Responsibilities of a Florist

The work of a florist is not often glamorous. Florists don’t make six-figure salaries, drive fancy cars, or get their own reality TV shows. Florists have many responsibilities to their customers and to the flower shop they work in. Far from mere floral designers, the job of a florist involves more than creating beautiful flower arrangements and providing good customer service.

A good florist is the life’s blood of the flower shop. The flower shop owner (if the florist does not own his or her own shop) usually takes care of the day to day operation of a flower shop, from payroll to paying the bills and advertising the florist’s services. The florist takes care of everything else, from keeping the flower shop clean, to placing orders and fulfilling customer requests. But a good florist knows the ins and outs of the flower shop as well as anyone, to take over in case the shop’s needs aren’t being met by another employee.

Here are the responsibilities of a florist, with details on every part of a florist’s job.

1. Ordering all necessary items to run the flower shop, create arrangements, fulfill any possible need of the customers, and to keep items in stock that are necessary for arranging and selling flowers. In many shops, this ordering process may be carried out by the flower shop’s owner, but understanding the ins and outs of the ordering process is important to be a successful florist. Ordering these materials usually requires a relationship with a flower wholesaler or flower supply shop, so developing professional relationships is also a big part of a florist’s job.
2. Receiving flower and stock shipments. Receiving wholesale flower deliveries involves more than signing off on an invoice–florists should know how to inventory, control backstock, and properly manage floral supplies and inventory. This is another duty that may be carried out by the shop owner or another employee, but a florist should know how to do every part of the flower shop business in case an employee is sick, the shop is understaffed, or if they want to someday own a flower shop themselves.
3. Unloading and stocking inventory properly. A business that doesn’t properly unload and stock their inventory won’t be successful long. Since flowers and other produce are sensitive to spoilage and shelf lives, properly maintaining inventory is essentially the same as maintaining profits.
4. Maintaining all flowers and inventory. This is why a florist needs to understand something about horticulture. Every plant and flower has its own unique needs in terms of pruning, watering, and light. If the flower shop a florist works in sells things like herbs and other produce, this part of the job is even more complicated. Maintaining plants and flowers is sometimes the main work of a florist, since even in a florist’s “downtime” there is always some sort of floral work to do.
5. Pricing the flowers and inventory. Again, some flower shops leave this job up to the shop owner or other employees, but understand inventory pricing and knowing how to place and set prices is crucial for florists who run their own shops or hope to one day run a flower shop of their own. Prices change based on seasonal availability of flowers and plants, and during holiday seasons, flower shops tend to change prices to meet demand and due to higher or lower prices from wholesalers. Pricing also means knowing how and when to use sale prices to increase profits.
6. Dealing with customers. That means proper phone and email etiquette, and knowing how to turn a walk in customer into a sale. Taking a correct order over the phone is a crucial skills, since a large portion of a flower shop’s business happens over the phone. A florist should also be able to answer customer questions on any of the stock.
7. Helping customers select flowers, plants, and arrangements for gifts or special occasions. Florists ought to have a natural eye for floral design and arrangement, but communicating that skill to a customer so they’re confident in their purchase is important too.
8. Understanding colors, sizes, shapes, and the other details of floral arrangement will help florists create arrangements and point customers toward appropriate purchases. This is where certification in floral design and floriculture becomes important for the florist. Florists should be able to eyeball an arrangement or plant and determine if it is appealing to eye and what sort of customer would like that flower or arrangement. Learning about new flowers and plant arrangements and hybrids is also important. Continuing education in floral design and floriculture is as important as selling and arranging flowers.
9. Creating flower arrangements to sell within the shop and the arrangements that are ordered by the shops customers is probably the most important job of the florist. Customer orders range from single stems, small arrangements, or entire floral presentations for weddings, funerals, or parties. This is the part of the job that most people think of when they heard the word “florist.”
10. Observing all of the shop’s bookkeeping activities, maintaining financial records, manning the cash register, and handling all the money coming into and going out of the shop is as important as any other one job in the flower shop. Florists are often charged with making bank deposits and withdrawals and alerting the shop owner of any inconsistencies or issues with the shop’s money.

These ten duties can be considered the main responsibilities of a florist, though every flower shop is different. Some of the above duties may be carried out by apprentices or other flower shop employees, and some flower shops will require even more from their florists. A flower shop’s size, location, and specialty affects a florist’s responsibilities as much as any other one factor.