Preston’s Flowers

I’m the kind of guy that can walk into a florist and pick his own bouquet. (I could arrange it as well.) But in a jam or when not having the ability to visit a store, I don’t mind picking up a phone and placing an order or doing so with one of the major flower delivery companies.
A few days before Valentine’s I read a blog posted by a concerned florist in which they were trying to alert consumers to the possible woes that affect online flower companies. I.e. bad or late deliveries, broken vases or poor selections of flowers. The orders (depending on the company; FTD, 1−800-flowers) are usually picked up by local florists and mailed out. One downfall of that ordering system is that the florist may not carry a bouquet exactly like the one described, so, the florist may warn the customer that they performed the duty to the best of their abilities. Or rather, they could offer «something similar.»
That last part; «something similar», a phrase that would resound in my ear after hanging up with their order-​taker since placing an expensive order for a bouquet. Upper $ 70’s is what I paid. I suspect that cost also covered taxes and delivery costs as well.
So, I figured I would place an order with them via a phone call saving them the hassle of having to work via whomever they partner with to have or host their website. (Some florists pay a marketing fee to partner with a website) Unfortunately, they were grossly unable to offer me a bouquet like the one pictured. To which the order-​taker made the comment «or something similar» and he did so under his breath before moving quickly to another facet of the process. According to the website, the style I’d chosen with the upgraded package, this bouquet was supposed to be pretty big and very surprising. Approximately 15″ x 16.5″ and I chose the upgrade to deluxe which should have made it larger. Instead, it wasn’t much taller than a medium cup of coffee from Metropolis, roughly 12″ in height. The width as well, was no where near the size dimensions listed on their website. Beyond that, the number of flowers or stems (rather) shown in the photo had me thinking this was a bountiful bouquet with many bulbs. But in reality, they’d given FAR less a quantity. Their perception of the bouquet was tiny in comparison. The flowers in this bunch are alstroemeria and red spray roses aka their «endless romance» bouquet. Both flowers do not carry a significant cost at any grocery, floral departments.
I called and spoke with the manager on shift and she offered two options. They could replace the bouquet or give me a decrease in its cost. I opted for the latter; who could ask their lady to give up their bouquet for it to be replaced? The amount offered as discount was a low amount but I agreed. (In retrospect, how could I; a person who is not a florist say, «I would have only paid $ 30 for a bouquet that small.» So, as stupid as it feels now, I left it alone.)
And not to be a complete asshole, (Ah, eff it, I’ll go all in) but I could create the same bouquet listed on their website for less than $ 40 dollars and the bunch would be huge. (Plus, I think I could do it with Whole Foods flowers.) For the high amount I paid, I could have created an enormous bunch at that. My woman was happy but not $ 76 dollars happy. Many of the spray roses didn’t make it to Valentines day, so I picked up some tulips while shopping at Trader Joe’s, which livened the bunch.
This all started out as hoping to give to a «local» business; some, well, good business. I read reviews (good and bad) but figured I’d just push-​on… Bad choice. I’d wager, they probably do their best when a customer places the order in-​house. It’d be awesome to see what they offer to walk-​ins. But with this experience, I’m kinda turned off to placing orders by phone.
Back to Proflowers I guess.

I originally ordered sympathy flowers through 1 – 800 Flowers for same day delivery. The flowers were never delivered and it was a nightmare dealing with their customer service to get a refund. Scrambling to re-​order flowers, I was referred to Preston’s by another florist in the area. Julie was not only wonderful to work with, but had a gorgeous sympathy bouquet delivered within three hours after speaking to her. I will never go through a large online florist again. Thanks Julie!

I recently had an experience similar to Lulu’s. My wife sent me a Lucky Bamboo plant for my birthday, ordered through Teleflora. The plant she ordered was supposed to be 17″ tall, in a 10″ natural bamboo cube filled with white river rocks. What arrived was about 8″ tall in a cheap white ceramic pot about 4″ across, packed with styrofoam and covered in gravel.
After logging a complaint with Teleflora and being sure she was the one who would be contacted (because it was intended to be a gift for me), Julie at Preston’s calls me at work to tell me they’re sending someone to take the plant back. I asked how the issue was being resolved, and she told me they weren’t resolving it, they were just taking the plant back because the original order was supposed to be four plants in a green plastic rectangle, and because they were allowed to substitute something of comparable quality and value, they sent me something «a little more modern,» but the sender wasn’t happy so they were taking the plant back.
I told her the sender was my wife, and that she decidedly did not offer four plants in a plastic rectangle, and was literally told «I don’t care, we are taking the plant back and Teleflora can resolve the issue.»
I told my wife about the call, and that they were sending someone to my office to take the plant back, and she was mortified. There was no attempt at resolving the issue, no respect for the customer’s request, not even basic courtesy on the phone.
It seems like this place does a great job if you’re making them a lot of money; but if you’re just buying a gift for a loved one, they couldn’t care less about you.

This place has the worst service ever.
My boyfriend decided to send me some balloons for our upcoming anniversary. Knowing that I am incredibly busy on Thursdays, he requested that the balloons are delivered at THE END OF THE DAY. By any normal business, that should mean 5pm at the earliest.
However, the delivery guy called me at 2:30pm telling me he’s here. I was in the middle of working on a lab when the guy calls, and I had to excuse myself to go get my delivery. Seeing how it was HIS fault for being so early, I thought he’d at least be patient for 7 more minutes (that’s how much time it takes for me to walk from my lab to my residence). Not only was he impatient, and called me again 4 minutes later, but he was extremely rude. He yelled at me to hurry up and glared at me when I arrived at my residence.
As for the balloons, you can’t really screw up balloons, so I don’t have much to say. However, as for the balloon-​weight (i.e. the little object that florists use to weigh down the balloons so that they don’t fly away), Preston’s Florist used a water balloon. This is absolutely ridiculous; in all my experience with balloons, the florist has enough sense to use something cute or pretty as a weight.
I have been quite stressed out lately, and my boyfriend wanted these balloons to cheer me up. Maybe if he had ordered from another florist, that would have been the case.
In summary, only order from Preston’s Florist if you want to ruin someone’s day rather than brighten it.

I received roses for Valentine’s Day through Teleflora and provided by Preston Florist. This 5-​star review is mainly for the great service provided by the florist.
After less than 24 hours, the flowers dropped their petals and started looking droops. (I get it — valentine’s day, in the dead of winter, is a hard time to source flowers for and there’s lots of demand.) I called Preston’s and started to explain what happened — before I could continue, they said the’y have a driver come and bring me fresh flowers and replace the ones I had originally. They have a «48 hour guarantee» on their flowers and I was pleased to see how happily they lived up to their policy.

Ordered flowers here for a funeral visitation and the customer service is amazing — they’re very accommodating and helpful. I was recommended here by a colleague who says that their prices can’t be beat anywhere else in Evanston and also, the quality and customer service is amazing.
I definitely recommend them again — the lady that helped me was very nice and helped me select a tasteful arrangement within my budget. They also have a helpful website —
— that you should check out. I wish that I only had known about them earlier so I could have utilized them for a happier event.