WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – Norma Dahlerup of West Bloomfield says she called hometown florist, Wesley Berry, to order a floral arrangement for her brother-in-law's funeral. She says the Feb. 11 phone calls to order the flowers came to confusing conclusion when the customer service person said her credit card was declined.
"He said, 'Well, you're going to have to call up and process the order all over again.' And I went, 'What?!?' And then...he was off the phone and the phone either hung up, disconnected or something," she told Ruth to the Rescue.
Dahlerup decided to place her order with another florist, but says there was something about that conversation with Wesley Berry that bothered her.
"I had, just had, a funny feeling after I got done talking with the gentleman and the phone disconnected. You know I said I'm going to check my credit card cause I just don't feel right," said Dahlerup.
Flower Charge Questioned
There was a charge on her credit card for $122 dollars from Wesley Berry. However, she says only the arrangement from the other florist was delivered to the funeral home.
"It was completely different from the one I ordered... the original one at Wesley Berry," Dahlerup said.
Wesley Berry has worked with Ruth to the Rescue to resolve other customer complaints, usually to the customer's satisfaction. In this case, the company would not provide someone for an on camera interview, but made the following points in a statement released to Ruth to the Rescue.
*Wesley Berry has no record of Dahlerup's credit card being declined and says the transaction went through on February 11th.
*It says it received a cancellation from her on February 13th.
*However, because of the Valentine's Day rush, the arrangement was actually delivered to the funeral home on February 14th.
That's a claim that Dahlerup disputes. "I was at the funeral, there were no other flowers," she told Ruth to the Rescue.
Communication Gap?
Before we got involved, Dahlerhup says she's called Wesley Berry repeatedly and sent emails to get clarity on what went wrong. And, what really bothers her... "The total frustration of not being able to talk to a person or get an email. I would have been happy with an email response."
Wesley Berry's statement also reads, "When we encounter issues with orders we take every customer service measure at our disposal to satisfy our customer's expectations and to meet our high standards of excellent service" (see full Wesley Berry statement below)
Dahlerup is not convinced. "You need to follow up with your customers, if you don't your going to lose them," she said.
In the end, Wesley Berry said because of the way her order was handled she would receive a full refund. She has an email confirmation that the refund is forthcoming. If she does not receive that refund, Ruth to the Rescue will let you know.
If you have a consumer problem you think Ruth to the Rescue should investigation, call 313-298-WDIV or send an email to...ruthtotherescue@clickondetroit.com
Wesley Berry Statement from Mike Bandlow, Executive Vice-President:
"At Wesley Berry Flowers, a family-owned business with roots since 1946, we are dedicated to providing our millions of customers across the United States with superior flower products. We successfully fulfill thousands of orders each day. In the instance of this particular customer who ordered an arrangement with us on Tuesday, February 11 for a delivery to a funeral home on Friday, February 14, Valentine's Day, we received a cancellation call from her on Thursday, February 13. Due to the high volume of flower orders we receive during the week of the Valentine's Day holiday, which is one of our busiest
weeks of the year, the order was processed and delivered. The customer contacted us on Thursday, February 20 claiming we stated her card was declined and instructed her to call us back to reorder. We have no record of this occurring. Her original order with a credit card over the phone was captured successfully after the first attempt. Due to the circumstances of this order, which was originally canceled by the customer February 13, we have refunded the customer in-full for her order, which will appear on her card's statement as a credit. We take pride in our products and delivery service. When we encounter issues with orders we take every customer service measure at our disposal to satisfy our customer's expectations and to meet our high standards of excellent service."