Florist fakes apology note for people to send belated Valentine's bouquets

If you’ve forgotten to buy flowers for your Valentine, there’s a new service here to help you out of the sticky situation.

Here to the rescue is Pine & Ginger Floral Co, a florist in New Zealand that has created a special note that you can send with your flower delivery that lets them take all the blame for the ‘delayed’ gift.

The ‘yellow card’, as it’s called, features an extensive apology from the florist, which takes full responsibility – even though the truth is that the sender actually forgot to order the flowers in time.

To make the situation all the more believable, the flowers will be dropped off on 15 February.

‘We sincerely apologise that you didn’t receive these flowers yesterday on Valentine’s Day,’ the letter reads.

‘Our delivery man was bitten by a dog and couldn’t fulfil your partner’s order, which we can confirm they made months ago in preparation for this very special day.

‘This was definitely not at all a last-minute order.

‘They really love you, we promise. This is our bad.’

Whoever wrote the letter at Pine & Ginger might have gone a little too far with the apology, as it starts to sound less credible as the letter goes on.

‘We guarantee your partner put careful consideration into building the best bouquet for you.

‘They asked that we include all your favourite flowers and blooms which remind them of you … unfortunately, those flowers aren’t available but your partner definitely knows what they are.

‘Honestly.’

The letter ends with a final apology and a compliment for the recipient, just to butter them up a bit more.

‘We hope you’ll direct your anger and disappointment towards us, our delivery guy and most importantly the dog.

‘Don’t blame your partner, it’s not their fault. They told us they love you very much.

‘Again, just to clarify, this late delivery isn’t your partner’s fault.

‘We hope you enjoy your flowers – we made sure they’re as beautiful as you.’

The ingenious marketing stunt, came about after owner Daryian Tee, started getting calls from people late at night asking for him to help them out with an after-hours delivery.

‘I know what’s it’s like … a lot of them forgot [to buy presents for Valentines Day],’ he told the NZ Herald.

‘I was getting calls at 11.30 last night with people saying “bro, can you please sort me out”.

‘Just like in sport, you’re out of the game for a little bit, but you’re not completely out of the game like a red card.’

Not everyone loves the idea though.

‘This must’ve been thought of by a male,’ one person said.

‘Is this where my flowers are,’ wrote someone else, who then tagged her partner in the comment, too.

We bet he’ll be ordering some roses very soon.