The History of Flower Wire Services and Why RateAFlorist.com Was Created
For more than a century, technology has helped florists connect customers with flowers in communities across the country. From the earliest flower orders sent by wire to today's websites, online ordering systems, and digital marketing, the floral industry has continually evolved around one fundamental idea: Help people send flowers wherever they need to go.
But as the industry has changed, so has the need for transparency, accountability, and a stronger connection between consumers and the local florists who actually create and deliver their flowers.
That is why RateAFlorist.com was created. It is a website built by a florist, for florists—with the goal of helping consumers find legitimate local flower shops, helping florists connect with one another, and creating a more transparent environment for sending and receiving floral orders.
Where It All Began: Flowers by Wire
Directory and wire-service organizations have been part of the American floral industry for more than a century. In 1910, a group of forward-thinking florists led by John Valentine gathered at the Society of American Florists convention in Rochester, New York. They established what became the nation's first major flowers-by-wire organization: Florists' Telegraph Delivery Association, better known as FTD.
The concept was revolutionary. A customer could walk into a participating florist, place an order for someone in another city, and have that order transmitted to another florist for fulfillment.
The technology was different from what we use today, but the basic idea remains familiar: One florist connects a customer with another florist. That model helped create the foundation for the modern floral wire-service industry.
Teleflora Enters the Industry
In 1934, Edwin S. Douglas formed what became known as Teleflora, originally operating under the name Telegraph Delivery Service.
Like FTD, the organization was built around connecting florists so that flowers could be ordered and delivered beyond the customer's immediate community. Over the decades, the floral wire-service model became an important part of the industry.
The Resnick Era and a New Way to Think About Flowers
In 1979, Stewart and Lynda Resnick acquired Teleflora from the UK-based media conglomerate The Telegraph Group. At the time, the Resnicks also owned a security business, API Alarm Systems. The Teleflora story changed dramatically under their leadership.
Lynda Resnick left her advertising career to become Teleflora's executive vice president of marketing and eventually its president. She brought a strong marketing vision to the floral industry and helped popularize an idea that would become closely associated with Teleflora:
"Flowers in a Gift"
Instead of flowers arriving in ordinary, disposable vases, Teleflora arrangements could arrive in collectible and reusable keepsake containers—everything from teacups to ceramic pitchers and other decorative pieces. The concept gave consumers something to keep after the flowers were gone.
Supported by major national television sponsorships and sophisticated marketing, the strategy helped Teleflora become one of the country's major floral wire services. For many florists, the Teleflora experience became much more than a transaction. It was an opportunity to learn about marketing, merchandising, branding, and the importance of creating an emotional connection with the customer.
Arthur Conforti Enters the Story
In 1995, Sarasota florist Arthur Conforti, founder of Beneva Flowers, was building his retail flower business. Conforti had purchased the RTI system from Redbook because he believed in investing in the tools necessary for future growth rather than simply spending according to current needs. As he has often put it:
"I always believed in investing in the tools you need for growth more than current needs."
It was a significant investment—and Conforti was determined to make it pay off. Then, seemingly overnight, the industry changed when Teleflora acquired Redbook. Conforti contacted Gregg Coccari to introduce himself and find out what Teleflora was looking for. Coccari's answer was essentially: "You."
At the time, Conforti was one of the florists successfully operating on the RTI system and was considered a rising retailer. His business had grown from approximately $350,000 in sales to $1.7 million in just over a year.
Coccari joked about finding out where Sarasota, Florida, was. He soon found out and that conversation became the beginning of an important chapter in Conforti's career.
Learning From the People Behind Teleflora
Conforti remembers his introduction to Teleflora as an extraordinary opportunity. He developed a professional relationship with Jack Howard, who remains a treasured business acquaintance and friend. But what impressed Conforti most was meeting Stewart and Lynda Resnick.
He admired Lynda's passion for flowers, marketing, and especially the idea of combining flowers with a meaningful gift. For Conforti, it was an opportunity to learn from people who understood that flowers are not simply a product. Instead, they are an expression of love, gratitude, sympathy, celebration, congratulations, remembrance, and connection. That philosophy stayed with him.
Sarasota's Favorite Mom
In 2005, Stewart and Lynda Resnick created America's Favorite Mom, a national program celebrating mothers. The program launched nationally with Donny and Marie Osmond. Conforti immediately saw another opportunity. He believed the concept could become a powerful local marketing program for independent florists. So he created:
Sarasota's Favorite Mom
The local contest invited people to nominate their mothers and share stories explaining why they believed their mother should be recognized as Sarasota's Favorite Mom. Conforti brought local businesses and sponsors together to help support the program.
One element became a lasting symbol of the contest: a commemorative pendant recognizing the year's winner and Sarasota's Favorite Mom. The program became more than a promotion. It became a community event.
Taking the Idea Across America
Conforti didn't keep the idea in Sarasota. He created a website called Flower Manager and traveled around the country helping florists establish their own versions of the Favorite Mom program. The concept reached markets including:
Miami
Los Angeles
St. Louis
Atlanta
Des Moines
San Mateo
Seattle
It was a tremendous amount of work but Conforti believed that independent florists could use community-based marketing to build relationships that national advertising alone could never create. He operated the program for 10 consecutive years.
Today, the names of the winners are displayed on a plaque at Beneva Flowers in Sarasota—the same place where the program began.
A New Problem in the Floral Industry
After decades in the business, Conforti began seeing another problem. The technology connecting florists had evolved dramatically but accountability had not necessarily evolved with it.
Traditional wire services such as FTD and Teleflora provide important infrastructure for sending and receiving floral orders. Yet the system can create challenges when questions arise about who is actually receiving an order, how much of the customer's purchase reaches the fulfilling florist, and how consumers identify the florist ultimately responsible for the arrangement. Conforti believes the industry needs something different:
A neutral source.
A place that is not a wire service and a place that does not compete with the florist. A place that can help consumers find real local florists while helping legitimate florists build their online presence and connect directly with one another. That idea became RateAFlorist.com.
Why RateAFlorist.com Exists
RateAFlorist.com was created on October 1, 2026, with a straightforward mission:
Help consumers find real local florists.
Help florists connect directly with other florists.
Give independent flower shops a stronger online presence.
Encourage transparency and accountability in the floral industry.
Keep more of the customer relationship with the local florist.
The site is designed to direct consumers toward the florist's own phone number, website, and physical shop, rather than simply functioning as another order-taking intermediary.
RateAFlorist.com also intends to verify participating florists through information such as shop photographs and technical information associated with their online presence, helping distinguish established local flower shops from businesses that may simply market themselves as local.
The Order-Gatherer Problem
One of the concerns that inspired RateAFlorist.com is the growth of online "order gatherers." These businesses can market themselves to consumers as though they are local florists while ultimately forwarding an order to a florist who actually creates and delivers the arrangement.
The concern is simple: The consumer may believe they are buying directly from a local flower shop when they are not. When intermediaries take a significant portion of an order before it reaches the fulfilling florist, the local shop may receive substantially less of the customer's original purchase.
RateAFlorist.com was created as an alternative approach: Show consumers who the actual local florist is. The goal isn't to eliminate technology or modern ordering. The goal is to use technology to make the relationship between the customer and the florist more transparent.
A Marketplace for Florists, Not Another Wire Service
RateAFlorist.com is not intended to replace FTD or Teleflora. It is intended to provide something different. A neutral directory and networking platform can give florists a place where they can:
Promote their own businesses
Connect with other legitimate florists
Find and refer business to fellow florists
Improve their online visibility
Build valuable links to their own websites
Help consumers identify genuine local flower shops
Share information about the businesses they know and trust
The more legitimate florists participate, the more useful the network can become.
By a Florist. For Florists.
Arthur Conforti has spent decades in the floral industry. He has experienced the evolution from traditional retail flower shops and wire orders to computerized systems, websites, digital marketing, online ordering, and today's highly competitive internet marketplace.
He has also heard the same concern repeatedly: "No one is helping our industry." Rather than waiting for someone else to solve the problem, Conforti decided to build something. RateAFlorist.com is his answer. It is an attempt to create a resource that gives independent florists a stronger voice and gives consumers better information.
The Opportunity in Front of Us
There is something remarkable about the floral industry. Even in an age of instant communication, artificial intelligence, same-day shipping, and enormous online marketplaces, people still send flowers because they want another human being to deliver a meaningful message.
Same-day local flower delivery is something special.
A florist can take an order in the morning, create something beautiful, and have it delivered to someone's door that very day. That personal connection is difficult to replicate. The future of the floral industry should not require choosing between technology and the local florist. Ihstead, technology should help the local florist.
The Next Chapter
FTD helped pioneer flowers by wire more than a century ago. Teleflora helped transform the way flowers were marketed and presented to consumers. Generations of florists built businesses using those systems.
Now the industry has another opportunity. RateAFlorist.com is designed to be part of that next chapter. A place where consumers can discover legitimate local florists. A place where florists can connect with one another.
A place where independent flower shops can strengthen their presence online. And a place where transparency, accountability, and the value of the local florist can remain at the center of the conversation.
The industry has changed before and It will change again.
The time to build something better is now.
RateAFlorist.com
By a Florist. For Florists.