To quote an old saying there seemed to be "much ado about nothing" when it came to the fact that Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday this year. So many old timers in the business were saying that according to their records, anytime Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday, there was MUCH less business out there. It seems they rationalized that Saturday night was date night and many people would just splurge there instead of opting for flowers. They advised to order less than our normal amount to prepare for the decrease in business. Well, folks I am here to tell you that in our area, at least, they were WRONG! Not only did business boom over the entire week before Valentine's Day, it INCREASED to the point where we were sold out on Friday night, and if you hadn't PRE ORDERED your bouquet, you were left out in the cold.
There was one segment of our normal Valentine's business that did decrease and that was our Amish trade. As we all know, the Amish do not conduct business of any sort on Sunday, so many Amish wives went flowerless for this holiday. Those lucky ladies whose husbands realized this and DID preorder were able to receive their bouquets on Saturday.
One nice thing about the holiday was that the orders seemed to be spread out over the entire week, so we were busy ALL week long with those who wanted their orders to go to the office. It was actually a nice break from the usual chaos of the one day holiday work.
That being said, we were still bone tired by the end of it all and just happy to be looking forward to getting back to "regular" business this week.
We saw many new faces in our shop which is a good sign that we are expanding our reach. I attribute this to our Facebook presence and our membership in Gap Area Small Business Association. In days gone by, we were used mostly by "friends" or family. A new wave of customers looking for different types of arrangements have come our way. Bigger, more lavish arrangements are what the customers want now. They don't mind paying a premium price for exquisite work - and our designers don't disappoint!
Well back to work now...after all - Easter is just around the corner!!
