Never change your doctor, butcher or barber. ~Ital Florist

In the old days, people used to say, "Never change your doctor, your butcher or your barber". Maybe this advice was referring to the fact that these people over the years of serving you , know you very well. They know all there is to know about you and to change would be disastrous for you in some way. Times have certainly changed since then.

Today, in our business of  providing flowers however, we have the unique opportunity to really get to know our clients well. Through the special occasions in their lives, their tastes, dislikes and styles,characters and personalities unfold. Our clients trust us with sometimes very personal information. And of course we take this confidence extremely seriously. If you've ever sat through a bridal consultation for wedding flowers or assisted a grieving mother choose flowers for the death of her child, or if you've ever tied an engagement ring onto a bouquet of flowers for a nervous, young man, you'll understand what I mean when I say we can feel like family planning experts, grief counselors, and psychologists at times.

In this business, we know a lot about you. When you're getting married, had a baby, your anniversary, a death in the family, if you're in the doghouse..again and we even know if you're being shall we say, not so faithful to your significant other. Lots of interesting stories come to mind but there is this one that I will never forget.

One year on Valentines Day, my father took an order of one dozen roses from a  very good customer to send to his wife.
The customer asked him not to sign the card message. "She'll know who they're from" was his reply. Dutifully my father asked, "If she calls to find out who sent them, may I tell her it was you?"
"No", was his answer, "That won't be necessary. She won't call. She'll know."

Later that day, one of our team members surprisingly receives a call from the gentleman's wife explaining she received a beautiful dozen roses without a card message. She wanted to know who sent them. Of course, as per our client's instructions, we could not tell her. The wife became frantic. She asked to speak to the owner.
When my father picked up the phone, she insisted he tell her who sent her the flowers. So as not to betray his long time client's trust, he did not reveal the information.

Just before closing, the chime of the entrance door rings and in walks the wife with the box of roses clutched tightly under her arm.
Furious and frantic she demands to speak with the owner in person. Sensing the urgency of the matter, my father accompanies the woman to his office and makes this suggestion. "Signora,  I would recommend you do this.Thank your husband for the roses. You cannot go wrong if you do that" She replies in a panic, "But what of he didn't send them?"
My father looks at her and gently offers this advise "Thank your husband anyway. If he was not the one to send them what will you have to lose? You will be as surprised and flabbergasted as your husband will be". He continues, "And if in fact your husband did send them, then you thanked the right man".

The woman left, with the roses, and thanked my father for his good advise. I was just a kid then, but I couldn't help but wonder if her husband sent the roses without a message on purpose. Suspicious of his wife's infidelity and testing her. ?? Probably.

We will never know the outcome of that night, but the experience remains forever in my top memorable moments. And it just goes to show that not only do your doctor, butcher or barber know a lot about you... but your florist does too.


~Happy Valentine's Day!

We do not sell flowers. ~Ital Florist

If you think we sell flowers, you would be wrong.We are not selling roses. We are not selling orchids. We are not selling flowers...period.

What we are selling can be boiled down to two very important things. One is what the Italians refer to as "La Bella Figura" and the second is Trust.

"Bella" translates to beautiful. "Figura",  depending on the context can mean, figure, shape, form, picture, illustration.
When our clients place an order, the flowers are most often being sent to someone for a special occasion. They are being sent with a message and as a message. This message can be one of congratulations, one of condolences, one of love. Whatever the reason, the flowers are the messenger. They represent and speak for the client.

It is completely understood on our part that the expectation from the customer is no doubt to make them look good..la bella figura.
This is exactly why we strive to always be the best at what we do. It's because we know what's on the line. Every time. Every occasion. Every recipient. We want you, our customer, to look good.

I learned at a floral conference recently that people do business with who they know, who they like and who they trust (@lisalarter). This resonated with me because of the trust element.

In every aspect of floral needs, whether they are sent to convey a simple thank you or are part of a lavish wedding event, the customer is entrusting us to make sure the results will reflect a Bella Figura on them.
This is a huge responsibility on us and we take it very seriously. At the end of the day, our reputation and our continued success is only as good as the trust we have from our clients. If we lose that trust or take it for granted, we are nothing and we have nothing. This we know and understand completely.

Each and every day, we take our business of selling flowers very personally. Just as personally as the intention is for our customers. Our call centre team responds to every call with attentiveness, making sure to listen to the customer's needs. Our talented designers create every floral arrangement knowing they carry a message of emotional importance. Our drivers handle the gifts to the recipients with delicate care and in a timely fashion. All of these elements are part of  what we sell.

We believe we sell more than just flowers. In these beautiful, fragrant and colorful stems are messages which you the client have trusted us to send on your behalf.

So no.. we are not selling flowers. We are selling much more that that and we know it.
In our flowers are your messages so go ahead and, Say it with flowers!

~You can trust us. We will make you look good.

Fighting the January Blues ~Ital Florist

We are in the thick of it. The dreaded January Blues.

As owners of a small business, one of the every day concerns is how to keep team morale up. At Ital Florist our team is made up of  people from all walks of life. All from various cultural backgrounds including Jamaica, Japan, England, Portugal, Italy, China and Poland just to name a few. This wonderful mosaic of individuals is a true testament to the multiculturalism that is Canada. Colorful, inclusive and full of life.

Our team works extremely hard... long hours on your feet kind of "hard". At a time like Christmas, they band together and fill thousands of orders for our clients. Over the course of this season, we spend a lot of time together. And we share. We share stories, traditions, gift ideas.. and food; sweets in particular. There is never a shortage of delicious home made sweets and by the time it's all over, the team is complaining about how much weight everyone has gained. In come the January Blues.

To help with this dilemma and to keep team morale up, my brother had a great idea and started The Biggest Loser contest. Anyone who wants to participate puts in $5.00 and weighs in. My brother and I have matched the pot. Every Friday, the participants weigh in (confidentially only to Italo) and by the end of the contest which is on Good Friday April 18, the winner will be announced.
The contest has not only given way to healthier eating habits, but the fun and friendly jokes that have begun are a welcomed distraction from the frigid cold that bellows outside.

This is part of our philosophy. We all have to work. We all have families that depend on us. Every day we come to work together to make a living. But with that also comes a certain responsibility on our part to try and create an atmosphere that is positive. A place where despite the fact that they have to come, they do so and actually like it here. We foster an exchange of mutual respect, constant communication and compassion and sometimes most importantly of all, we try and have FUN.

January will come and go and those blues will pass eventually. With a little creativity and imagination, maybe we can make it pass more memorably, more enjoyably.. and along the way...lose a few pounds too. Bonus!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go weigh in...YIKES!

A Family Affair ~Ital Florist.

We have no business being in the flower business.
It's a long story. Suffice to say, Dad is an accountant by trade and Mom was a teacher. So how did the flowers come into play?
Back in the mid 70's, with three small children, my Dad, like many men back then, needed a part-time job to make some extra money. He started working at a small local flower shop delivering flowers and making house calls for wedding and funeral orders. He was good at it. Actually, he was great. His natural ability to sell what happened to be flowers, was quickly earning him a handsome commission.

In 1976, he would leave his prestigious day job at the bank and embark on what many naysayers believed to be an absurd idea. He opened Ital Florist Ltd. I was 8, my older brother Italo, was 10 and the baby of the family, Evelyn was only 4 years old. It was bold. It was crazy. It was a great move. Today, 38 years later, Ital Florist and its group of companies, reigns supreme in the floral industry.

All of the hard work ethics, the honesty of keeping your word, the fairness towards employees and the overall class act that Mom and Dad passed on to us are still the definition of who we are and what we do.The formula is not a big secret. We work hard, we play fair and we succeed.
With Dad enjoying retirement and Mom having sadly passed on, Italo and I are now at the helm of this ship. The youngest of our sibling trio is successfully keeping the other family business of Teaching alive, making an extraordinary difference in young people's lives every day.

The partnership.
From the beginning it has always been a true family affair. We have no board room, unless you count the "lunch room", we don't have fancy offices, our meetings are very often held around the dinner table, notes are taken on napkins, decisions made after NHL games on TV. It works for us. A brother and sister team, in-laws too get their input, and we all know, we're in it together. Our motto; "What's the worse that can happen?" As long as we have each other's back and all our kids' best interest at heart, we will not fail. Failure is not an option.

My brother and I growing up were always game for a healthy competition. Neither of us like to lose. Not that we're sore losers, but we simply do not see losing as an option...ever. In High School and in University we made it on every sport team and student council possible. We were looked upon from our peers as leaders and we enjoyed taking on the various challenges whether they be academic or athletic. Teachers, principals and friends counted on us to be good examples and we made our parents proud.

We married our high school sweethearts, had big,traditional Italian weddings with lots of food, lots of dancing. We have 5 kids between us, most in University now. We expect a lot from others because we expect a lot from ourselves. We never settle with 2nd place. It's simply not in our nature.
Our parents were go getters. They never waited for the hand out and they certainly never expected someone else to do anything for them and all of this rubbed off on us.We run our business and our partnership with the same philosophy; we're on the same team, playing our positions well and going for the Gold.

Success is never achieved entirely alone. We could not do what we do best without our amazingly dedicated and talented staff, our understanding and supportive spouses, our wise father and our loving sister and so many more significant people on the journey with us.

Today, we are proud to say that we do have every business being in the floral business. Turns out, we're good at it too. Actually, great at it.

~We are your flower experts.

http://www.italflorist.com/about-us.cfm