Way back on Day 1 in 1992, we looked around for the main flaws in the service our competitors were offering at the time.
One of the big ones was that florists perceived the method of distributing orders as inherently biased; for several reasons.
We consequently introduced our 'fair trading' policy and it has been an essential, and very popular, part of our system ever since.
Essentially, we interpret 'fair trading' as sending back to florists orders from the
Petals Exchange strictly in proportion to what they send into the Exchange.
Simply put, the more you send via Petals, the more you can expect to get back.
Some points arising from this policy are;
- we measure the number of orders when determining fair trading. It has been suggested that we should try to match $-for-$ rather than order for order. Unfortunately, we can't see how to do both of these at once so, by membership vote many years ago, we have focused on order volume rather than $-for-$. Lest high value senders feel they are disadvantaged, the software automatically sends high value orders back to a high value selling florist whenever there are several equally deserving supplying florists to get an order so we do our best to play catchup.
- we don't, and can't, promise 1-for-1 orders in return. Some areas send more orders than they get back (typically true of fast growing suburbs, industrial areas and country towns) so we, and no one else, can promise you will get orders when they simply are not there. Our 'fair trading' policy does ensure you get a fair proportion of the return orders
- if you choose direct trading with other florists without routing the order via the Petals Exchange , we will not know of your order and consequently can not return orders to you
- in most cases, your listing in the Petals Directory will move up or down in position all the time reflecting your entitlement to the next return order. As you become more entitled, you move closer to the top of your section and then fall back as you receive orders in return for yours. This is real-time proof that 'fair trading' is working for you 24/7
Petals Fair Trading means you can be confident of getting your fair share of return order automatically without the distorting effects of 'old boy networks', HQ favouritism, expensive advertising in printed Member Directories or because you are a new business not well known.
From the moment you join Petals as a Full Member you are eligible to get your fair share of the order pool in return for orders you send into the Petals Exchange.