27.4.12

The joys of being a florist number 573

Sometimes people can be patronising.

and by people, i mean men of a certain age.

Being a florist, you get patronised quite a bit.

Yesterday was a corker. I actually wanted to smack him in the mouth. Really hard. Like in the movies.

I didn't. Obvs.

It made me wonder, is it me? Do other florists get it too?

Is that why some people call themselves floral designers/ floral stylists or "floral artists"?

Are people embarrassed to be classed as a florist?

I'm not.

Said man wasn't a customer, he actually wanted me to do him a favour.

Probably won't.........

I will admit sometimes i play up to the stereo type and then surprise them later by winning an argument over Middle Eastern politics.

14 comments:

sarah-jane down the lane said...

Grrrrr, should have walloped him! Then again winning aN argument over Middle Eastern politics also gets my vote!
Hope you have a good weekend and your customers are more enlightened :D
I'm off to see a florist right now curiously enough!

Sarah -x-

SofiaEva said...

It does happen to us all, especially that I look younger than my 28 years and blonde, but surprise surprise I run my own business. Gosh!

flwrjane said...

What luck I snuck in a moment at the computer before getting to work as a floral artiste!

Cause you know I've heard it all. My favorite are people who don't seem to understand the word florist and ask me if I mean forest. ???? Why would that make sense to people? Forest?

After someone repeated the question Forest? 3 times i told him I was a call girl.

Conversation over.

Geeze.

xo J.

Lotte and Bloom said...

i always say a florist when people ask. no embarrassment here, i'm out and proud.

Amelia said...

Hi Miss Pickering,
I completely know how you feel, I am in my last year at a well respected girls grammar school, and wish to be a florist, every one around me is going to well respected uni's. I too am often patronised, but like you (thanks to a politics a-level) I win the odd argument. Am I destined for the same patronization??
Millie
x
ps I too have had the forest thing, several of my boyfriend's friends are convinced that I am going to become a lumber jack after I told them I was going to do a course on Floristry (they thought I meant forestry!!!)

megan said...

I refer to myself as a florist, but I own up to the occasional embarrassment of possibly being mistaken for the sort of florist who makes things like this http://www.casarosaflorists.co.uk/product.cfm?id=1180

Kate said...

I sympathise Miss P, I was an estate agent, prime fodder for patronising middle aged men, yak! (and I was in my mid forties at the time which made it even more irritating)Unable to level a punch for fear of summary dismissal I resorted to quoting chunks of legislation, verbatim,often with a little Latin embellishment,until their jaw dropped

Kay said...

....the joys of being a florist is when someone brings 3 bags of tesco xanths into your lovely shop and asks you to trim the stems!!!!...has this ever happened to you Miss P and if it did..what did you say???

Mrs T-J said...

Every empathy/sympathy and understanding. Massage therapists also suffer the same fate with the added joy of the "nod nod wink wink what "special" services do you offer? And of course they say all of that because they dont think you have any brain matter at all until you hit them with the trigger point versus myofascial release argument and they find a corner to skulk into!

All empathies and love from the Masseuse! xxx

Amelia said...

And what on earth is wrong with being a florist? I wish I were one. Some people are just plain ignorant and don't warrant a second thought. Hmpf! (this is another Amelia, what are the odds 2 in one comment thread!)

Valley Flower Company said...

girrrrrrrrrrrlllll, I could go on for days telling you the patronizing things people say to me. Believe me when I tell you its not just you. I often get told to write a book about the life of a flower shop owner. We've decided it would be called "Wayward Salal".

Oh, and I much prefer the term florist to any of those other fancy names.

Mrs B said...

All the time.

The answer I'm afraid lies with the general public....sadly not always a very nice bunch of people.

Last week we were referred to as 'Floorists'. That's a new one.

Bxx

Emily said...

I was going to come in and console, but it definitely looks like this is a common problem. I know it happens quite a bit to me.
But, rather than consolation, let's just tell the haters, to...well you know.

Mademoiselle Julie said...

Dear Miss P.
Do not feel to bad, I also get patronized from odd people! I am little an look much younger than I am, that makes it easy for them. Believe me when I tell you its not only you.