PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE ORDERING! BATES FLOWERS BY DESIGN IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR FAILURE TO NOTE THE FOLLOWING DELIVERY POLICIES AND GUIDELINES!
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OUT-OF-TOWN DELIVERIES WILL OCCUR ON THE FOLLOWING DATES OF THE WEEK:
WEDNESDAYS: BROOKLYN, HARTWICK, LAKE PONDEROSA, MALCOM, MONTEZUMA, VICTOR AREAS*
THURSDAYS: LYNNVILLE, SEARSBORO, SULLY AREAS*
FRIDAYS: KELLOGG, NEWTON, GILMAN AREAS*
TO KEEP DELIVERY COSTS DOWN TO YOU, ONLY ONE OUT-OF-TOWN TREK WILL BE MADE DAILY
GRINNELL DELIVERIES RUN MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY** UNTIL ROUTES ARE FULL FOR THE DAY.
*EXCEPTIONS MAY OCCUR TO THIS SCHEDULE WITH HIGH VOLUME TIMES OF YEAR, SUCH AS EASTER, ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS WEEK, PROM, MOTHER'S DAY WEEK, ETC.
**SATURDAY DELIVERY MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE DURING SUMMER MONTHS AS WE ARE OUT OF THE STORE SETTING UP AND TEARING DOWN MULTIPLE WEDDINGS/EVENTSEACH WEEKEND
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DELIVERY FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE and cover ONE delivery attempt, not multiple if the recipient is not at the provided address.
Normal delivery season/non-holiday (peak) periods:Deliveries are typically run sometime between 9 AM and 3 PM Monday through Friday, and 9 AM and 12 PM Saturdays, using area-specific routing to keep down cost to you, our client. Some exceptions may be made for holidays, extreme weather/storms, pandemics, security threats, etc. Please inquire by calling the store directly if you have questions regarding this policy.
Requested specific delivery times: We are unable to guarantee delivery at a specific time due to the large volume of orders we receive in our busy store.
***Our standard delivery rate for each town, applied automatically at checkout, applies to addresses in theMAIN AREA OF TOWNONLY. For example, if a delivery has a Grinnell address, but is closer to Kellogg, the order's delivery rate and total charged to your card may be adjusted to reflect the delivery rate for Kellogg.
STUDENT DELIVERIES TO GRINNELL-NEWBURG COMMUNITY SCHOOLS WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE SCHOOL'S MAIN OFFICE. SCHOOL STAFF WILL NOTIFY THE STUDENT THAT THEY HAVE ITEMS TO PICK UP AT THE END OF THE DAY. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS POLICY MAY BE DIRECTED TO THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT OR A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER.
ORDERS FOR GRINNELL COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH ON-CAMPUS DORM ADDRESSES AND ORDERS ADDRESSED TO THE COLLEGE MAILROOM ARE, PER GRINNELL COLLEGE POLICY, ONLY DELIVERABLE TO THE STUDENT AFFAIRS OFFICE ON THE 3RD FLOOR OF THE JRC BUILDING. THE COLLEGE STAFF WILL THEN REACH OUT TO THE STUDENT TO NOTIFY THEM THAT THERE ARE ITEMS TO BE PICKED UP FROM THAT OFFICE. DELIVERIES FOR STUDENTS WITH OFF-CAMPUS ADDRESSES WILL BE DELIVERED TO THEIR GRINNELL HOME ADDRESS, AS NORMAL. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR COPY OF GRINNELL COLLEGE'S POLICIESOR CONTACT THE COLLEGE STUDENT AFFAIRS OFFICE AT 641-269-3702 WITH YOUR QUESTIONS REGARDING THEIR DELIVERY POLICY.
ORDERS FOR GRINNELL COLLEGE FACULTY AND STAFF MUST HAVE THE OFFICE ADDRESS AND OFFICE NAME/NUMBER IN ORDER TO BE DELIVERED TO THE CORRECT LOCATION.
ORDERS FOR MAYFLOWER HOMES RESIDENTS WILL BE LEFT WITH THE RECEPTIONIST IN PEARSON IN THE EVENT THAT THE RESIDENT IS NOT ANSWERING THE DOOR AT THE TIME OF DELIVERY. THE MAYFLOWER STAFF WILL THEN DELIVER TO THE RESIDENT'S UNIT, SO THAT NO ITEMS ARE LEFT UNATTENDED AND GO MISSING OR SUFFER DAMAGES.THIS APPLIES ONLY FOR MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ORDERS, AS THE DESK IS NOT REGULARLY ATTENDED ON WEEKENDS- IF A RESIDENT IS NOT HOME ON A SATURDAY DURING THE TIME OF THE ATTEMPTED DELIVERY, THE ITEMS WILL BE RETURNED TO OUR STORE SO THEY MAY BE PICKED UP DURING OUR STORE HOURS.
STANDARD HOME DELIVERIES: If the recipient is not available at the time of delivery, the delivery person will leave a tag on the front door with our name and number and instructions to pick-up the item(s) from our store. Be aware that they may also call the recipient to let them know a delivery attempt was made, and to try to schedule a different delivery or pick-up time. No more than 1 physical attempt will be made; once we have returned the item(s) to the store, the recipient will need to pick up items unless an additional delivery fee is paid; the delivery fee paid by the sender is for one trip to the delivery address provided to us at the time of order.
Adverse Weather Policies and Guidelines: If during the attempted delivery, road and/or weather conditions are not found to be favorable (ice/snow/mud, etc), making travel unsafe for us to continue, the driver will return the product to our store and the recipient will be called to arrange a pick up from our store. In cases when we know a storm is coming that may affect our ability to deliver on the requested day, we may attempt to move the delivery to an earlier date, aiming to deliver as closely to the original requested date as possible. We will try to deliver before the previously scheduled date to avoid your order arriving late for a birthday, anniversary, etc., but may have to deliver on a later date than anticipated, depending on the situation. If there is no clear, shoveled and snow/ice-free path to an obvious door where delivery may be accepted by the recipient, we may call the recipient to schedule a pick up from our store or have them meet us at the delivery vehicle.
Request to leave item at door: The sending customer assumes all liability for requests to leave products, UNLESS the recipient is the party requesting us to leave items unattended, in which case the responsibility falls on the recipient.
We highly discourage special instructions requesting delivery to a doorstep, porch, yard or any location where the recipient cannot immediately accept the arrangement themselves. Bates is in no way responsible for missing or damaged product, or for shortened life of product due to this special request. Iowa weather varies greatly and leaving product outdoors is not recommended in any season. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO NOT LEAVE ITEMS BEHIND UNATTENDED and will make this call on a case by case basis.
Recipient may be contacted prior to delivery:In some cases,Bates may contact the recipient to ensure they will be home to accept the delivery. This is most common when deliveries are outside of our city or during instances of weather or questionable road conditions.
Every order is important to us because we know how important it is to you. At Bates Flowers by Design, we earnestly endeavour to please every customer with beautiful flowers and accommodating service. Knowing that flowers are a perishable natural product and that floral arrangements and floral gifts are handmade, we make every effort to fortify our floral products and ensure the quality, accuracy, and beauty of our work. Many variables determine whether a flower will last as long as anticipated, and we constantly seek ways to bring some of these variables under our control for improved floral performance. All arrangements leaving our store will be the freshest available, but we cannot control quality once delivered. For the longest life of cut flowers, we encourage daly changing of water as well as trimming of stems. Flowers and plants will not perform well if they are left in line of direct heat or draft. Remember- just because you don't notice direct air doesn't mean your plants and flowers won't... after all, you don't sit on your counter or end table, so you may not notice what plants and flowers will.
PICTURES SHOWN ON OUR WEBSITE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY, AS MOTHER NATURE, NOT BATES, DETERMINES THE BLOOM SIZE AND FULLNESS, BLOOM STAGE, LATERALS AND THEIR SPACING, EXACT SHADE OF GREENS AND BLOSSOMS, ETC. THIS CAN EFFECT THE FULLNESS OF A DESIGN AS WELL AS EACH STEM'S EXACT PLACEMENT IN AN ARRANGEMENT. PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND WHEN ORDERING, AS THESE FACTORS CAN EFFECT THE OVERALL PRESENTATION OF OUR FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS.
Please keep in mind that the designs we create are handled expressly by a professionally trained Certified Floral Designer, and trends happening now in floral design may not reflect the personal taste of the sender or recipient. If you know that the recipient has a particular favorite flower or color, or if you know they prefer a classic design over current trends, please order the Designer's Choice option, type your requests in the "Add Notes" or delivery instructions field at checkout, and we will do our best to accommodate you. The vast majority of our shop's longevity and success is based on our clients knowing we stay very on top of what's popular in the floral world... therefore, our outgoing designs reflect this unless other requests are specified by the sender at the time of order.
SUBSTITUTION POLICY
We are committed to delivering your important emotional sentiments on time and as fresh and beautiful as possible. Because of the nature, seasonality, and regional availability of flowers it is sometimes necessary to make substitutions of equal or greater value. We will make every effort to maintain the look and feel of the arrangement by considering the overall shape, size, style, and color combinations. Because of this,many of the product descriptions state that we will use today's freshest blooms, and do not state a specific type of flower to be used in an arrangement.
