I-Team: Testing floral companies for the best products and customer service

(WFSB) - Valentine’s Day is officially one week away.

The I-Team is continuing its series on how to save you money.

We put five different floral companies to the test to see how their products and customer service measured up.

You can get the same bouquet for a cheaper price.

When the I-Team ordered five bouquets of a dozen roses, we made a point to order from five different websites.

When two of the bouquets showed up at the same time, delivered by the same person with the same card, we had questions.

The cards didn’t say where the bouquets came from, but process of elimination meant they were the ones we ordered from sendflowers.com and fromyouflowers.com

We did some digging.

The websites are different, with different contact information.

But one thing is the same: the address.

Both took us to a warehouse in Old Saybrook.

They welcomed us inside to explain.

“Send Flowers, that is a website we purchased from a florist that had expressed a desire to sell it for extra cash. We bought the site,” said Aimee Baldassaro, fromyouflowers.com Chief Experience Officer.

So, send flowers and fromyouflowers are the same company.

They work similar to 1-800-flowers, where we also ordered from.

They take orders from across the country and then work with local florists to fill them.

Whatever florist decided to fill both of our orders simply chose not to label their bouquets.

Part 1 of our experiment showed how sometimes you can get more for your money when ordering directly through a local florist.

That’s why Julie Zadjura at the Root System stopped working with those websites.

“Now I look like the bad guy because I sent you something that was supposed to be $60 and it was only $40 worth,” said Zadjura.

Based off what we paid, it really depends on what you’re looking for.

Our cheapest dozen was from fromyouflowers.

The company’s chief experience officer said they offer something else too.

“I think if you’re looking for fast, easy, convenient value, it can be a great way to quickly get a gift to somebody anywhere in the United States,” said Baldassaro.

There is one thing everyone in the industry can agree on: don’t wait until the 14th.

“Order early. Get the right product. Get the right price and that’s the best way to go about it,” said Baldassaro.

Fromyouflowers does offer same day delivery on Valentine’s Day, but you will have less options than if you ordered now.

If you’re wondering about our roses, they have all found a new home at the Veteran’s Home & Hospital in Rocky Hill.

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