For many retail florists, business is booming. In the race to keep pace with demand, is your customer service lagging? Two seasoned flower shop leaders share their best practices.

Build a Relationship

Zoe Argyres, director of sales and customer care for Ashland Addison Florist in Chicago, says good customer service can’t be taken lightly — or for granted. “Customer service for me is a serious deal,” she says. For 25 years she has worked in the front end of floral retail, interacting with and caring for customers. Today she oversees five locations and a sales staff of eight. “In my experience it’s extremely important to build a relationship with your customers. That relationship builds trust, which is a huge component in selling anything.”

Justin Lievano wears many hats at Nielsen’s Florist & Garden Shop in Darien, Connecticut, including product development and plant design. But the main thrust of his job is sales and sales training. “Our goal with every sale is to ensure that customers come away having had a positive shopping experience,” he says. “Building a client relationship is a key part of that. When we pay close attention to those needs and make the client feel understood, that makes them feel special. That is a definitive difference.”

Practice Active Listening

The easiest way to make customers feel understood? Listen. “As you build a relationship with a customer, eventually you start to understand their language,” Argyres says. “All of that starts with listening — to what they need to order or to what they’re complaining about.”

With phone sales, lack of visible body language makes active listening a vital skill. Argyres stresses being engaged with your voice and focusing on the customer’s need. Lievano suggests thinking back on any negative phone customer experience you’ve had — and then doing the opposite. “Be as attentive as possible and as positive as possible,” he adds. “When putting someone on hold, assure them you’ll be right back for them. Those gentle reassurances can be helpful.”

Stay Abreast of Availability

Better product knowledge equals better customer service. “In our industry, product variety and availability consistently change,” Argyres says. “I tell our team to walk through the cooler when they arrive each day, and to do so again at any point when they need to take a walk. Knowing what’s available really boosts confidence when you’re selling — you know you have the goods to meet a customer’s need.”

Ashland Addison is managing online product offerings more closely than ever, posting daily updates and narrowing selections to what they know they can deliver. They also communicate with their team via daily emails. “Our goal is to provide our team with the tools they need to do the job we expect them to do,” Argyres added.

Managing expectations is always important for good customer service, but with today’s supply chain challenges and price increases, it’s even more vital. “I’ve personally learned that honesty is a key thing with customers,” Argyres says. “I tell them up front what’s possible. For instance, ‘I can get peonies, but with market issues, the price will be higher.’”

Lievano leans on the under-promise and over-deliver adage. “If you promise more than you’re capable of delivering, you’re guaranteeing a disappointment,” he says. “If you understate a little bit, they get a pleasant surprise. It produces a much more rewarding experience for the customer. That’s not to say we undersell ourselves. It’s a question of managing expectations.”

Express Your Gratitude

Once a week, Ashland Addison emails newly acquired customers a thank-you message with an offer redeemable for a future purchase. “That helps us build our customer base, which has been steadily growing through the pandemic,” Argyres says.

At Nielsen’s, Lievano pens a simple handwritten thank you note to new clients. The note might say, “Thanks for stopping by the shop. I look forward to seeing you in the future.”

“When a new client who’s had a good experience receives a note like that, it makes an indelible impression,” he says. “It changes how they think of us as service providers, and it feels more personal. It’s an easy thing to do.”

Understand What You’re Selling

Ashland Addison is a fourth-generation, family-owned retail florist that’s been in business since 1932. When she started working at the shop, her first boss, Bill Sheffield (the current owner’s father), taught Argyres something that she shares with each new team member.

“He told me to remember that when I’m on the phone, I’m selling an emotion,” she says. “Whether it’s happy or a sad, it’s our customer trying to express themselves. Be sensitive to that. Try your very best to make the customer feel that you’re with them and you own that order — and will follow through with it. I live by that every day.”

Julie Martens Forney is a contributing writer to Floral Management.