Last year I ordered a dozen long-stemmed roses for delivery to my wife's office in midtown Manhattan from FTD and they were delivered a day early. When I inquired, they unapologetically stated that it was due to the possibility of inclement weather. So FTD was promptly removed from my Rolodex.

This year I ordered the same flowers from 1-800-FLOWERS hoping for a better result.

Not a chance.

First, the confirmation email indicated erroneously that "flexible delivery" was selected. When I undertook efforts to verify that I wanted the delivery on Valentine's Day and NOT before NOR after, they denied any indication of "flexible delivery."

Problem is no flowers ever arrived. Valentine's Day came and went. No flowers delivered. No call to explain the situation. Efforts to track the order were fruitless. Attempts to speak to an actual person -- denied due to unusually high volumes.

This is really a shame that in the year 2008, with all the technological advancements and capabilities, nobody can seem to deliver Valentine's Day flowers on Valentine's Day.

More to the point, what's my remedy? They will probably offer me a refund but how does that make me or my valentine whole? It is disappointing that there is no real remedy short of a class-action suit or a massive boycott to send a message to these companies that customer service matters.

Next year, I will likely deliver them myself.


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