Bride and Blossom Inc.

We met with client on 7/**/14 to discuss her wedding flowers. We showed client an image of an arrangement style that we recommended for her based on her very minimal budget, colors and style preferences. The client mentioned that she didn't like hydrangea because she often saw them browning or...

dying at weddings. We assured her that we used top quality flowers and never had this complaint. She loved the arrangement we showed her and we promised a scaled down version of this centerpiece inspiration. The inspiration image and samples are very close. Her contract specifically outlined the exact flowers and count of each flower that we would be using in her arrangement. It included white hydrangea, blush roses, champagne roses and cymbidium orchids. It specifically listed hydrangea and the quantity thereof so she was fully aware of the primary use of hydrangea in her centerpiece. The client came in on 7/**/14 to put down a deposit of 1000 whic h we extended to her as a courtesy as our policy and contract calls for a 50% deposit but we agreed to a 10% deposit with the balance due two weeks prior to her wedding since she told us that she had received her first paycheck and didn't have the funds to put down the rest yet. We went out of our way to be accommodating to her. She signed the contract which explicitly states that there are no refunds less than 3 months prior to a wedding. We have to secure a date and begin staffing a wedding 2 months prior and this is a policy which we do not deviate from. Client was fully aware of these terms and conditions when she signed the proposal as she went through every detail and provided thorough feedback via email for her multiple revisions and turns of the proposal.
We typically charge all clients for samples but agreed to also do a complimentary sample by way of being accommodating to this client. She came to the studio for the sample and was a nightmare - she cried and screamed and threw a fit so much so that our staff was made to feel completely uncomfortable. She was upset that the sample was smaller than what she had imagined. It was however on par with her budget. The sample contained exactly what was detailed in her proposal down to the exact count of each flower promised. She was operating with a very small budget per centerpiece but wanted it larger and she didn't like one of the champagne roses or the elegant cymbidium orchids we had included. She had full access to the internet to do a simple [redacted] search if desired to see the types of flowers we had included if she wasn't aware of what they looked like. She could even have asked us in one of her many emails to send her images of the flowers if she wasn't sure what they looked like. We even charged her a reduced rate for this arrangement than what we would typically charge because we liked her and tried to work with her to meet her budget.
Following the original sample appointment, I had a call with the client to discuss what she was unhappy about. She asked for her 1000 deposit back but I told her that with 2 weeks to go before the wedding we couldn't give her the deposit back per our contract. That we would be happy to fix it or make changes to it to get it to where she would like it to be. She said then fine keep the money she wanted to book a different florist. The next day we texted her offering to do another complimentary mockup of a revised version of the sample inspiration arrangement we agreed on and the proposal called for but would eliminate the champagne rose she didn't like and would remove the orchids she hated. We promised to add more hydrangea and blush roses instead to give the arrangement more size and scale. We told her that if she was still not happy with this mockup of the arrangement proposed we would refund the money but to give us a chance to fix it.
We spend money and time doing another sample for her at no cost and when she arrived at the appointment she had a smile on her face. She said that she liked it, it was much better and bigger and that she would have to talk to her fiance because he was making all the decisions from then on since they got into a big fight over her abusive behavior at the first sample. There were three people on hand to witness this second sample, me, my director of events and my creative director. All would attest to the same thing. We thought it strange that she would make this comment when we promised to fix and change the things she didn't like about the original sample but never promised to make a completely different arrangement or to give her her deposit back should she decide she no longer wanted that very specific style of arrangement and flowers at all.
This client was operating in bad faith and only agreed to come in to the second sample, where we spent time and money, so that a few days later she could email us and said she was unhappy and ask for the money back - a week prior to her wedding. She emailed a few days later saying that she didn't like the hydrangea at all or the style of the arrangement and wanted to go a completely different direction with a different company. We never told her that we would honor her choice or decision to decide to go in a completely different direction flower and style wise. We only told her that we would refund the deposit should she not be happy with the revision to the arrangement on the proposal. 
When she came into the studio she claimed to be happy but a few days later on email told a different story. This was all in an attempt to fraudulently induce us into refunding a deposit she didn't deserve and with terms we didn't agree to. We spent 450 total designing the two complimentary samples for her. The only contract that exists is one where we explicitly state that we do not give refunds later than 3 months prior to a wedding. We were willing to make an exception but the client tried to take advantage of this offer and what we agreed to was not at all what she was demanding after the second sample. This is an educated bride, a [redacted], and she knew very well what she was signing and agreeing to.
We received a threatening call from an attorney purporting to be a friend of hers where he demanded the money then threatened to sue. To date, we have received a demand letter which doesn't warrant a response. Should this client file and properly serve a complaint than our counsel will respond accordingly.

Review: I found Bride and Blossom through an Advertisment on my [redacted] page. I set up an appointment with them on July [redacted], 2014 for my wedding. On July [redacted] we spoke about the flowers that I liked and what my image was. For the next two week, some other details about the wedding flowers were discussed via email. July [redacted] I went back to the office to give a deposit of 1000 dollars and to set up a date for the sample piece. August [redacted] I went to the sample studio in long island city to view the sample. I was completely dissatisfied with the sample. It was nothing like I discussed at the meeting. The flowers were not like I imagined them to be, the piece was small, and it had alot of the one flower that I really did not like. I called the [redacted] in frustration, and wanted to cancel the order. The [redacted] stated that if I will give them a chance to make me another sample, she will return my deposit if I was still unhappy with the sample. I returned the following week to their long island city studio to see a second sample. I explained to the business [redacted] that I liked the piece more because it was larger but it was not what I wanted. The [redacted] refused to give me my deposit back even though before the second sample was made, she stated that if I was not satisfied with the sample for any reason, she would return my deposit.

I contacted a lawyer, who reached out to the business. Almost a month has passed since a letter was mailed to Bride and Blossom and I have not received an answer. I will be filling a claim in small claims court.Desired Settlement: The business has a responsibility to refund me in full because that was the agreement if I did not like the second sample.

Business

Response:

We met with client on 7/**/14 to discuss her wedding flowers. We showed client an image of an arrangement style that we recommended for her based on her very minimal budget, colors and style preferences. The client mentioned that she didn't like hydrangea because she often saw them browning or dying at weddings. We assured her that we used top quality flowers and never had this complaint. She loved the arrangement we showed her and we promised a scaled down version of this centerpiece inspiration. The inspiration image and samples are very close. Her contract specifically outlined the exact flowers and count of each flower that we would be using in her arrangement. It included white hydrangea, blush roses, champagne roses and cymbidium orchids. It specifically listed hydrangea and the quantity thereof so she was fully aware of the primary use of hydrangea in her centerpiece. The client came in on 7/**/14 to put down a deposit of 1000 whic h we extended to her as a courtesy as our policy and contract calls for a 50% deposit but we agreed to a 10% deposit with the balance due two weeks prior to her wedding since she told us that she had received her first paycheck and didn't have the funds to put down the rest yet. We went out of our way to be accommodating to her. She signed the contract which explicitly states that there are no refunds less than 3 months prior to a wedding. We have to secure a date and begin staffing a wedding 2 months prior and this is a policy which we do not deviate from. Client was fully aware of these terms and conditions when she signed the proposal as she went through every detail and provided thorough feedback via email for her multiple revisions and turns of the proposal.

We typically charge all clients for samples but agreed to also do a complimentary sample by way of being accommodating to this client. She came to the studio for the sample and was a nightmare - she cried and screamed and threw a fit so much so that our staff was made to feel completely uncomfortable. She was upset that the sample was smaller than what she had imagined. It was however on par with her budget. The sample contained exactly what was detailed in her proposal down to the exact count of each flower promised. She was operating with a very small budget per centerpiece but wanted it larger and she didn't like one of the champagne roses or the elegant cymbidium orchids we had included. She had full access to the internet to do a simple [redacted] search if desired to see the types of flowers we had included if she wasn't aware of what they looked like. She could even have asked us in one of her many emails to send her images of the flowers if she wasn't sure what they looked like. We even charged her a reduced rate for this arrangement than what we would typically charge because we liked her and tried to work with her to meet her budget.

Following the original sample appointment, I had a call with the client to discuss what she was unhappy about. She asked for her 1000 deposit back but I told her that with 2 weeks to go before the wedding we couldn't give her the deposit back per our contract. That we would be happy to fix it or make changes to it to get it to where she would like it to be. She said then fine keep the money she wanted to book a different florist. The next day we texted her offering to do another complimentary mockup of a revised version of the sample inspiration arrangement we agreed on and the proposal called for but would eliminate the champagne rose she didn't like and would remove the orchids she hated. We promised to add more hydrangea and blush roses instead to give the arrangement more size and scale. We told her that if she was still not happy with this mockup of the arrangement proposed we would refund the money but to give us a chance to fix it.

We spend money and time doing another sample for her at no cost and when she arrived at the appointment she had a smile on her face. She said that she liked it, it was much better and bigger and that she would have to talk to her fiance because he was making all the decisions from then on since they got into a big fight over her abusive behavior at the first sample. There were three people on hand to witness this second sample, me, my director of events and my creative director. All would attest to the same thing. We thought it strange that she would make this comment when we promised to fix and change the things she didn't like about the original sample but never promised to make a completely different arrangement or to give her her deposit back should she decide she no longer wanted that very specific style of arrangement and flowers at all.

This client was operating in bad faith and only agreed to come in to the second sample, where we spent time and money, so that a few days later she could email us and said she was unhappy and ask for the money back - a week prior to her wedding. She emailed a few days later saying that she didn't like the hydrangea at all or the style of the arrangement and wanted to go a completely different direction with a different company. We never told her that we would honor her choice or decision to decide to go in a completely different direction flower and style wise. We only told her that we would refund the deposit should she not be happy with the revision to the arrangement on the proposal.

When she came into the studio she claimed to be happy but a few days later on email told a different story. This was all in an attempt to fraudulently induce us into refunding a deposit she didn't deserve and with terms we didn't agree to. We spent 450 total designing the two complimentary samples for her. The only contract that exists is one where we explicitly state that we do not give refunds later than 3 months prior to a wedding. We were willing to make an exception but the client tried to take advantage of this offer and what we agreed to was not at all what she was demanding after the second sample. This is an educated bride, a [redacted], and she knew very well what she was signing and agreeing to.

We received a threatening call from an attorney purporting to be a friend of hers where he demanded the money then threatened to sue. To date, we have received a demand letter which doesn't warrant a response. Should this client file and properly serve a complaint than our counsel will respond accordingly.