ThatFlowerGuy

Need to jump back on this..., um blog as much more to share.

Okay, so you’ve packed your car with a variety of arrangements, learning early on to add layers of towels and boxes to keep the larger vases from spilling all over your back seat. You rumble out and GPS your way across the county in your planned loop of stops either on the ‘north’ route or the ‘south’. The ‘north’ is often the killer as it generally includes my so-called “Triangle of Death’. That would be heading east on the 91 as far as the county runs northeast, just before the county line with Riverside. Then west all the way to either (both too) La Habra Heights or La Mirada. From there, you have to continue west to the 605 to go south to Seal Beach, most of the time to stops in Leisure World. Add in the many stops throughout that portion of the county and well... the Triangle of Death. Certainly death for your ride if you keep that up day after day. But no matter, it’s all the joy you bring in delivering a bright, beautiful gift of flowers to someone special... if only they all were.

I don’t know that many people who can enjoy being the life of the party one minute then swift quickly to just me, myself, and I in our own little world but that’s me. More on the parties later but one aspect of this lifestyle of mine that was a benefit from the start of delivering flowers was my ability to actually enjoy being with myself, alone, for long periods of time. And yes, while driving around the OC you truly are never alone. Not with AM, FM, SXM, Books on CD (hey, try one first before you judge), podcasts, plus the humor and frustration I experienced daily watching my fellow road-warriors. I’ve seen every nose-picker, sing-a-longer, make-up smudger, burger stuffer, hysterical hands-free caller, never look up from my cell Tik-Tok watcher, half asleeper, kissing lovers (car wasn’t high enough to see what their hands were doing), bored trucker, crazed mother, get-outta my way copper... well, even more. So many funny and frightening people on the road. All in the own little worlds. Another personal strength of mine here is day dreaming. Just being comfortable in my own head, dreaming about any number of fictional stories, both good and bad, pro and con. I’ll have a good story going and won’t remember the last 15 miles I’ve driven. Good thing the GPS pops in with ‘Exit in 400 feet.’ She’s always there, keeping me on task. Ha, even in my own little world I take so many with me on every delivery. Ah, but once I get there...

In reading the job description, it seemed easy enough to take on a flower delivery job. You put flower arrangements in the back of your car, you cruise over the address on the sheet, and you drop them off. Simple. Just cruising around the OC from one stop to the next. If only, as I learned quickly that there is nothing simple about ‘cruising’ around the OC. Now I’ve lived here my entire life and know many of the various areas across the county but not all. The first factor you need to take into account are all those wonderful residents of the OC. 3.1 million plus of us. Add the lack of county-wide public transportation and that Cali-bred desire for independence and you end up with drivers. Lots of drivers. Driving cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, semis, scooters, more. And driving more across the summer of ‘21 as they’ve been on Covid lock-down for months on end. And we’re all here driving, all day long. More...

You can’t do it. Okay, maybe a few of you are already doing it. But for most of the people I know from the industries I’ve worked in, they can’t even imagine being a delivery driver. It seems like an easy, simple job. It has to for most. From the way so many look down at you for disturbing their day by delivering flowers from whoever (we drivers are not ‘supposed’ to know who, more on that later.) Or it’s a job they would never consider doing. Again, too beneath them to even try. So yes, you can’t do it. It takes so much more than I knew, pulling from experiences from my past and learning a special type of customer service that many think they know but don’t really. But there is a lot to say here so let me break it into 3 parts. There is a lot to discuss...

Wanted to post a quick introduction to ThatFlowerGuy and give just a petal or two of insight into what I have seen, been shocked by and enjoyed over the past 6 months delivering flowers for as small flower shop in the OC, CA. I’ve spent a major portion of my career in finance marketing in a few forms, even reaching the title of Bank VP (a tale for another time here.) But as for all of us, life will put you on a path that you had no idea was coming your way, but one I was very interested in taking, especially during the Covid Pandemic. For it allowed me the daily opportunity to get out from behind this monitor and away from the dining room table where I’ve sat the prior 12 months both working from home and then looking for work once the reality of corporate downsizing reached my door. I’m not one that likes working from the house. Home should be an oasis from the working world, not a love/hate blend of the two where work is never more than 20 feet away. So when I spied the little ad asking for drivers at a small flower shop, I knew this would get me out of the house and on the road. Yes, there are many sacrifices one has to make for a position like this (less $ is a minor item here) but I was up for the change, at least for a month or two I thought. Right. Thus the strange trip began...