Great article. Thanks for posting Bill!

I am one of Al's many customers who received my first orchid as a gift, and
am now hopelessly addicted. I would never have considered buying an orchid
on my own before this gift, but even after I got it, I don't think I would
have really gotten into orchids, if it had not been for the sense of guilt
over decapitating that first orchid with the window blinds soon after I got
it and then having to buy a second one just like it, so that I could tell
the gift giver that the orchid was doing beautifully, and then my guilt led
me to actually figure out what to do to keep the orchid alive, and the first
orchid recovered, and then they both rebloomed, so naturally I had to get
another ... and now I was telling my mother-in-law the other day that I am
trying to be good and not buy any orchids this month, and she asked what
about next month, and I said, oh no, next month is October and we have an
orchid show in DC, and I cannot possibly not buy any orchids then!

Joanna

"al" wrote in message news:m%COg.41$GO2.32@trnddc01...
Well, while many in this newsgroup might disagree, I have got say I have
found this sentiment to true among non-orchid people. I have learned to
cringe when somebody sends an orchid as a sympathy gift, especially after
a death or illness to a non-orchid collector. It can and does cause a
type of stress they would rather not be dealing with again. Over the last
ten years I have accrued a couple of anecdotes where the poor receipting
says "thank you" to the giver and then spends the next 6 to 8 months
calling me (my number is on my tags) with ever more desperate pleas for
advice as the plant slowly dies in their care and in some cases calls with
what feels like projected anger and denial neither the plant nor I
deserve. I wouldn't think it was strange except it happens on gift orders
and more often than not on sympathy gift orders than it does when the
order comes from the person buying the plants for themselves.

And as an orchid collector, I would much rather have a gift certificate
from an orchid vendor than the average large white Phal or Oncidium
intergeneric. I can take that 50 or 60 bucks you probably got charged and
buy something I can't get myself in spike for $7.50 each in lots of 10 or
12.

"Is this for somebody who collects orchids?"
"Yes, it is!"
"May I suggest a gift certificate because orchid collections are often
grouped according to what the collector has learn they can grow in the
conditions they have. Do you know what kind of plants they grow?"
"Ah, no, but I have seen them and they have some like this one [a Phal],
but I have never seen a white one there before. They'll love it! And
besides a gift certificate is so impersonal."
"Okay.... Well, what would you like me to write on the gift card? How
'bout this, 'Here's something I know you don't have. Can't imagine why?'"

This one usually works, "Might suggest that the week before Christmas is
the wrong time to ship a blooming Phal to Northern Wisconsin and my no
questions ask return guarantee will only apply if I can choose when to
ship and I probably can't ship there until the spring."

(The week or so after Christmas is kind of fun to, as all the orchid
collectors, sporting new sweaters and socks proudly come through buying
the gifts they wanted ...and often an amazing amount of them... that
nobody thought to give them....)
...but I digress as usual.

On the other hand, I have many customers who received their first orchid
as a gift and are now hopelessly addicted.

Al

"Bill Landers" wrote in message
...
I thought this was pretty amusing:
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=1310782006

Bill Landers