I am almost at a loss for words to describe the disastrous experience that I have had over the past two weeks with Avas Flowers. I never post complaints to social media, but I feel compelled to do so in this case to try to protect others who might be tempted to use Avas. Three words of advice: DON'T DO IT.
On August 22nd, I decided to splurge and order two dozen roses as a surprise for my wife for our 40th anniversary the next day. I picked Avas because their website guaranteed next day delivery, and I needed the flowers to arrive on the 23rd, the date of our anniversary. When I spoke with the person taking the order, I specifically asked that the flowers be delivered to the hotel where I had reserved the room for our anniversary celebration, and that they be delivered in time for our arrival on the afternoon of the 23rd. I emphasized that a 40th anniversary was a big deal, and that the timing was crucial. The salesperson promised that yes, the flowers would arrive as requested.
When we checked into the hotel on the afternoon of the 23rd, the flowers were not there. The surprise I had arranged for my wife was ruined. I had received zero communication from Avas giving me a heads-up that the flowers would not be arriving on time. When I called Avas to try to find out what had happened, I first got a recorded voice saying that my flowers would not be delivered until the 24th! They would not arrive until AFTER we had checked out of our room! When I tried to get access to a supervisor, I had to wait over 90 minutes to speak with a supervisor, Abdel. I shared with him how this had been a major disappointment on one of the most important days of our lives. After another hour of back and forth, he agreed to refund my money. Also, because their mistake had created a major downer on our 40th anniversary, he promised to arrange for a complimentary bouquet of the two dozen roses to be delivered to our house in time for our return on August 26th.
Maybe you can guess the rest. The "make good" flowers never arrived! I heard nothing from Avas until I called them on September 1st to ask why they had screwed up again. After an extended wait on the phone, I was finally able to reach Abdel. His story was that after promising me the two dozen roses, he did some further work and was told that roses were not available for "make good" shipments. I asked him if the roses were not available, why had I not heard from him for over a week since our last conversation? He answered that he had tried to reach me a couple of times by phone. Next question from me -- if that was true, why had he left no message, and why did my incoming phone log show no calls from Avas? No response, so this was obviously a big lie.
He insisted that despite what he had promised the prior week, the only flowers that would be available for "make good" would be calla lilies from their warehouse. At that point, I was worn down from all the disappointments, and told him to just send the lilies. He told me they should arrive shortly. Of course, nothing arrived until five days later. And when the flowers came, they arrived in a corroded box, and when we opened the box, the flowers inside were literally ROTTEN! They smelled like they had just come from a landfill!!
But wait, it's not over. Today, when I called Avas today to address the situation, I asked to speak with Abdel, and I was told he was not available. I requested another supervisor, and I was transferred to someone named Omar. Omar's response was that Avas had done all that it was prepared to do, and that if I put the lilies in water, he was sure they would recover. I responded that they were dead, and smelled like something my dog had left on the sidewalk, and that the first thing we had done when they arrived was to double-seal them in two garbage bags and throw them in the outside garbage. I said I was flabbergasted that this was his response, and questioned how a supervisor could possibly respond so unsympathetically. He was quiet. I then asked him if he was a supervisor. He tried to give me a vague response, and I asked him the question several times again until -- surprise! -- he admitted that he was not a supervisor. I asked to be connected to a supervisor and he refused. Amazing!
So what is the conclusion here? It is clear to me that Avas has flooded the Internet with ads hoping to catch people, like me, who are unfamiliar with local markets, see a local address, and are fooled into thinking the flowers are coming from a local florist. In fact, the flowers, if they even arrive, are shipped from a warehouse in New Jersey. Avas doesn't care if they provide a crappy product, or a late delivery, or poor customer service, since they advertise in many markets, and can always fool a new person into a sale. They are both incompetent and dishonest. I learned this the hard way. I hope these facts will help you to avoid my nightmare. PLEASE, PLEASE, DO NOT ORDER FROM AVAS! read more