El Cerrito Florist

Category:	Florist
Address:	11201 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530, USA
Phone:	+1 510-237-5466
Rating:	3.3

Location

Photos 14

Reviews 5

Bria Cartwright

If I could give zero stars I would. I needed to order flowers for my mothers memorial service. I called this florist because they had keys to the church, so I knew there would be no issue with them getting into the church in plenty of time. The service was at 1:00 p.m. on a Saturday. I placed the order and the manager (owner?) told me the flowers would be delivered between 11:30-12, which was perfect so they could be set up before guests arrived. I arrived at the church and at 12:15 realized the flowers werent there. The family was seated and guests were arriving. I told the person coordinating out logistics that wed wait until 12:30 but beyond that we couldnt have flowers brought down while people were seated and arriving, so to refuse them if they arrived after 12:30. The flowers arrived sometime 12:35-12:40 and were refused. I never received a call from the florist until they were refused, and that call came at 12:43. By then, obviously, I was not taking calls. I was sitting with my father as we prepared to get through one of the worst days of our lives. I called the florist on Tuesday, to request a refund. One of the first things the manager, I think her name is Brenda, said was "I told you the flowers would be delivered 11:30-12:00". So I assumed there would be no problem. She then proceeded to make excuses, claiming first that there were road issues and then that car wouldnt start and needed to get jumped. If that were the case, they could have called me then and I could have decided if we wanted them or not. She insisted that they could have brought the flowers in, "it only would take 5 minutes". She seemed to not have any understanding of how inappropriate this is for a memorial service. I told her I wanted a refund and she said they credited 30% back to my credit card. I told her that wasnt acceptable as we didnt get the flowers and they didnt live up to their commitment. She continued to make excuses. She offered as much as 50% but said that she felt that was fair and was the most she could do. I have no idea how it can be seen as fair that for something as significant as a memorial when flowers are over 30 minutes late and arrive after guests are seated. Its unacceptable to begin with, but in addition the altar was decorated with teddy bears and would have had to be rearranged. When i told her this, she said I never told her that. I explained I didnt feel a need to explain as she had told me the flowers would get there by the time I wanted them there so it didnt seem an issue. After going round & round and getting nowhere, I told her Id be refusing the charge on my credit card and posting this review, and ended the call. Losing a parent is one of the most difficult experiences you have to go through. It is inconceivable to me that someone in this type of business doesnt understand how completely inappropriate this is. At a time when I am grieving the loss of my mother, I have to deal with all this BS and additional hassle. Completely unacceptable. And to add insult to injury, she told me that the 50% would cover the cost of the flowers. When I went back and listed to the 12:43 voice mail, she said shed have the driver leave the flowers outside the church, which she didnt do. Id guess those flowers were brought back and at least some were used for other arrangements. I would NEVER use or recommend this business to anyone.

A Private User

In short, they lost my order for a dozen roses... on Valentines Day. I will never walk into this store again, They do bad business. Or, at least they did with me. I went with El Cerrito Florist because it is by my house and I try to buy local and independent as much as I can. I put in an order on Tuesday, Valentines Day was on Sunday. I spoke with a young woman who seemed a little preoccupied but wrote my order down. I can still see her circle the $40 price on the ticket and put it with other tickets. She told me to pay when I pick them up. Then, on Sunday I went to pick up the roses. There were three staff members there including the girl who sold me the roses. They could not find my bouquet or my order ticket. The young lady acted like she has never seen me. Granted, this is a busy week and there were a lot of people coming in and out. But I have some distinct features that most people would remember me by; namely dreadlocks. They searched for about 10 minutes but came up with nothing. They then suggested I purchase some yellow roses because they were out of red ones. Nothing makes Valentines Day better than implying you just want to be friends with your girlfriend by buying her yellow roses. Needless to say I was livid. I left and held my cool but kept it in mind to write this review. Loosing someones roses on Valentines Day is the cardinal sin of florists. If I ran that business I would have offered a free bouquet or a coupon for a free one instead of insult someones intelligence of color symbolism.

Rodrigo Adasme

I have been getting my flowers there for different occasions for about 6 years now. I have never had any problem with my orders. The staff are very friendly, and professional. They always help me with the selection of flowers depending on the occasion such as funerals, my wedding, and birthdays. I Would not go anywhere else. Thank you guys!!

A Private User

II hand the nicest chat with Julie and she helped me with a wonderful arrangement for a friend recovering from an operation.I could not reccomend he more highly.

A Private User

The owner assembled a arrangement of flowers for a guy in front of me in less than 10 minutes. For me the same arrangement in a vase would take 1/2 hour?????