I enter the flower shop as two women are at work behind the counter, one trimming stems and one filling out papers.
ME: Excuse me. I bought some flowers here yesterday and I thought it was weird that a dye came off them that I couldn’t wash off for almost a full day. My hands stayed pink for several hours.
WOMAN 1: HUGE SIGH! Some of them have dye on them! (eye roll to woman 2)
WOMAN 2: TSK! I get dye on me all the time! Every day I get dye from the flowers on my hands.
ME: I know they’re dyed but shouldn’t it wash off easily? I thought maybe…
WOMAN 1: You can tell which ones are dyed, can’t you? Just don’t buy those ones then. (mutual eye rolls between women, conveying their belief that they are experiencing the biggest waste of time with the stupidest customer that ever lived)
ME: OK, I just thought that if people complained that the dye was a problem. I mean, it got on my clothes too and….
WOMAN 2: EVERY DAY I get dye from the flowers on me! It gets everywhere! TSK!
ME: Gotcha. Live and learn, eh? (I skitter away, silently vowing I will never, ever buy flowers from that shop again.)
Let me ask you: even if flowers have obviously been dyed, should a customer expect that dye to be semi-permanent and to stay on their hands for the full evening following putting said flowers into a vase? I think not! And I think it warrants a gentle complaint. Perhaps if that complaint went back up the flower food chain to whomever has decided that this process is a good one, it might eventually inspire some changes. I, for one, would rather have slightly duller flowers and a lot less pink on my hands. But according to the reaction I received, I’m an idiot!