We receive a fair number of questions about our shipping practices, and I thought it might be helpful to know why we do what we do. Like all protocols here, our shipping processes came from guidance from the Angels and Elementals to help us solve problems we were having.

Our basic process for problem solving is this: When something is not working well, we have a group meeting in which us humans discuss the problem and then meditate to ask for guidance about how to solve the problem. In a jam, I will do this alone, but it is much more fun and productive to do this as a group. When we problem solve as a group, it is awesome to witness how different staff receive different pieces of information with all the ideas dovetailing together to move us forward in how we do things.

When we have a new staff person, there are quite a lot of different protocols in place that have sprung from us taking the problems we encountered to the Angels and Elementals to solve in these meetings.

For example, at this point we close out the day with four clipboards/notebooks with which we double cross off each package. We call this our end of day cross check and to someone new here it must look like we are seriously gilding the lily – but there REALLY ARE GOOD REASONS WE CROSS CHECK LIKE THIS!

Like the time I sent an entire set to the wrong person……

Staff Goddess Sam Heaton with the four sheets for check off.

In regards to the packing and shipping of your orders, we specifically look to and lean on our shipping Angel Nathan who has helped us with creating all our shipping systems (INCLUDING THE END OF DAY CROSS CHECK). Nathan also protects all the packages energetically on their way to you.

THANK YOU NATHAN!

So here are some of the questions we get from you all frequently-

QUESTION: Why do you send priority mail instead of the less expensive first class mail?

MY THOUGHTS: While Nathan and his crew energetically protect our Flower Essences on their way to you, it is still energetically better for the Flower Essences to get from the farm to you as swiftly as possible. Our experience with first class mail is that the timeframe for delivery is wildly variable , while priority mail is consistently much faster.

QUESTION: Why do you package your Flower Essences in so many layers of boxes?

MY THOUGHTS: Yes, I know it can feel like breaking into Fort Knox when you open a package from us! But shipping problems led us to this wrap job! Basically, we pack each bottle in its own colored box then in USPS boxes to prevent the Essences from being broken on the way to you and also to help Nathan with his protective efforts.

This week one of you sent us samples of packaging materials used by another FE company which wraps its 1/4^th ounce bottles in a sort of napkin material. I salute the simplicity of this packaging and I am truly glad it is working for this company. Perhaps because this company’s bottles are half the size of our ½ ounce bottles, they are less likely to break than our bottles. In our experience, wrapping 1/2 oz. bottles of our Flower Essences in napkins doesn’t get it done.

From the beginning we have had cardboard boxes for ½ ounce bottles to protect them (and also help you keep them organized in your home), but the boxes for 2 oz. bottles are new in the last year. The reason we finally got organized to have these 2 ounce bottle boxes made is because of breakages from 2 oz. bottles wrapped in cardboard. No matter how we padded these 2 oz. bottles wrapped in cardboard, we had breakages. Now that we are using these 2 oz. bottle boxes, this problem has stopped. (WHEW!)

This does not mean we never have any shipping problems. Take for example the mystery of this box. This was the correct address and the person was home, yet the box was returned to us. Hmmmmmm.

COMMENT: Your shipping costs are more than many mail order companies.

MY THOUGHTS: If you are in my generation, you may remember that when you filled out the info for your high school yearbook, you were asked what your pet peeve was. I really hated that phrase “pet peeve” though, of course, I poured over my yearbook to see what everyone said was their pet peeve. Little did I know as an adult (?) I would sink to the most boring of pet peeves: shipping cost hidden in the price of the purchased item.

Yes, hiding our shipping costs in the cost of the Flower Essences WOULD mean we could offer a low shipping fee, AND I am sure this would end this whole discussion about shipping costs, but I seem to be determined to have our shipping costs reflect the actual cost of shipping EVEN WHEN IT ANNOYS PEOPLE! Sorry! Had to get this off my chest!

Now I will help with the end of day cross check then go out to the garden and battle the black flies ( pet peeve #2).

Staff Goddess Emily Malnati with some of the day’s packages.