What should I ask about a florist’s delivery drivers and routes?
Ask whether the drivers are employees, contractors or the owner’s family, and who owns the vehicles. Then ask how routes are planned, what happens on the busiest days and how missed or late deliveries are handled. Delivery is often where a florist’s reputation is made or lost.
Begin with the people. Find out who drives today, how long each has been there, how they are paid and whether any of them would stay under a new owner. A florist that leans on one reliable driver is exposed if that person leaves.
Next, the vehicles. Ask who owns them, whether they carry the right insurance and how they have been maintained. If the vans belong to the owner personally or to a driver, find out whether they are part of the sale. Your lawyer can confirm the rules on drivers and commercial vehicles.
Then look at the routes. Ask for a few weeks of delivery records, including the busiest holiday days, and see how drivers cope. Ask how the florist handles late deliveries, damaged arrangements and refunds, and whether complaints cluster around certain areas or times. Last, check what delivery costs. Fuel, wages and repairs should show up in the books; ask how the florist prices delivery and whether customers pay for it.
Key takeaways
- Find out whether drivers are staff, contractors or family, and who stays.
- Confirm who owns and insures the delivery vehicles.
- Review delivery records from the busiest days, not only quiet ones.
- Ask how late, damaged or missed deliveries are handled and refunded.
Related reading
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Buying
Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 03Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to reduce employee turnover
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