Kuhn Flowers in Jacksonville, Florida, used social media to alert its customers that the shop was open for business Monday after losing power during Hurricane Matthew.
At press time, the Society of American Florists was still in the process of reaching out to members in areas that received the brunt of Hurricane Matthew (and suffered the worst of the flooding in its aftermath). Link to Hurricane Matthew Hits Florida Cut Foliage Industry Hard in this week’s issue.
Still, some retailers already have shared their stories of brushes with the storm and subsequent power outages, surplus flowers and lost revenue.
In Charleston, South Carolina, Manny Gonzales said Tiger Lily Florist “dodged a bullet.”
“We boarded up, but house and shop are fine,” he said. “Floodwater was up to the front and back porches; it seemed 
Kissimmee Florist “lucked out,” acknowledged owner Danny Sexton, who was prepping last week for the potential of major damage. “The storm’s eye wobbled about 12 miles east, and we were spared big time.”[/caption]
While the shop does have a cancellation fee in its contract, Gonzales said he and his team opted not to enforce that clause and risk a distressed bride’s tirade on social media. Instead, they will address the issue with each bride individually.
“With social media, we have to protect our reputation,” he said. “Hopefully, some of the brides will rebook later.”
In the meantime, Gonzales said he planned to give away flowers on the street as a “We All Survived Hurricane Matthew” goodwill promo.
At Kissimmee Florist in Kissimmee, Florida, Danny Sexton said his shop “lucked out.” The day of potential impact, “the storm’s eye wobbled about 12 miles east, and we were spared big time.”
Unfortunately, nearby Pearson and Palatka — the state’s “fern area” — got hit hard, he added. Read more about the effect of the storm on Florida’s cut foliage growers. Link to Hurricane Matthew Hits Florida Cut Foliage Industry Hard in this week’s issue.
The week before the storm, Chaim Casper of Surf Florist in Miami Beach, Aventura and Surfside, was busy prepping flowers for Rosh Hashannah, which is usually a very busy time for the shop. The business was closed October 3-4 for the holiday, and when they reopened on Wednesday, October 5, customers already were focused on the coming storm.
“Business was dead,” Casper said.
Some forecasts had predicted a major hit to South Florida on Thursday, October 6. Instead, the storm “slipped by with only 50 mph winds and very little rain,” although the shop did lose power for about 24 hours, Casper said.
While he was relieved the hurricane missed South Florida, Casper still was left with lots of unused flowers, which he planned to move with a special sale.
Still, the storm brought at least one unexpected high sale (and a reminder that customers can be turned off by a deal that sounds too good to be true) when a woman ordered 100 roses delivered. Casper took the job happily, charging $599 plus delivery and tax. He later found out the customer had called another florist first but had been turned off by that shop’s super low quote of $95 (delivery included).
“She thought that sounded too cheap and was much happier with my more expensive price,” he said. “Is that because she believed my price to be more realistic? Or is it because the other florist had some roses that were sitting around from before the hurricane and weren’t at tip top shape at this point, so he or she was willing to drop the price super low? Or is it that florist’s everyday price? I will never know.”
In Jacksonville, Florida, the team at Kuhn Flowers used Facebook to keep its customers updated.
The shop lost power during the storm but was open for business at 8 a.m. on Monday, according to a cheerful and savvy post that included a pretty picture of a bridal bouquet.
“We managed to make all of our deliveries…2 beautiful weddings for Saturday and another for Sunday — thank you everyone for your kind words,” read the post.