FTD launched the Delayed Response Program in June 2008. The Delayed Response Program is designed to protect FTD Florists from late or undelivered orders that ultimately impact their reputations with their customers. FTD tracks all orders and assess penalties on behalf of the sending florist to ensure their orders are either being rejected or fulfilled in a timely basis. Any penalties collected from this program are credited to the sending florist.

The goal of the FTD Delayed Response Program is for filling florists to reject an order back to the sending florist within two hours of receiving it. By rejecting the order within two hours of receipt during standard business hours, the order will return back to the FTD network in a timely manner to ensure that it will get fulfilled for the customer.

Program Basics

Q. What is the goal of this program?
A. The goal of the Delayed Response Program is to increase the level of quality in the industry by proactively asking for quicker response times from our network of filling florists. Orders that either arrive late or are never delivered are damaging the reputation of the industry and moving customers away from the floral category.

Q. When did this program begin?
A. The Delayed Response Program began at 8 a.m. local florist time on
Sunday, June 1, 2008.

Q. What are the standard business hours of operation as defined by the Delayed Response Program?
A. The standard business hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. local florist time and Saturday - Sunday from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. local florist time.

Q. How does the program work?
A. FTD is asking filling florists to reject orders that they do not want within two standard business hours of receipt of the order.

The standard Mercury transmission fee and Delayed Response Fee schedule is below:

Q. Do I need to fill the order within two hours?
A. No, the filling florist DOES NOT need to fill the order within two standard business hours of receipt of the order. The filling florist needs to reject it within two standard business hours of receipt so that it can go back into the FTD network for fulfillment.
 

Hours of Operation

Q. I’m not open on or coded to be open on Sundays. Will I be assessed a fee if I receive an order on Sunday but do not reject it?
A. You will not be assessed a fee on orders for Sunday delivery as long as you are NOT codified for Sunday delivery. FTD provides a free codification listing in the FTD Directory for florists open on Sundays. If you are open on Sundays, please call 800-788-9000 to let us know and we can add it to the directory.

Q. What if my shop hours are not the standard hours of 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. local florist time on weekdays or 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. local florist time on weekends?
A. FTD chose the standard hours of operation (Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. local florist time and Saturday - Sunday from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. local florist time) for two reasons: it provides the most value to consumers by ensuring that shops are available to take and fill orders; and it reflects the operating hours of the majority of shops in the FTD network.

If your shop has different hours and you are concerned about not rejecting an order in time, you have the option to suspend (“SUS”) your system when you are closed. The Delayed Response Program is based on these standard hours of operation - not the time your shop opens and closes.

To suspend your system when the shop is closed, it is important that you notify the Mercury Network properly to avoid orders sitting in queue. If you cannot accept or forward Mercury orders, you are required to suspend your system with the "SUS" message. When you are ready to receive orders again, please resume your system with a “RES” message. Unplugging or turning off your system or printer DOES NOT suspend your shop from receiving orders.  For detailed instruction on SUSPENDING your Mercury, please CLICK HERE.

If you have the Flowers All Hours (FAH) service, please contact FAH directly to let us know when your shop is not open and you do not want to accept orders. Contact FAH at fah@ftdi.com  or send a GEN message to 90-9200AA.

Q. What are the cut off times for same-day delivery?
A. FTD Florists offer same-day delivery for orders received by or before 2 p.m. on weekdays (1 p.m. on weekends) local cut-off time in the filling florist’s time zone on the intended date of delivery.

Q. What if I get an order at 4 p.m.?  What is my timeframe to reject it without being assessed a fee?
A. The filling florist has two standard business hours to reject the order. In this example, the filling florist has until 10 a.m. on the next business day to reject the order. The timeframe of 4-5 p.m. is the first hour and 9-10 a.m. the next business day is the second hour following the standard business hours of operation for the program.

Q. If I suspend my Mercury, does it immediately stop the flow of orders to my shop?
A. No, we recommend that you suspend your Mercury approximately one hour prior to the shop closing. It is important that you check for any pending orders that may be processing. Those orders will continue to flow through even after you suspend which is why it is important to give it one hour to clear prior to the shop closing.

Q. Do I need to suspend (SUS) the Mercury system on federal holidays?
A. No, you do not need to suspend (SUS) your Mercury system on a federal holiday.
The FTD Delayed Response Program will not be applicable for recognized federal holidays.  See list below...

Best Practices by a Filling Florist

Q. What happens when I get busy and can’t look at my Mercury orders for more than two hours?
A. Timely communication is essential for the FTD network of florists to provide quality service to customers and florists. All members need to monitor their systems frequently to answer messages and to accept or reject orders.

Q. If I receive an order for same-day delivery, but after cut-off time, will I be assessed a fee?
A. Since the order arrived past your local cut-off time, it is important that you handle the situation quickly to meet the customer’s satisfaction. You should reject the order within two hours of receipt of the order if you can’t fill it and deliver it the same-day allowing the sending florist to contact the customer and make other arrangements. However, if you hold the order more than two hours before rejecting it, the fee schedule will apply.

Q. What happens if I send an ASK message to the sending florist regarding price, product substitution, etc. and they don’t respond to me within two hours?
A. The filling florists’ ultimate goal should be to fill the order with a quality product. If the filling florist feels they cannot provide the right container or flowers, the order should be rejected and will be routed to another florist in the network.

The goal is to make sure that the recipient receives what was ordered by the customer. If you are confident that you can fill the order, but need clarification, you can wait for a response. However, if you end up having to reject the order and it is two hours AFTER receipt of the order, the fee schedule above will apply.

Q. What happens if I’m out of product and not sure I will receive a shipment of flowers or containers in time for the order’s delivery date?
A. If you are confident that you will get the materials you need in time for delivery, we encourage you to keep the order. If not, please reject it back to the network within two hours of receiving it keeping in mind that the recipient deserves to receive the order as intended by the customer.

Q. What happens if I have a delivery for a hospital and the recipient has checked out and doesn’t live in the area?
A. This situation does not apply to the Delayed Response Program. The proper procedure to follow is to call the sending florist and ask them to cancel the order. The sending florist can contact the customer and arrange for re-delivery by a local filling florist.


Best Practices by a Sending Florist

Q. What happens when I receive ASKs and other correspondence from filling florists?
A. Timely communication is essential for the FTD network of florists to provide quality service to customers and florists. All members need to monitor their systems frequently to answer messages and provide the details needed to fill the order.

Q. What kind of responsibility is put on the sending florist to respond back to the filling florist?
A. The sending florist should have its customer in their best interest and want to get the order filled accurately and on the day of delivery. The sending florist needs to review order minimums and codification carefully to ensure the order is being sent to the most appropriate filling florist. If the filling florist does have a question, timely communication is essential to provide quality service to customers and florists.

Q. Are my branch shops considered under the FTD Delayed Response Program?
A. Branch shops are not included in the FTD Delayed Response Program as FTD has no ability to oversee orders sent between locations with the same ownership structure.


FTD.com Orders

Q. If I reject an order from FTD.com because of codification/price and FTD.com keeps sending it back to me, will I be charged a penalty?
A. After June 1, 2008, FTD.com will work diligently to ensure customer service representatives do not resend orders that have been previously rejected by the same filling florist. The order must be rejected within two hours of receiving it to avoid any fees.

Q. What if I get an order from FTD.com and send an ASK, but don’t receive a response back within the two hour window of time to reject the order if I can’t fill it?
A. The rules that apply to florist-to-florist orders are the same for FTD.com orders. If you are NOT confident that you can fill the order with a quality product within two hours of receiving the order, reject the order and FTD will route it to another filling florist in the network. The goal is to make sure that the customer receives what was ordered. If you are confident that you can fill the order, but need clarification, you can wait for a response. However, if you end up having to reject the order and it is two hours AFTER receipt of the order, the fee schedule above will apply.


FTD Operations

Q. How do you know what time I reject the order?
A. The time of the order is based on FTD’s internal server time. There is a timestamp on all transmissions through the Mercury Network.

Q. Why more fees from FTD?
A. Please note that all fees will be credited to the Sending Florist who submitted the order and has the relationship with the customer.

Q. If I am a sending florist how and when will I receive the money for any penalties assessed to filling florists on my orders?
A. Any penalties collected for untimely rejection of your orders will appear as credits on your statement. The credit will appear in Section B of the monthly statement.

Q. If an order is rejected within the Delayed Response window of time, will the $2.00 transmission fee be waived?
A. No, the fee will not be waived because it is applicable for all orders transmitted using the Mercury Network whether it is filled, cancelled or rejected. The delayed response fee schedule is in addition to the transmission fee.

Q. Is Domestic and International Retrans part of this program?
A. Domestic and International Retrans is a value-added service FTD provides to its members and as such is not part of this program.
 

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