Misleading Local Florist Listings.

Today was a busy a day at the shop as most of the high schools in the area have rescheduled their homecoming dances because of the Fires in Orange County last week.

I received a call from a new customer needing some help. She had placed an order with All American Florist for corsage and boutonnere for her daughters dance. It was now 4PM and she never received her order and now was looking for another place to help her out. I told her no problem and began to take her order. She began to explain to me that she looked in the phone book and thought that she was ordering from a local business located in Tustin. She called the number in the phone book and placed the order again thinking she was ordering from a local business. When her order didn't show up she called the number from the phone book and was unable to get in touch with anyone.

I explained to her that I have heard of the company and was aware of the problems that have been associated with that particular company as well as other so called local florist that claim they are in our town as well as other neighboring communities. She was very disappointed that she couldn't even rely upon the yellow pages to help find a local florist since she was new to the area.

This is another example why we need AB1282 signed into law. Recently Governor Schwarzenneger Vetoed This Phony Local Florist Bill . The Governor states "In today's global economy, it is unreasonable to limit out-of-area businesses from using local names and telephone numbers. In virtually every aspect of the economy, consumers are accustomed to purchasing products from around the world via many methods". So does this mean this situation is acceptable? Here is a consumer looking in the yellow pages "because it should only list local business" and ordering something that does not need to be handled by a broker or middleman. All American Florist can advertise anywhere they want just like 800 Flowers FTD and anyone that wants to be a order gatherer but they should not be allowed to say they are located in Tustin California and should never be allowed to mislead the consumer with fake local addresses and phone numbers.

Disclosing the real location of this business may have helped this customer find a real florist located in this city. This customer also explains to me that she wouldn't of even ordered from All American Florist if she had known where they were located. There is no need for a middleman between florist and consumers. Consumers know this and they look towards reliable sources such as yellow pages to find a local business. The AB 1282 was the answer to getting rid of this problem within the floral industry. When these things happen not only does the consumer lose but our industry loses.

One more thing to Governor Schwarzenegger.

When I took this customers order I also collected the Sales Tax for California. You know the money you need to pay those Orange County Fire Fighters that just saved are behinds out here in Orange County. I will bet that All American Florist won't be sending California a check because they didn't collect any Sales Tax for California. I did and we can do more if you could just help us level the playing field and get these companies to stop stealing California transactions by claiming they are here!

There is more information about All American Florist Scams located on the Florist Detective Website.

Schwarzenneger Vetoes Phony Local Florist Bill AB1282

I have received news that our Governor has vetoed bill AB1282 a bill that would have stopped misleading companies from misrepresenting themselves as local businesses in California.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger Said:

To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1282 without my signature.This bill would make it illegal for a floral business to list or advertise a local telephone number if the phone calls are routinely routed to a location that is different than the geographical location of the number advertised. It would also make it illegal to list or advertise a business name if the name misrepresents the business' geographical location.

In today's global economy, it is unreasonable to limit out-of-area businesses from using local names and telephone numbers. In virtually every aspect of the economy, consumers are accustomed to purchasing products from around the world via many methods.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This bill would have helped even the playing field when it comes to ordering flowers online. Over 80% of our customers want to know where we are at and want to make sure they are ordering from a local business.

The consumer wants to know and it shouldn't be kept a secret that these companies are not located here. Companies like 800 flowers FTD Teleflora even Proflowers they do not help California's Economy even though Florist located here in California assemble and create these products here in California. Since most of these companies don't collect any Sales Tax it also puts our businesses located in California at a disadvantage offering a way for the fake florist to offer a better deal to consumers when ordering flowers online by not charging for Sales Tax.

Perhaps the Governor would take notice if we decided to open a second business out of state perhaps in Canada and stop collecting Sales Tax for the State of California. This is exactly what they are doing and yet consumers have no idea that these companies aren't even in our State or even understand what they are doing by not purchasing from Local Business.

Twenty-two states have passed legislation against deceptive phone listings and yet California does not recognize the benefit of keeping our own businesses and tax dollars flowing within our Great State.

We at Everyday Flowers are very disappointed as well as many of the local California florist that have helped pushed this bill to the governors desk.

More about this located on the Florist Blogs
You can also Digg the article here. http://digg.com/world_news/Schwarzenneger_Vetoes_Phony_Local_Florist_Bill