Monday, March 5, 2007

Well, It's Sorta Related To Food


Note to guys: Next time you need to purchase flowers to woo your girl, save yourself $30 and buy them from a street vendor.

Why? Not because you're a cheap bastard, but because THE FLOWERS OFF THE STREET ARE BETTER.

Case Study: As many of you will remember, Washington D.C. played host to a miserable ice storm this past Valentine's Day. As such, there were concerns that delivery services would be delayed, meaning that those oh-so-important expressions of love would not reach their intended recipient on the big day. One concerned patron, who goes by the name of Bobby around here, was worried his flower order with 1-800-FLOWERS would not make it to Giada's office that day (for Giada had braved the sleet and snow, as she is a good little worker bee. Also, she's tough). Being the resourceful chap he is, Bobby took it upon himself to leave the warm comfort of his office where he spends his days shuffling paper (by night, Bobby is an intrepid crime fighter AND restaurant reviewer) purchase a dozen roses from the street vendor on G and 12th, and personally deliver them to Giada. Thus, Bobby saved Valentine's Day.

However, the scrappy delivery folks at 1-800-FLOWERS did manage to get through the sleet and snow and make their delivery to Giada as well. Which meant Giada was lucky enough to receive 2 dozen roses this past Valentine's Day. Don't worry, she knows how fortunate she is.

But all roses are not created equal. The dark red roses from 1-800-FLOWERS, ordered over a month in advance and costing a hefty $60, were a pitiful site even out of the box, and nothing Giada did would revive them. Most of the roses were shut tight and never opened for Giada to enjoy. After a week, Giada removed the eyesore from the back of her office to the garbage can.

The flowers purchased only a few blocks away, however, were simply lovely. They arrived in varying states of bloom -- some fully blossomed, others just beginning to, and others still wrapped tight. As the days went on, those that had already blossomed held their bloom, while the younger flowers opened up beautifully. The roses sat on Giada's desk for over two full weeks and prompted numerous compliments from passers-by.

The moral of the story: save your pennies and buy local. As an additional bonus, you won't stick your girl with yet another glass vase that looks exactly like the 20 she already has sitting in her kitchen cupboards at home.

1 comment:

Charlie Asher said...

I completely agree. Last year for Valentines I bought a half dozen from a street vendor for $6 and a dozen from a florist (a local one, not even a big national chain) for $83 (without delivery). The storebought roses lost their perfumed and dyed (yes I checked)petals within 2 days whereas the street vendor roses lasted almost three weeks...and smelled better.

I will never make that mistake again