Since so much of the news is dyspeptic and terrifying, here’s a story about how 1-800-FLOWERS creates happiness and profit at the same time.
My last piece was grim, so I wanted to explore something smart that 1-800-FLOWERS does that drives business and profit while also making its customers happy.
1-800-FLOWERS.com owns Harry & David as well as Wolferman’s Bakery, Sharri’s Berries, and a host of other ecommerce shops.
A few months back, I had cause to send two goodie baskets to friends and colleagues. I know a few of the folks who run 1-800-FLOWERS, and I’ve been to the Harry & David store in Medford when I’ve chaperoned my kids’ classes on treks to the nearby Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The Harry & David baskets always bring smiles along with calories.
As I was checking out, the e-commerce engine asked if I was interested in joining the 1-800-FLOWERS “Celebrations Passport” club for $29.99 in order to get a year of “free” shipping on any subsequent orders. Since shipping costs average around $15.00, the passport membership would have already paid for itself after I paid for the two baskets I’d ordered.
The $30 bet I was making, therefore, was that in the 364 following days I’d have a reason to send another basket of goodies, fruit, flowers, or anything else from the 1-800-FLOWERS collection of shops. Seemed like a safe bet.
I’ve sent flowers and goodies 14 more times since then (mostly and sadly to a bunch of funerals, but not always). Each time I feel good about myself for two reasons: first, I’m sending something to a friend or family member that will make them happy; second, I’m not paying for shipping. I can even pat myself on the back for having saved $210 (14 purchases x $15 typical shipping) over the course of the last few months.
This is, I realize, insane mental math. It’s the kind of lunatic calculation that Behavioral Economists like Daniel Kahneman have written best-selling books about. But I don’t care.
What my Passport membership did was render sending a gift more easily thinkable. It lowered the barrier between impulse and action. And this wasn’t a trick. 1-800-FLOWERS didn’t bamboozle me into signing up for something: it’s a fair deal that I appreciate.
When La Profesora shared that the mother of a friend of hers was at the start of a long, painful hospice journey, I said, “why don’t we send flowers to your friend now, when she can appreciate them, rather than wait for the funeral? We can also send flowers then.” We did, and her friend felt seen in a way that made both of us happy.
My dilemma at this point is whether—in a few months when my Passport expires—I will let it automatically renew for another $30 per year or if I’ll wait until I have another gift to send, thus extending the time and value of year two. (Yes, this is how my mind works; it scares me, too.)
I’m torn. On one hand, I want the savings. On the other hand, I enjoy being able to combine generosity, impulsivity, and thriftiness when sending gifts with no shipping. Is being that kind of person worth $30 to me? Probably. I have some time to think about it.
Coda
On a more personal note, if that’s possible, the reason I sent the bouquet pictured above to La Profesora this week is that, just a few weeks after we lost Ace, our other corgi, Jodie, also died of cancer. Even worse, I was out of town when it happened.
Ace played the field with the family, but Jodie was a one-human dog, and that human was Kathi, La Profesora, which made it harder for K. Our son William again came up from Eugene to be there with his dog and with his mom, which was most kind. I wanted Kathi to know how sad I was both that Jodie died and also that I wasn’t there, so I sent flowers. They made her smile, which was the goal.
We are currently dogless, which won’t last long because another corgi in the family needs a new home. I arrived back in Oregon last night, and the house is eerie in its extra quietness. Dogs inhabit the corners and interstices of our lives. When they die, the corners turn dusty, and the interstices have sad echoes.
Some pictures:
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