I know I shouldn’t even think about it, since we’re really not doing well financially, but when your mom says to you on the phone that she just saw a flower delivery truck go by, and wishes they were stopping for her, because she’s never had that happen before… well, it makes you want to do that for your mom, even if you shouldn’t.
So when I heard a commercial on the radio for ProFlowers for 100 blossoms for $19.99, I thought… well that’s an amazing price… what do you get for that? I’m thinking they pulled weeds or something… but they’re really pretty flowers. I went to the site and entered the code the radio announcer gave us to use and there they were. Really bright and colorful flowers, I think daisies. And I thought, that’s not bad at all. So I decided to put the flowers in my basket and I’m taken to another screen.
Oh… do I want a vase? Yes, of course. Okay those range from $6 to $20. Okay… I can spring for the $10. Now we’re up to $29.99.
Next screen… when do I want the flowers delivered, why on Mother’s Day, of course. Oh, that’s going to cost me a delivery fee *plus* an additional $20 to deliver on Mother’s Day.
Hmmm… now I’m at $49.99 plus delivery fee, and I’m sure there will be tax.
Now I’m thinking… it would cost me less money to drive to my mom’s house… no wait… let’s think about that… with the cost of gasoline at $3.79 gallon, and my mom’s house is 65 miles from mine… okay, gas is going to cost me about $26… if I buy a bouquet of flowers from the local grocery store that will be $10, maybe $20… hmmm… and my mom would probably enjoy seeing me drop by in person… but she would really love to have flowers delivered to her house…
In the end I decided to wait until another day to have flowers delivered. I’m assuming they won’t cost $20 extra on a weekday, and hopefully we’ll be doing better financially sooner than later, and maybe I could have those flowers delivered on her birthday, which is on a weekday.
Have you ever had flowers delivered to your mom on Mother’s Day? If your mom is still in your life what are you planning to get for her? It’s next Sunday, so you better think fast! 🙂
Pro Flowers (and the other big florists) = notorious for poor presentation, non delivery, didn’t get what the picture looked like, etc
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The local florist near my mother’s home will deliver flowers for a nominal fee (only because my mother lives out of town) or to the local school for free. I have sent a bottle of soda and a balloon to school for my siblings birthdays or on days when something significant is going on (district athletic competitions, etc.). I have also used a national floral company to deliver flowers and I chose the Wednesday/Thursday before Mother’s Day for the flowers to be delivered. My Mom certainly didn’t mind getting them early and the delivery fees were more affordable.
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I love my mother so I would treat her out aside from flowers. Give her a quality time with me and her grand children.
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I ordered the from the same ad, but it was attached to a SWAGBUCKS offer. The flowers I selected for my mom were 29.99. After all the “extras” were added ( a different colored vase, the gas fee, tax, handling and the $9.99 delivery fee) I ended up spending around $50.00.
They are going to be delivered today, that way she can enjoy them longer and I don’t have to pay $19.99. She works from home and I think she will be tickled to see the deliver truck pull up 🙂
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It is truly amazing how much flowers cost- and ALL THOSE HIDDEN FEES drive me nuts!!
I think waiting for a weekday on your moms birthday would be nice.
I’ve gotten flowers delivered from my hubby twice and both times I told him to save OUR money that it just wasn’t worth it. 🙁 I prefer a little bundle picked up from the super market.
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I bought my mom flowers from ProFlowers. Googling for promo codes is best because I got a dozen long stemmed roses for $37 and change with a vase and small box of chocolates included.
By having them delivered on Thursday, she got to enjoy them early and it saved that premium delivery rate.
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Ha! I was going to do a post on the same story. I got the $29.99 flowers option from Pro Flowers for Mom a few days ago and after all the fees and charges, the final bill came to $72 and change. Yep.
Oh well, Mom is definitely worth it. 🙂
All the best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
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That’s a nice gesture.
Cut flowers seem to me to be a bit of a rip. I’d be happy with just a card from my son. We went out to lunch yesterday in honor of the combined Mother’s Day/birthday, which was much nicer than either a card or a bunch of roses.
But if we still lived a long way apart, a card would suffice. An interesting book would be better…
I used to buy roses for myself at Costco — you could get a huge bunch for under $20. For years, they had the nicest cheap roses in town; Costco roses, especially if you got the white, yellow or golden-orange varieties, would last forEVER.
But then they apparently changed vendors. One day I brought a bunch home and they wilted the next day. Thought I must have picked up an old bunch, so tried again, only at a Costco outlet that was in a more upscale part of town: same story. That was the last time I bought roses. Now that I’m permanently unemployed, I couldn’t afford to buy cut flowers even if I wanted to. So I enjoy the roses when they’re in season in my yard and the neighbors’ yards.
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Last year I sent my Mom flowers for Valentines Day. She was on vacation in Florida for the winter with friends and I knew she wouldn’t expect it. But I had just lost my dad and was feeling espically sentimental and wanted to treat my mom a little extra special.
I used 100-Flowers which had a lot of extra add ons too. It was silimar to your experience. She said the flowers were wonderful and packed so neat. The best part was when the flower truck pulled up she had two friends with her to ooohhh and ahhhh over her surprise. My mom is the best and even if I can’t treat her every year I was so glad to treat her that time.
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OH and just to tell you how frugal we normally are…. This year for Mother’s day I made her a homemade laundry kit so she could make her own detergent for a year… So flowers were definatly out of my character!
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