Bunches...? More like Posies! (bunches.co.uk)

Member Name: jayandfoo

Product:	bunches.co.uk
Date:	13/10/05 (1372 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Accept phone or internet orders, wide range, cheap prices, ease of ordering

Disadvantages: My particular flowers not as expected

For my Mother-in-Law's birthday recently, Jay and I decided to do something a little different, rather than just buy her the usual quota of chocolates and smelly stuff. We decided to get some flowers delivered to her, but I hadn't a clue where from. I knew I wanted to place the order online, purely for ease of use, but didn't know where to start. I had heard of Interflora, but after seeing their prices, decided against ordering with them.

So, my next step was a quick search with Google. I simply typed in 'Flowers delivered' and bunches.co.uk was one of the first websites that I saw so I decided to have a look.

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About Bunches Florapost
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Bunches is a website dedicated to delivering fresh flowers to your door. This family run business was established in 1989, starting up in a small factory and gradually progressing to their current premises, which have been purpose built for the storage and handling of fresh flowers.

Bunches state that 'From the start Bunches has built its reputation on excellent customer service, excellent quality flowers and great value prices. These three values are what still drive the company forward today'

So, with all of that history and reputation behind them, I felt happy to take a good look at their website and what they could offer me.

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The Website
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My first impression of the website was a good one. It looked professional and well put together - there are colourful pictures of well presented flowers, along with a little icon saying 'Bunches Florapost - founded 1989', which I believe assures customers new and old that they are dealing with an establish and professional company.

On the left hand side of the screen was a small selection of the 'Top five Bunches Bestsellers', along with the prices which ranged from £11.99 to £37.99. The prices seemed extremely moderate and even the cheaper flowers looked appealing.

In the centre of the home page, there is a box which welcomes browsers to Bunches, and advises them that their range of flowers start from £11.99, delivery is free and orders can be placed either over their secure server or over the phone - ideal for people slightly wary of ordering over the internet.

At the top of the home page is the range of flowers they offer. Their ranges are:

Classic Value Flowers - A range of around 14 different bouquets, from 'Spray Cascade' - a colourful array of Carnations, to 'Gladioli' - 7 stems of pastel coloured Gladioli. Prices in this range start at £11.99, with the highest being £19.99

Luxury Bouquets - A range of 6 'stunningly arranged' bouquets, from 'Chelsea' - 'Oriental lilies, cerise and white roses with stunning white Anastasia and green Ruscus' to 'Ascot' - 'A feminine bouquet with pink Aqua Roses, pink Gerbera and green Chrysanthemums'. Prices in this range start at £21.99, with the highest being £27.99.

Platinum Collection - A range of 3 bouquets for when you really want to push the boat out. My favourite one in this collection, Amber, is also the cheapest at £33.99 and includes a beautiful array of orange and yellow flowers, with Hypericum berries and a palm leaf. The most expensive in this collection is £37.99.

You are also given the option, via the tabs at the top of the page, to order roses, be it a single red rose at £9.99 or a big bunch of 24 at £44.99 - men, take note!

The plants range isn't so extensive - there are currently just 3 plants available to order, with the selection being Lily or Orchid. Nevertheless, they still look beautiful and are priced between £16.99 and £23.99.

Finally, helium balloons can also be purchased, ranging from significant birthdays, to saying 'I Love You' - ideal for Valentines Day. The balloons generally cost around £9.99

Navigating the site is easy - there are lots of pictures on the site, each with a helpful little description about that particular bouquet or item.

Repeat customers are able to register to the site, which means their details will be saved, making the order process easier for their next visit.

There is a site map available, where you can search by occasion, price or even by a particular flower. I didn't use this particular service when placing my order, rather choosing by picture, description and price.

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My Order
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I knew that I didn't want to spend anymore than £30 maximum for the flowers, which needed to include delivery - this site was handy in the fact that delivery is free, which meant I could spend the little extra on nicer flowers. I chose to look at the 'Classic Value Flowers' section. As there was such a selection, deciding which bouquet to buy was hard but I eventually opted for the 'Fragrant Freesias' bouquet - '20 sweet-smelling long-stemmed Dutch Freesia in mixed colours'. The picture presented the flowers beautifully and the description was enticing, along with the low price of only £16.99.

Upon placing the flowers in my basket, I was then asked if I wanted to add in any other little items, such as a small Birthday fruit cake decorated with icing, prices at £3.99, a small teddy bear at 4.99 or some Luxury continental chocolates at £3.99. I decided to add on a little birthday cake with the extra money I had left over. Therefore, my order total was £20.98 which I thought was a really acceptable price. I then clicked the icon 'place order'.

I was then taken to a page to review my order and enter any promotional codes if necessary. I was also offered free flower shaped chocolates, currently available for all orders over £15.00. The next step enables registered customers to login, new customer to register or just proceed with the order without logging in or registering - this is the option I chose.

I was then taken to a page where I entered my address details, delivery details and delivery date - normally flowers are delivered within a few days but I needed the flowers to be there on a Saturday - this cost me an extra £4.95, making my order total £25.93. I was also able to add a little birthday message, along the lines of 'Happy Birthday, Lots of Love, xxx'. This did not cost any extra.

I then made my payment via World pay, a secure payment server powered by the Royal Bank of Scotland. I paid by Solo, but the other payment options available are Switch, MasterCard, Visa, Delta, Visa Purchasing and JCB card. My payment was processed immediately and I received confirmation to my email address shortly after, confirming payment from World pay and the order confirmation from Bunches


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Delivery
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As previously mentioned, standard delivery within 1-2 workings days is free. However, should you wish for your flowers to be delivered on a designated date, then you can choose exactly what date you want, for an extra £4.95. Beware, though - Bunches do say that even though you pay the extra postage, the delivery is still not guaranteed.

I set a Saturday delivery, which could have been any time between 8am and 6pm. Sure enough, Jays mum called us at 8.30 on the Saturday morning, thanking us for the flowers, cake and chocolate. I was glad she sounded impressed with them and I couldn't wait to see them.

She advised that the delivery had taken place at around 8am that morning (crikey!). They had been delivered by courier and presented in a long box to protect the flowers. She had to sign for the parcel.

She said everything had been really well presented, and the flowers still had their long stems and were not cut down like some florists do.

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The Flowers
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Basking in a small sense of glory at having made my mother-in-law happy (which I usually seem unable to do!), we set off to give her her birthday card and also for me to have a nosy at the flowers - and I was really, really disappointed.

They were definitely fresh - not one of the flowers had flowered. They also seemed so scrawny - there really was nothing to them at all. Whilst we sat having a cup of tea with her, they were starting to flower and when we went again the next day, they had all flowered but they looked nothing like the picture - the picture I had based my order on.

To be fair, the flowers did smell beautiful, and I don't think I could have got them any fresher, but they were definitely a let down - luckily, my mother-in-law hadn't seen what they were supposed to look like, so she was really happy with them, which is all that mattered, really.

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Verdict
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The order process with Bunches was one of the easiest ones I have come across - everything went smooth from order to delivery, I was just a little disappointed with the result.

However, I am a firm believer in 'you get what you pay for' and at £16.99, the flowers I chose were some of the cheapest on the site.

Would I use Bunches again? Yes, but I'd definitely order the dearer flowers. For cheap flowers, I'm going to stick with the high street florist - at least I can tell them exactly what I want.

flowers@bunches.co.uk

0800 626 249

Summary: Good website, quality of flowers not as expected