When the Which report on where to buy flowers came out last Sunday (27 March) and just before Mothers Day I couldn’t decide who I was most angry with. Which for running the story, not just at a sensitive time but without involving industry in either the test process or feedback - something they had plenty of time to do given it was apparently done in January and which would have sat more comfortably with me given they always claim to be fair and impartial.

The Mail on Sunday for running such a sensational headline, not checking the facts properly - like prices and products – giving people little time to respond to their calls and apparently not uploading all the comments that have been left by florists.

Interflora for seemingly being incapable of controlling its membership given their order slated by Which was made by a florist, not delivered from a pack house as some have suggested.

Or maybe the industry as a whole for not having/not funding a system to either respond to situations like this or better still, collectively nurturing and building rapport with influential media so that all the good things we do with flowers and all the idiosyncrasies that go with providing said flowers were understood so that maybe, just maybe they’d think twice about having a pop.

Because the truth is that the offerings from supermarkets and postal operators are just as liable to have problems.  In the Which test Marks & Spencers failed to deliver on the right day and were rightly downgraded.  But if I compare the Which results to those of the Good Housekeeping test I and Gemma were asked to assess earlier this year even the mighty John Lewis/Waitrose can have duff days.

You see while Which awarded them 80 points for what was undoubtedly a good bouquet, in the Good Housekeeping test John Lewis only managed to scrape 59 because the box had obviously been upended, all the flowers were damaged and so obviously didn’t last very long.  As a result on that day they were trounced – in the main - by the local florist offerings.

In the same test the Flying Flowers (owners of Flowers Direct) offering could only be described as dirty (mud on the leaves was not what I would have expected) while the roses from British Bouquets were so rotten they fell off in my hand.  Trouble is none of that will or has ever made the consumer press.

Sunday 27^th was a sad day for many people … mostly Interflora who got the main kicking … but actually a downer for flowers per se.  Because while I think/hope Mothers Day will be OK, the fact is every time there is a negative report about flowers it ever so slightly chips away at the consumer psyche that flowers are a risky proposition.

Given that’s what none of us - be it independent florist or supermarket/high street store wants or needs - I reckon everyone in industry should be working together to nurture the media and pre-empt negative press rather than just waiting for them to willy nilly fire salvos at whoever happens to be the poor blighter whose flowers didn’t happen to make the grade that day. As a Board Director of F&PA I shall raise it at the next meeting on 7^th April.