MANCHESTER, Maine — As the holidays approach, online ordering systems can feel like a lifesaver for busy customers and businesses. But for local florists, this convenience often comes with a catch.
Many are finding their orders intercepted by large corporations.
Hopkins Flowers, a Manchester staple for 72 years, has built a reputation on trust and quality.
Angela Cormier has worked alongside Gary Hopkins, son of the shop's founder since she was a teenager.
"We do beautiful flowers every day," she said.
Together, they proudly carry on the store's legacy.
"We can guarantee the quality of the arrangement, the beauty of the arrangement, and the cost of the arrangement," Hopkins added.
Yet recently, Hopkins Flowers and other local shops have found themselves losing control over this promise due to third-party order gatherers like 1-800-Flowers and Ava’s Flowers.
Cormier recounted a frequent frustration: "We’ll get that call, 'I’m on your website.' No, unfortunately, you’re not on our website."
These companies often appear at the top of search results, posing as local florists and offering nationwide delivery. Customers, thinking they are supporting local businesses, unknowingly place orders through these intermediaries.
"Say somebody wanted to send a beautiful yellow rose arrangement. Maybe the yellow roses really meant something to someone—the order interceptor will call us and say, 'Oh, can you take this order, designer’s choice, we don’t care what you have,'" Cormier explained.
Customers are often charged a premium price for what they believe will be a specific, high-quality arrangement. Instead, Cormier said the companies turn around and order a much cheaper product from local florists, keeping the difference.
"It’s making the local florist look like they sent this piece out that is not at all what the customer paid for," Cormier explained.
To protect their reputation, many florists, including Hopkins Flowers, have stopped accepting these orders. But the damage isn’t entirely avoidable.
"The person that’s ordered the flowers ends up having a phone call or an email saying, 'Sorry, we can’t take your order,' and it’s the day of," Holly Gessner, said.
Gessner has worked at Augusta Florist for four years and has fielded many calls from panicked customers.
"Making people aware of what is happening has helped a great deal," she said.
To avoid these pitfalls, Gessner advises customers to order only from businesses with a verified local address, phone number, and storefront.
"When you call a local florist directly, you’re talking to the person who’s going to make your flowers," she explained. "The person you’re talking to through an order gatherer has no idea."
Specifically with the holidays coming up, you might want someone who knows what they're talking about and cares enough to deliver what was promised.
"We enjoy being able to give these to people," Cormier said. "It’s a sign of so many things for so many people, but in the case when they’re not getting something, it’s very frustrating."
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to several order gatherer websites, like 1-800-Flowers and Ava’s Flowers, but has not heard back.