Review: Indiatimes shopping and Ferns-N-Petals

I ordered this bouquet on 8-March-07-12:30 PM for my wife on the occasion of women’s day. Specifically mentions to be delivered before 5 PM.

First they did not deliver it on the same day.

Second the flowers were of the worst quality – just green buds and grass. Spending Rs. 999/- for this crap what like dropping a 1000 rupee note in gutter. I couldn’t imagine that these guys could send such a product. From no angle it looks like a Rs. 999/- bouquet. In fact it not even looks worth Rs. 100.

I will not refer anyone to buy from fernsnpetals.

At the same time the customer service of Indiatimes is pathetic.  It is not that important to sell each and everything available in this world. It is more important to keep customers happy. First there contact numbers are mentioned wrong on the website (especially for Hyderabad) other cities numbers are usually busy. I was continuously on the line for 15 minutes trying to get through.  Second they will take 4 day to give reply for deliver status. Imagine getting a status or feedback of deliver for flowers that are supposed to be delivered on the same day. There is no logic at all in their replies.

As shown on website

Lily of the Valley - As shown on website

Actual Delivered Bouquet

Fernsnpetals - Lily of the valley - Pic 1 Fernsnpetals - Lily of the valley - Pic 2

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  • marosalonko
    SHITTT ! dats terrible... :P d delivered 1 luks like it has been freshly taken out frm d soil ..yet NO FLOWERSSS >.shit maaaannnn !
  • rovo_mila
    Ordered a midnight delivery. Double checked 2 minutes before midnight. Was told that it will be delivered before 0030 hrs (in next 30 minutes). But it was delivered even till next day 11'O clock. After multiple phone calls (which got cut while they put us on hold), reason of server, telephone lines , vendor (basically everything) being disabled was told.

    After spending so much money 'just on flowers' within metro cities and getting this kind of service is unacceptable.
    Also for payments, they called me instantly, and advised to tell the credit card number on phone (instead of entering online). No reason was provided for that.
  • Nits
    Rovo, I agree online shopping in India is still in its nascent stage. And online shops like these are just shameful.
  • Nits
    Yeah Madhu... I agree! They are the worst online flower shop.
  • raksha
    hey
    thanks for posting the reviews...helped a lot in NOT choosing ferns n petals :)
    seeing that you may be a person who would have gifts or flowers delivered to family & friends often...i was wondering if you could suggest me any other gift portal that you rely upon and has satisfying customer service
    i live in mumbai and i want to send gifts to a town in southern india Udupi, Karnataka...
    let me know whenever you get a chance...
    thanks!!
  • Hi Raksha,
    I have not used any web site recently, but around an year back I have used http://www.floraindia.com/ & http://us2guntur.com/us2guntur/servlet/Destinat...> and was satisfied with their service.
  • Nilabha
    FERNS & PETALS

    15th Feb'10- I wanted to send some flowers for my mothers birthday. when i typed in the order & gave my credit card number in their website, i almost immediately got a call from +919711304337. The lady on the line asked me again for the credit card details & promised that the flowers will be delivered on schedule. She also said that i will get an email with my order details.
    16th Feb- i did not get any email from f&p with the order details. I tried sending them a mail & it bounced. Apparently, the UK, USA & India contact numbers (given in their website) does not work. My card has been charged but i have no idea if my flowers will ever be delivered.

    THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNPROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION I HAVE DELT WITH. I WOULD ADVISE ALL NOT TO PLACE ANY ORDERS TO FERNS & PETALS.
  • Nilabha,
    Did you called your bank to inquire about where you CC was charged, and if you doubt the authenticity of the vendon, better to block your card.
  • S
    IMAGINE GETTING TWO SIMILAR HALF KG CAKES TO CUT ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!

    This was the state when i ordered for A ONE KG TRUFFLE CAKE for my friend's birthday from FERNS AND PETALS. They delivered TWO HALF KG CHOCOLATE CREAM CAKES!!!

    The great brand name that it is(Sarcasm intended!), EFRNS N PETALS failed to deliver properly decorated flowers too!

    NEVER ever order for anything from FERNS AND PETALS lest you want to get humiliated to the bone!!
  • S... this is soo funny and at the same time so embarrassing!
  • AJ
    This character Sajad either works for FnP or has been paid to write positive reviews about them. How can such a so-called "professional" flower service run such a lowly scam?! I made the mistake of ordering from them... wish I had come across this webpage earlier.
  • Hi,

    I too am from Delhi and have been the victim of the low service levels of FNP, they are truly the worst of the worst in terms of customer service and satisfaction.

    Enjoy reading my saga with them : http://wisetechie.com/blog/2009/08/24/ferns-and...
  • Sajad Rather
    Hey Sangz, I am also Fan of Ferns N Petals. They have very gud service and i am using this FNP website last 4 year never i got any complaint or any fake commitment.

    Really they are doing good job....

    Regards Sajad Rather
  • sangeeta
    :) hmmmmmm
  • sangeeta
    hmmmm........thats gr8 :)
  • Sangeeta
    hmmm..thats really bad. They should atleast send complimentary flowers with apology to your wife. What i can suggest you is, Whenever you need to send flowers, order through FNP, local outlet. You may collect on your way to home. They really have very nice collection. N by visiting the outlet you can have a look to the exact order bouquet n prices are much reasonable then any online website.
  • Hey Sangz... well you seems to be a die hard fan of FNP... I will try it out on your recomendation. But I usually prefer to order online, because of the lack of time and will to drive on the crowded streets.

    BTW, where r u from? I mean which city has such a good service of FNP?
  • sangeeta
    :) I am from Delhi only, was going thru your blog, its quite impressive...
  • Sangz... I too was once from Delhi... :) Moved out 5 years back...
  • sangeeta
    Hey Nits, so where r u now.....in India only?
  • Yes... in Hyderabad! But I cherish my years spent in Delhi, more because most of my friends are there. :)
  • Sangeeta
    Hi Nits, I completely understand that whatever happend with u was really bad......
    Did you complain about the same to them?
    My exp with them has been good too used them 15-20 times never had any problem… may be they were overloaded not a excuse just saying
  • Hey Sangz,
    My experience with F-n-P is thru indiatimes shopping... And its not once but thrice I have faced the problem... so may be its indiatimes that is bad, not f-n-p. But I don't use either of them anymore. Once I complained, they sent back a parker pen for not delivering flowers on time.
    - Nits
  • mp
    Can someone please recommend a site/company that can be trusted to deliver flowers and chocolate to India. Need to send some this week.
    Thanks much in advance.
  • I am regular cusotmer of Ferns N Petals since last 3 years, n very much satisfied with the service. They have very nice collection.. timely delivery.. n customer serive is really commendable.
  • Sangz, good to hear that finally some one has good experience with Ferns-N-Petals. And I don't doubt that you are telling the truth, but the fact is majority of people have a bad experience with them.

    nm
  • Nishant Agrawal
    This is the highest level of non-professionalism, I ever had seen from a company. you know when you order flowers for someone dear to your heart, at that time it's just not a matter of business or money, but it's more on emotions & relations. I had ordered flowers for my wife on her b'day, that too at a time when she was on Hospital bed giving birth to our first child. These idiots had accepted the order a week back & confirmed that the delivery will be done. On the said day, they have not delivered niether they bothered to inform me that they will not do the same. Even, I had called them up in morning & they told me that it's on the way. after 5 p.m., when I called them up again to know then they said that they will return my money as it was not possible for them to deliver the product.

    This company has ruined my entire plan & I am not going to spare these guys so easily. I will take this to consumer court for sure & let these guys understand that what a family & it's emotions means.

    I work for a large corporate & had referred so many collouges to use their services in past. I will personally make sure that our organisation will stop taking services from your company as well as will share my experience on different bolg sites.

    I will not recommend any one to buy flowers or any other product from this fraud company.
  • Hi Nishant, I echo your sentiments... It is really a pathetic situation at indiatimes, so I have found much better options with smaller name in the market.

    Nits
  • pooja
    Indiatimes shopping team members,



    I cannot imagine that service from any professional company can be so much hopeless , disgusting !!



    I took that fateful decision to choose indiatimes shopping on 9th may’09 , to place the order of Mother’s day gift . Although the worth of the material I have ordered to be delivered as a gift was not more than Rs600 or so , but I paid Rs 1374 assuming that it also includes packing quality and above all celebrating the occasion on time .



    But on 10th I called customer care where I was ensured that the gift will be delivered by 9:00pm , but the funny part is that delivery time is till 9pm and customer care closes at 8 pm.



    Ok then again as with no other options , we called customer care on 11th to check the delivery , we wasted so much money and time on the most irresponsible company that day . but nothing was delivered till 9 pm even on 11th may.



    When we were prepared to cancel the order , as the occasion was gone , mood was spoiled , some gentleman called to wait till evening saying that the gift will be surely delivered today alongwith complimentary choclates ….



    After repetitive following up , at 7:30 PM on 12th may someone turned up carrying one melon and mangoes that too in a polythene and alongwith the material with no proper quality …

    I cant believe which service in its mind would consider melon as a GIFT that too carrying it in a polythene . is this the definition of FRUIT BASKET …??





    Your services are nuts , worth nothing and you team is a bunch of unprofessionals trying to make people fool .



    In this way people will either loose faith in online services or your organisation with only false promises and marketing gimmicks will disappear from the market .



    Is there is someone to justify such a poor quality service ????



    I need no assurance for future as not any of my friends and niether me will use this lethargic service anymore .



    A troubled and cheated customer ,
  • BTW, its funny that they sent complimentary melon... :) Who may have such a *meloneous* brain... :)
  • Pooja, I echo ur sentiments... I myself has gone thru all this couple of times, so I have stopped shopping at indiatimes. They are bunch of assholes, who dont know how to run a business. This blog & comments here are testimony for the their highly unprofessional attitude towards the customers.

    -Nits
  • Poulomi Basu
    God, I wish I had come across this website before placing an order...
    I had placed an order with them to deliver flowers and cake to my monther-in-law today, on Mother's Day.
    I have called them 15 times from morning, they don't know where the order is, no information on status, just keep saying it will be delivered.
    And at times even their number doesnt work...
    Pathetic service..I wonder if it will be delivered at all. If not, will I get my 1000 bucks back?
    We should all complain collectively to some consumer forum. Anyone interested, has any ideas?
  • Hi Poulomi,
    Flower service of Indiatimes is pethatic.. mostly beacuse of the vendors, specially ferns-n-petals. Some times back I tried Floral India and was quite sattispfied with their services. Follow up with Indiatimes, and register a complaint with their customer care, they are decent enough to call back and componsate, refund also in case it is not delivered.

    Nits
  • Sonic
    FernsnPetals ( Ferns n Petals) started with a good name but are now crooks misusing their reputation that is fast dwindling.

    They charged me the full amount through theor payment gateway - never delivered the product and even after emails to them for months did not refund the money - they put the blame of CC Avenue their payment gateway - that confirmed that money was received and transferred in FernsnPetals account but in spite they NEVER refunded the money.

    They are online fraudsters, delivering some orders and making good money with not delivering many (its now like running a Casino - using probability to make money from customers).

    STAY AWAY FROM FERNS N PETALS - if your money is gone - it will disappear into a black hole - they are unscrupulous bunch of thugs if they cant take care of financial losses they caused to their customers!
  • Surya
    Could any one here please suggest an online shopping portal to send flowers and chocolates as a gift to my beloved on her birthday ? I really appreciate your help
  • Mridu, I cannot agree more with you. You know there is an old saying - "Unchi dukan feeka pakwaan" - this holds true for Indiatimes. Read my latest experience with Indiatimes @ here .
  • I order for Rakhi hampers 15 days prior to Rakhi, that was shipped 2 days after Rakhi and it got delivered all spoilled sweets and broken rakhi after 5 days from the Rakhi event when I ordered it. Pathetic service in the world. I know they won't return the money, they don't care to cancel the order, they don't provide status of orders... they don't reply to emails properly, still want to run the business..
    If they are providing the service with such poor quality, they should better close down... I will make sure my friends and family don't go there in future..
  • Priya,

    I recently tried "Flora India" for sending flowers to my wife. They have same day delivery as well. Even though they did not delivered on the requested time, but they were decent enough to call my wife to inquire when she will be available to receive the flowers.

    Couple of months back, I tried Indiatimes again, and this time again they had some problem, for which they tried to compensate by sending me a free Parker pen.

    Nitin
  • Priya
    Well, I had ordered a bouquet and a chocolate pack at Ferns n Petals to be delivered to my sister on her b'day this August. I had made the order on phone and I distinctly remember I had given them my sis' phone number twice so that they could check with her before delievering. But neither did she recieve the bouquet, nor any phone call. Anyway when I called them (6-7 times, that too I called on roaming). They offered to send the order again. However this time again the chocolates were not delievered. Only the flowers reached her. I called them again to find out what's with the chocolates and they said they'll reach her doorstep in half-an-hour.

    A total mockery of the concept of gifting and sending your wishes from across miles. This so-called biggest network of florists in India is a bunch of disorganised and unprofessional people. I wish some suitable competitor enters the market to teach them a lesson.
  • Thanks Ashok, for the comment and sharing the website.

    I recently ordered some flowers again from indiatimes, and choose the same ferns n' petals and this time to my surprise they have tried to deliver on time. Of course it didn't got delivered on time but at least they tied to call the person to find out the location and time to send the flowers.
  • Ashok
    If you'd like to send flowers, try out http://OrderMonger.com - they take customer satisfaction very seriously and seem to care about the customer. I have used them about half-a-dozen times now and my experience sending flowers through them has been excellent on every single occasion. They don't however offer their services to every city in India, I wish they'd expand to the smaller cities too.
  • Yuvraj
    thanks for sharing your experiences. i was about to order cake/flowers as midnight delivery for my wedding aniversary. better i choose any other company with good reputation of customer service. Prices also seem hefty.. thanks once again
  • Rajeev Shrivastava
    After suffering a goofup from ferns n' petals, I can understand what you all went through. I placed an order for a midnight delivery on night of 21st March 2008. The local franchise of fnp delivered it in the noon of 21st! Spoiled the b'day surprise I had in mind. I would think twice before using this service again.
  • GG
    I totally agree with all of it. You guys won't believe that I was even harrassed and literally threatened for my life when I questioned their professionalism!!
  • Frank
    I have ordered flowers from Ferns and Petals. After seeing the review i called (special instructions - deliver it before 12 noon) around 1205 and nobody was picking the call.
    Just sent a response to the chat message and see how the response:
    fnpetals@hotmail.com: for today we canot commit - ??????????????

    How strange it is. Beware of these people

    Frank: I have ordered flowers yesterday - and my orderid s 700043404
    Frank: can you give me the status of the order
    Frank: specifically given a instruction to send before 12 noon
    Frank: showing the status as vendor accepted
    Frank: what this mean
    fnpetals@hotmail.com: means ur order has been processed
    Frank: yes
    Frank: processed and when this will be delivered>
    Frank: today? before 12?
    Frank: time is 1205?
    Frank: can you give me the vendor details and number to me
    Frank: that is from aqua bangalore?
    Frank: can you give me the details, or your company contact details....
    Frank: if not the payment will be blocked
    Frank: after seeing the reviews, still booked to see how the delivery is
    Frank: am I talking to the walls?
    fnpetals@hotmail.com: for today we canot commit
    Frank: means>
    Frank: donot deilver it, i will ask them to revert my payments
    Frank: give me the details of the contact persons
    Frank: bangalore and delhi
    Frank: if you are not able to deliver it today, y u have to take the orders
    Frank: these chat messages will be posted as my review..... (hopefully take action against you- through court)
    Frank: hopefully you are aware of the law(internet)
  • Sujoy Bannerji
    Also please subscribe to:

    consumercourt-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

    where a collection of complaints against Ferns and Petals and other online fraudsters can be lodged and people can take a group action against these fraudsters.
  • Vijay
    I agree - NEVER BUY from Ferns and Petals (www.fnp.in or www.fernsnpetals.com).

    I ordered for a bouquet with cake and used their payment gateway, and shockingly the MONEY was DEBITED from my savings bank account and showed payment was made to Ferns and Petals gateway but they denied receiving it when I called them and said it could be a technical error!!! They washed their hands off because of some error in their payment gateway!

    Also they are hypocrits as they say on the site - Customer Satisfaction guranteed, and did not bother to reply to any of my mails!!!!

    NEVER deal with Ferns and Petals or your money may be lost with no way to get it back!!!

    They need to be taken to the court. Beware of Ferns and Petals!!!
  • Roshni
    I agree In addition to not delivering on time, Ferns n Petals have the most pathetic Customer Service.. My advice NEVER use their service is you want something done right!
  • anand
    I also had a similar experience with fernsnpetals...unfortunately i am visiting this website after I placed the order. These guys deducted money from my account and didnt confirm my order. Now they are saying that they haven't recieved the order. I gave them bank details and everything. And I was sending flowers on someone's birthday. Now the whole point of flower delivery is lost and I also lost 900 Rs. I feel helpless and dont know what to do. I think we consumers should wake up and make a feedback site which will give rating abt all these online freud sites.
  • I feel that the online shopping in India needs more time and effort to mature. There is always the feeling that the seller is over-pricing the product, or trying to use the distance as the cover-up and get away with selling a worthless good. On the other hand, most of the sellers in India do fit that profile!! I have had similar experience where some local mp3 player was passed as SONY mp3 stick. The actualy price must have been a few hundred rupees while we bought it for Rs3000/- !!
    From the courteous ,friendly and honest civilization, we have become shrewd and conceited businessmen, always looking for opportunities to make money, even if it is at the cost of our own integrity. Well, I do hope that these "businessmen" realize the long-term repurcusions of such acts and bring in some honesty in their dealings.
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