Bloomex

Bloomex is a national Canadian floral company offering various floral and gift arrangements throughout Canada and the United States via its online order system. The company, headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, is privately held by its founder and president, Dimitri Lokhonia.

Business model

Bloomex is a floristry business that ships flower arrangements direct to consumers. The company was established in 2006 and maintains its headquarters and call centre in Ottawa.

Orders can be placed online at the company's web site, or through a 1-800 number. The company also buys virtual telephone numbers that connect customers to the Ottawa call centre when they dial a florist number in their local area code.

Bloomex buys flowers from growers and makes up floral arrangements at its distribution centers, in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver. Most orders are made up and shipped from the regional centers, with those designated for areas distant from the regional centers filled by local florists.

Bloomex has Flowers Wholesale & Wedding division which offers premade wedding flowers and flowers in bulk for DIY weddings to the general public at lower price.

Bloomex supports the Canadian Cancer Society, donating 10 percent of the proceeds of 12 selected floral arrangements. When shipped, each arrangement includes a tag informing the recipient that Bloomex is a supporter of the Canadian Cancer Society.

Controversy

On March 1, 2008, Toronto Star business and consumer affairs columnist Ellen Roseman reported on Bloomex online complaints, offering one customer's experience with a promised same-day delivery as an example of company unresponsiveness. In a follow-up Star column the next week, company president Lokhonia examined Roseman's late-delivery example – the order was entered past the deadline for same-day delivery, it was delivered according to the company's published terms and conditions, and the company never refunds delivery charges in such cases in order to maintain its low prices. Lokhonia also commented that some complaints were actually written by small retail florists in competition with Bloomex, a statement that drew fresh online complaints.

In June 2008, Bloomex issued a press release admitting that the company had made mistakes in the past due to unexpectedly strong sales growth, and announced new systems to improve customer satisfaction.

Following Mother's Day 2009, Roseman noted many new complaints about late or damaged deliveries and advised consumers to seek chargebacks from their credit-card companies rather than pursuing Bloomex for refunds, as company management will renege on their delivery guarantees.

As of October 2009, the Canadian Better Business Bureau (BBB) gives Bloomex its lowest possible rating, an "F", due to the company's overall complaint history, number of unresolved complaints, and Bloomex's refusal to accept any further complaints through the BBB.

See also

• Floral design
• Floral industry
• Floral wire service
• Language of flowers
• History of flower arrangement
• Online flower delivery

External links

• Bloomex main site