Crystal Lake Floral Design - Blog - In The News

A great Time At The State Fair - WOW 13 Winners

nospam@example.com (Phillip Murphy) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:14:36 -0500

WOW -- We had a great time Labor Day Weekend - Sunday at the State Fair. We were in the "Hort" Building promoting the Minnesota State Florist Association, And of course, or Minneapolis Flower Shop, Crystal Lake Floral Design & Orchids By Murphy.

We Had A Blast

Just getting warmed up...

Test Spin of 'Phil's Spinning Flower Wheel Of Good Fortine'!

We had a chance to see some long lost friends from our days when we were very active with the Orchid Society of Minnesota (Our Family, the last remaining charter members) What fun...

Now to the "Phil's Spinning Flower Wheel Wheel Of good Fortune" - We Actually Had a winner that hit the Grand Prize! 1200.00 Worth of flowers, Monthly delivery of our Beautiful Minnesota Grown Roses, for a year!

We brought in a very nice display, many beautiful bouquets, our spinning 'Phil's Flower Wheel of Good Fortune' and of course our wonderful crew, me - Phil, Dad and the lovely Linda to answer all questions about all flowers and floristry!

Now, we get to work -- People were absolutly thrilled we were there, and so helpful. Questions ranged from simple ones... Why do my roses from the grocery store wilt so quick, to... WHERE IS THE TALK ON THE COMPOST PILES as folks barged thru the crowds looking for the DNR area...!... Definately something for everyone at the fair.

As the day built up, so did the crowds, and before I knew it, our day was over! Wow, what fun - I cannot wait for next year - See you all at the fair 2010 - Labor Day Sunday! - Phillip Murphy - Crystal Lake Floral Design & Orchids By Murphy

We had a total of 13 Winners (Wheel Spins & Drawings were every 30 Minns) on Phil's Spinning Flower Wheel of Good Fortune at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair. All Winners Were Notified By Mail - Prizes can be redeemed online at MSPFlorist.com with issued Coupon Codes, or in person at the Flower Shop, Crystal Lake Floral Design 1420 Dowling Ave, Minneapolis MN 55412

Live At The Fair!

nospam@example.com (Phillip Murphy) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:38:27 -0500

It's that time of the year!
The Great Minnesota Get-Together, The State Fair Is Here! - WOW - Way to quick for me... none the less - We will be live at the fair this year, Crystal Lake Floral Design & Orchids By Murphy will be attending the fair this year in the Horticulture Building, The last sunday of the Fair on September 6th, from 9am - 3pm. We will be there spending the day with fair goers, answering questions about flowers, telling all about our wonderful Minneapolis Flower Shop, now the oldest in the Twin Cities! There will be prizes every 30 Minutes with our Flower-Wheel-Of-Good-Fortune and more!. This event is soponsored by our Local Minnesota State Florist's Association, You can learn more about the association by going to their nifty new website, soposored in part by our flowershop...
Minnesota State Florist's Association Web Site Home Page

Please, visit us at the fair or visit the website listed above for more info. See you at the fair! Be There - We will be there!

With the Augist 01 closing of Minneapolis Floral - We are the longest running Florist....

nospam@example.com (Phillip Murphy) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:51:46 -0500

With the Pending Closing, August 01 2009 of Minneapolis Floral, We will be the Florist and Flower Shop in Minneapolis with the longest uninterrupted run of retail flowers being sold in the city! -- Bachmans, Lindskoogs and all of the others came later! Some surprisingly - Much Much Later!

Three Families have owned our property since the late 1880's. The Bertelsons originally grew geraniums here at the corner of what was then 38th Avenue N & Humboldt. These plants were used as grave decorations for the Crystal Lake Cemetery.

The the Robert Stern Family, From Germany, built up several city blocks worth of Cypress wood and Glass Greenhouses and in 1904 became one of only a handful of retail Florists in Minneapolis - The Smoke Stack for the Coal Fired Boiler House was the Tallest Structure in Minneapolis until the Foshay Tower was built in 1929

In 1992 the now, Late, Sandra Murphy, dubbed the Twin Cities Orchid Lady (in memorium http://orchidblooms.com/) and her family, Purchased the 'Robert Stern Florists' then being run by the 3rd generations of Sterns, to grow Orchids in the Greenhouses that were rebuilt from wood to Aluminum and Steel in 1963 and continue the Retail Floral Sales. The business is now run by her husband Greg and son, me, Phillip Murphy now dubbed 'Phil the Minneapolis Florist'.

We hope to keep the longstanding tradition instilled into our very essence by Mom, of offering unique, fresh and affordable floral designs at affordable prices for many more years to come - God Willing!

Thank You For Visiting!

Phillip Murphy - Greg Murphy and the entire Crystal Lake Floral Design & Orchids By Murphy staff

Valentines Day 2009 - Great Success!

nospam@example.com (Phillip Murphy) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:46:50 -0600

Valentine's Day was a huge success for our shop and our many satisfied shoppers!

It is now the 19th of Feburary and we have had ZERO complaints on our work for the holiday

!!!! NOT ONE MISSED DELIVERY !!!!

!!!! NOT ONE WILTED FLOWER !!!!

!!!! NOT ONE DISSATISFIED CUSTOMER !!!!

We are very pleased with our work and happy to report, we actually had an increase in sales over last year, I am sure due to our stellar reputation!

The last V-Day complaint we had was 3 years ago, and was for broken rose blooms, which we later learned wes as a reslut of our delivery guy trying to get our HUGE ROSE arrangement into a full elevator, and the door closed on the flowers!

We are happy to have you post your comments on your Holiday Flowers Here in our Testimonial Section

MSNBC BLOG on Buying Flowers Online

nospam@example.com (Phillip Murphy) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:23:00 -0600

This is an interesting article from the MSNBC blog telling of the hidden fees when you order the drop ship boxed blowers from FTD and Pro flowers

There are never any such fees when you order from Crystal Lake Floral Design - Only Your Floral Puchase, Local Delivery or Out of Town Transfer and Sales Tax

When you order our Aloha Bouquetes there is a nominal Packing fee that is noted on each item product page, shipping fees are included in our Direct ship prices

............................................

From MSNBC BLOG

Online flower prices grow as you go

Companies often advertise one price to lure customers into their stores, then charge a higher price. In days gone by, this was called "bait and switch." Now, it's called fees and surcharges.

On the Internet, this tactic has another fancy name: "landing price." Advertisements include a low price to persuade customers to land on their e-commerce site. But by the time shipping and handling is piled on, the “out-the-door” price is substantially higher.

This tactic is most clear in the world of online florists, and most prevalent during Valentine’s Day. A quick survey of the top online florists shows that consumers using the two top sites typically pay at least 50 percent -- and often as much as 100 percent -- higher than the advertised price.
Take ProFlowers.com, which this week was running nearly ubiquitous ads with offers like this: $29.99 for a dozen roses and a free vase. But any consumer wanting the arrangement delivered on Valentine's Day will pay at least $55, after shipping, taxes, handling and a Saturday delivery fee are added. Shoppers who agree to early delivery on Feb. 12 will save $10, but will still pay around $45 (when $10 shipping, $1.99 handling and about $3 in taxes are added in). That's still 50 percent above the advertised price.

Making matters worse for shoppers: The total price isn't revealed until the last possible moment -- after the recipient's name and address, credit card number, billing address and even the "Love, Bob," note are entered. This reporter counted seven screens before the real price was unmasked. After all that typing, consumers are less likely to abandon the transaction.
ProFlowers says all its advertisements indicate customers will face additional fees

"ProFlowers advertising...clearly states that shipping and handling are additional costs," spokesman Mike Rosen said in an e-mail. He said the company has not received any complaints that its advertisements are deceptive.

Rosen also pointed out that consumers can add the total cost on their own within the first click or two. But to do that, consumers must notice and click on a link named “details” while picking the delivery date.
“I don't think you give consumers enough credit,” Rosen countered. “In this day and age customers understand this process better … and expect to pay shipping charges.”

At FTD, $19.99 flowers cost $42.77
ProFlowers’ strategy is relatively standard in the flower business. Shoppers at FTD.com may arrive at the site lured by the promise of Valentine's arrangements that cost $19.99. But that price doesn't include an additional $19.99 "service charge.” By the time customers click “order,” they are told the $19.99 flowers really cost $42.77. But at least customers at FTD.com see the full price before they are asked to enter their credit card numbers. Robert Apatoff, president of FTD, said his company was “transparent” about its pricing. “People get that they pay for shipping and handling. You can't just ship for free,” he said. “There’s nothing new about price point advertising…it’s consistent with the practices of the vast majority of online and offline retailers.”
He also said that $19.99 was a reasonable service charge when the additional costs of special handling and Saturday delivery are factored in.

After these two disappointing experiences, consumers might be too disheartened to try the third major online florist, 1800Flowers.com. That's too bad, because on Tuesday the site advertised a $39 arrangement with free shipping. The actual price: $39, plus tax of a few dollars. A $34 arrangement without the free shipping offer would cost $50 for delivery on Valentine's Day, but that additional charge was made clear the moment a delivery date was picked.

Our wilting economy
Shopping for Valentines flowers is a study in why the U.S. economy is so broken today. In the end, the prices at all three sites are quite similar. Yet consumers shopping for flowers must jump through near-impossible hoops to actually comparison shop. (Only a reporter with too much time on his hands is likely to do it.) That means many consumers won't make rational economic decisions based on quality or price, but rather will choose based on which company’s advertisements are most compelling -- or, some might say, deceptive. In the end, it's almost certain that the most up-front company, 1800Flowers, will lose sales because consumers think they are getting a better price from a competitor when they really aren't.
Some might argue this is simply capitalism at work. In fact, the opposite is true. If this were a free market, all information about the transaction would be transparent, and the best product with the best price would win. Instead, the most convincing advertiser wins. Ultimately, this economic system -- which is not capitalism -- will put honest companies out of business and reward deceivers. The current list of troubled banks, home builders, mortgage brokers and retailers is a “Who's Who” of well-marketed companies that had unsustainable profits built on false advertising. Their business models were a house of cards destined to eventually fail.
When the new administration in Washington wants to renew the promise of America and create change all consumers can believe in, it will focus considerable attention on creating a true free market, which will be made obvious by its transparency and lack of unfair trade practices.

RED TAPE WRESTLING TIP
All three of the big flower sites have dynamic front pages, which change depending on how a customer arrives at the site. Make sure to click through an advertisement or enter a discount code before ordering, or you may not be presented with the cheapest price.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/02/companies-often.html

Valentines Day 2009 = New Web Site

nospam@example.com (Phillip Murphy) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:54:00 -0600

Exclusive Orchids And Rose

Welcome - Wow it is almost Valentine's Day again! WOW

As usual we have our wonderful Jumbo Roses - order early - we always run out!

Order online or call 800-356-7258 Local - Please use 612-522-3316

This year we are very pleased to announce a new web site - Read all about it here