as a “deceptive order gatherer,” or DOG, as described in a recent story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

They take orders and then broker them to local florists or even ship the flowers (unarranged, of course) via UPS or FedEx. These DOGs, which operate year-round, are hunting for your Mother’s Day order. And if they get it, they’ll likely take a bite out of your wallet that will exceed what you would have paid by working with your local florist to place the order.

The order gatherer will entice you with deals that look great but, upon closer inspection, probably aren’t.
In almost all cases, the order gatherers present their flowers at discounted prices. A tulip bouquet valued at $81.99 is shown as marked down to $44.99, for instance. They also tend to upsell, so that when you select a standard or regular arrangement it defaults to a “deluxe” (read: more expensive) version.

Costly commissions and fees

On one order gather’s website, the home page featured a “best seller” arrangement of lilies, roses and alstroemeria valued at $34.99 but discounted to $27.99. When we clicked on it, our selection instead chose the deluxe version: valued at $44.99 but with a “Google discount” of $9 that put the total at $35.99.
At checkout, there was a $2.99 charge for same-day delivery – and a service/handling fee of $14.99. Our total was $53.97 even with the so-called Google discount.
Order gatherers typically deduct a 20 percent commission and other fees from orders, according to the Inquirer article. So if a flower order is valued at $44.99, that leaves less than $36 for the local florist, who then must deduct his delivery fee. Pretty soon, that $44.99 worth of flowers is maybe only a $28 value or less to the customer.
“It’s a no-win situation,” the Inquirer noted of this practice. The florist “can either fill the full order and lose money, or substitute a cheaper arrangement and risk consumer outrage.”

Let your local florist help

Either way, it might not be a risk worth taking when it comes to the impression you wish to make on the recipient. If you have a strong and trusting relationship with your local florist, then why not let them help you with an out-of-town flower delivery?
Reputable florists will make sure you get the value and quality that you deserve on your long-distance orders. After all, they want to be treated fairly when they are on the receiving end of orders.
The deceptive order gatherers, on the other hand, extract high service and delivery fees – only to hand off the order to someone else.
Another one of the order gatherers we examined offered same-day delivery of a gerbera arrangement valued at $49.99 but discounted to $29.99. Then another offer appeared, lowering the price to $9.99. But a service charge of $19.99 and a handling charge of $10.50 brought the total to $40.48.
The order gatherer won’t earn those fees, and you won’t get what you paid for.
When it comes to flowers, these DOGs aren’t man’s best friend.
 
 

We’ll handle your long-distance Mother’s Day order

Flowers are a time-honored way of letting mom know just how much you love her. But sending flowers long distance can be confusing and sometimes disappointing, especially if you are not familiar with the process and some of the pitfalls.
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The Internet has given rise to thousands of flower-delivery options. But how do you know you’re really getting a good price and high-quality service? And will the flowers arrive on time?
That great price might not be so great
Many websites touting great prices show you a gorgeous arrangement – only to deliver a bunch of flowers in a box that mom still has to put in a vase. In many cases, what is delivered is similar to what you’ll find in a grocery store or at a street vendor. It might be a nice bouquet but not arranged in a container; often, the container costs extra.
After adding extra charges such as service and delivery fees, the great price that first got your attention might not be any better than what a local florist would charge.
Beware of unscrupulous companies
Perhaps you know of a florist where mom lives. But be careful if you use a search engine to find contact information for that florist. Many unscrupulous companies make themselves appear to be local florists – maybe the one that you’re familiar with – by using a similar name or even a local phone number (that ultimately rings to another state).
These companies tend to charge high service and delivery fees, only to hand off the delivery to someone else. They charge you fees that they didn’t earn, and you don’t get what you paid for.
Call early – and call Royer’s
You can avoid these hassles and ensure the best results by placing your order early – and by calling us when you do.
We’re proud to be your local florist, but we also are one of the largest senders of long-distance orders in the country. Other florists want to keep us happy because they want to continue receiving our business. We also foster our relationships with them through our regular participation in national florist meetings.
In short, we can resolve the rare problem when it occurs. What’s more, we have strong ties to FTD and Teleflora, the two largest wire services that florists use to transmit their orders, and they will step in if necessary to make sure that problems are addressed to our customers’ satisfaction.
Sending flowers long distance can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Just call us, and we’ll make the process easy. We’ll handle your out-of-town order with the same care and attention it would receive if we were delivering it ourselves.