The Flower Delivery Person's Little Appreciated Role

By Ali Imran Mohd Noordin KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- Sending a flower bouquet is good enough to surprise the loved ones and brighten up their day. The recipients express their happiness with their smiles upon receiving the flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. However, not many will bother to take a second look at the person who delivers the flower. SMOOTH DELIVERY An important yet often overlooked aspect in sending and receiving floral bouquets is the role of the flower delivery person. What is there to it? One might wonder. Is it not just the same as delivering other merchandise? Flower delivery person Abd Roni Awang insists it is not. He see it as a process that requires well-thought out strategies and execution. “The most important thing is to maintain the element of surprise. More often than not the recipient is unaware that a delivery is coming, such as when a husband gives a surprise to his wife with flowers on their anniversary. “This is where we need to exercise caution and ensure that recipients have no idea they are getting flowers until they actually see it. If not, we are doing the senders a disfavour by spoiling the surprise,” explained the 38-year-old, who goes by the name Roni. Knowledge of the location too is essential, particularly when the delivery is to office buildings with restrictions. For example flower delivery persons are not allowed up to the offices at the KLCC Twin Towers. In order to not spoil the surprise, Roni often has to coax recipients down to the lobby to receive them. He will not specify the item when calling the recipients, thus annoying many of them. “I’m used to getting rebuked. The recipients have no idea they are getting a gift so they assume the worst. Some fear they are being set up for a scam, some think we are going to force them to buy something. However, their sour expressions quickly turn into smiles once they see us standing there with the flowers,” he said, laughing. WORK SATISFACTION This is not Roni’s first delivery job. He had previously worked for several years as a van driver for a stationery company. The previous job paid better, but did not give him as much satisfaction as his current job does. “Delivering flowers is like becoming an agent of delivering happiness to others. When others smile and laugh, that makes me happy too. It is gratifying to be able to successfully fulfill the intention of the sender,” said the father of three. His working hours are also flexible. Roni usually starts work at 10 am and once his deliveries are completed, he goes home and spends his time with the family. Depending on the employer, flower delivery persons are paid either daily or monthly. Roni is paid daily, according to the distance travelled for each delivery. On a regular day, he is paid between US$18 (RM80) and US$27 (RM120). ANGRY RECIPIENTS Another flower delivery person, Mohd Hafiz Jusof, 27, told Bernama that he had only encountered one odd incident in his six years delivering flowers. “I remember the incident clearly. On Dec 31, 2011, at 6.32pm, I made a delivery to Ukay Heights, Kuala Lumpur. The recipient was the wife of the sender and who refused to take the delivery. “I explained to her that it was my job to deliver the flowers. What she wanted to do with it upon receiving was up to her. She at last relented but threw the flowers out of the gate right after receiving it. I had no idea why she refused the flowers but the important thing was that I had done my job,” he shared. Hafiz said it was easy to identify a flower delivery person on the road. They would typically ride a motorcycle carrying a large box with them. In the course of doing his job, he has yet to encounter any problems with enforcement officers. In fact, he revealed, the police would often become amused and joke with him when stopped at roadblocks. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA