Finley’s Florist

I’m Sally, I started Finley’s Florist nearly 3 years ago, merely out of my intention to start a business and my interest in flowers. It was a rough start. When it all began, obviously I started with my friends, relatives and acquaintances, asking them to refer me to other people, but there wasn’t a lot of demand. And then the pandemic came, which I thought would be the death of me, but no, due to quarantine, people had little chance to visit their loved ones, so the need to send flowers to others on their special days actually grew. Which was nice but there was also another problem: people want the flowers delivered immediately, and sometimes, we can’t do that, either because we ran out of flowers, or we don’t have the kind of flowers which they need. Flowers are very seasonal, you see.

I was searching for a generic planning solution, when I came across DingDoong. It was pretty high ranking during the time, and if I have to be honest about it, the logo caught my eyes as well (giggle). Then I checked the app out and thought, why not change my business from on-demand to booking? That way, I can have better planning for my flowers and manage customers' expectations better. Of course, that’d mean I have to change my business from a physical store to an e-commerce site, but since the pandemic was nowhere near over, I already thought about this in the first place. I could try it, at least for now.

Amazing! I actually think switching to an e-commerce business was the right choice for me, because not only do I have a better showcase of my products, but it’s easier for people to know me as well. With the app, obviously orders are managed efficiently, while I spend much less time on my preparation. Revenue increased by 3 or 4 times ever since the switch. Without having to have a physical store, we can afford 3 more girls and another delivery driver. The number of bouquets I sell increases by 15-20 per month, regardless of size

Well, most of it. There are things we have to do to keep the flower nice and fresh while shipping but that’s another story.

I mean, delivery time and store pickup was obviously the fundamental, the basic function which made me come to the app in the first place, but I have to say setting shipping rate was also something I didn’t know I needed but I do. Cause sometimes, the bouquet can be much bigger and take much more time to make. At first I thought it’d be better if I just increase the price of the bouquet and allow free shipping to raise customer demand, but then I also ship to people outside of metropolitan area as well, and they don’t always want a big bouquet, which could make me go unprofitable if it continues. So I had to set up a shipping fee for people in those areas, and surprisingly enough, they are okay with it. So I guess that’s okay

Everyone, really. I mean, these days, delivery and pick up time is quite standard in the UK, so everyone sort of expects it now. Big brands like Asda also have that feature now. I think local restaurants or bakers like Greggs for example, would also benefit from the app, because they would have to prepare things fresh for the best quality.