"The fact is everyone is in sales. Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell." Jay Abraham

I am a committed shopper.  In fact a shopkeepers dream customer, I make up my mind instantly, there’s no shilly shallying around, in and out as quick as a flash with the purchase under my arm. You would think then that shops would welcome me with open arms, yet there is a department store that I frequent regularly, in particular two fashion departments within the store where they should be falling over themselves to greet me. Not the case in both.

They all know me. I have been buying from them regularly for over ten years, most of the sales assistants have been there for the whole length of time, yet only one sales assistant actually knows my name and greets me with a cheery, "Hello Mrs. Owen, how are you today".

I like Mary Portas, the self styled Queen of Shops who dishes out advice and scathing put-downs in equal measure. She’s a bossy boots, and I can identify with that, she’s not afraid to state the obvious to grotty little shops that should have gone out of business years ago....

Many people think they know what a florist is, but believe me only florists know what a florist is. Ask a street full of people what a florist is and every kind of answer springs up. For the upwardly mobile it’s a trendy occupation adding two flowers and a leaf to a vase that makes mega bucks, to the middle aged businessman whose wife is awfully good with flowers it’s a hobby pursuit, to the school careers officer its something you do when all else fails, but most people think its akin to a checkout assistant in a supermarket. All of course are totally wrong.

Even the dictionary definition, ‘one who deals or grows flowers’ is barely right and from youngsters coming into the industry to people who join floristry as a second career its mind blowingly different from their expectations.