Local florists deal with Valentine’s hustle

Todd and Melody Bland have only owned All Occasions Flower and Gift Shop for a little over a year, but they’ve already seen the onslaught of customers Valentine’s Day brings.

“Yeah, it’s the busiest time for flowers of the whole year,” Todd said as his wife worked on an arrangement for a waiting customer. “We’ve done probably a couple hundred arrangements already.”

William Hart has 31 more years of experience than the Blands, but he, too, has to adjust to the increase in customer traffic.

“Valentine’s is by far the busiest time of year,” said Hart, owner of Harts and Flowers Florist. “You spend the most money, too. We rented a big trailer. We had to hire two extra drivers, and we have a lot of overtime. We’ve got one guy that routes (the deliveries), three delivery people, five people that do designing, three that work up front.”

“I guess I make money,” he joked.

Despite the downturn of the economy, the Blands say they have actually seen an increase in business for this Valentine’s Day, which they attribute more to their new location on West Main Street than anything else.

“It’s probably about twice as good as it was last year,” Todd said. “We’ve got a lot of new faces. Last year we probably had 25 walk-in customers, and this year we’ve had over 100. The guys are going to spend money on the girls. It’s that time of year. I don’t know if it’s because it’s tax time and everybody’s about to get money back, but the people are spending on average between $50 and $100.”

Hart said he has noticed a decrease in business, but not a significant one.

“Like everybody else, we’ve had a little decrease (in business). But Valentine’s has been pretty good this year. Not as good as last year, but pretty good,” Hart said.

Diann Hinson, owner of Diann’s Headland Florist, has a similar story.

“We’ve seen some decrease, but it’s due to Valentine’s Day being on Saturday, and it’s not a tremendous decrease,” Hinson said.
One thing the florists have in common is unchanging prices, even in the face of a struggling economy. While some have taken some hits this past year, most don’t want to change prices in either direction.

“We haven’t adjusted prices at all, we’ve just sold a little bit less,” Hart said.

And for those Romeos who might be questioning a last-minute Valentine’s gift for their special someone, Hinson says the answer is an easy one.

“I would highly recommend flowers, because flowers whisper more than words can say,” she said.