– Do florists today need wire services at all?
– Can a solution be crafted that improves value for the consumer and the florist and heightens the relevance of the florist to the consumer should florists abandon wire services?
– What exactly are the common interests shared by florists and wire services?
– Where do they diverge, and why?
– Can florists and wire services restructure their relationships to their mutual benefit, or is that simply impossible?
In the discussions, all felt that if we do not address these issues now, we will revisit them again next year under worse industry conditions. Some would say that if we can't or won't answer these questions and solve the problems they engender, our inaction will hasten the deterioration of our industry.
Following the initial discussions, a smaller group of us continued working behind the scenes to assemble a meeting of like-minded florists that for now we call Florists For Change. We are independent florists. We are NOT working with ANY wire service. Perhaps they can be part of the solution, and we are willing to discuss our concerns with them, and we will listen with open minds, but we recognize that we may have to solve these problems on our own. Time will tell, but we're under no illusion.