After being rejected by four businesses, I was devastated and frustrated. I promised myself that the next business I visited would be my last for the day, as I had a heavy backpack on my shoulders and had been walking around for 40 minutes. I looked around and searched for a business that seemed like it would be owned by someone nice and willing to answer some questions. A flower shop caught my eye, and I walked towards it as if I was under some spell. After all, someone who owns a flower shop can’t not be nice, right?
I opened the door to the flower shop, accompanied by little tinkles from the wind chimes attached to the door. I was greeted by a woman trimming some flowers, who I timidly asked for an interview. She quickly said yes, and I let out a sigh of relief. Laughing, she asked why I sounded so worn down and I explained to her about my previous failures. Surprised, she encouraged me and good-humoredly criticized the businesses that had rejected me, saying “Why is it so hard to answer some questions? They must be VERY busy people.”
Parsons Flowers
It turned out that the woman, Ji-hyun Lee, was not the owner of the flower shop but had worked there long enough to establish a close relationship with the owner and grow an attachment to the business. She informed me that although the flower shop had been in the neighborhood for over 10 years, the current owner had been in charge of it for the last 7 years. The current owner, Ji-hyun said, had been an employee in the flower shop and when the then-owner decided to sell the shop and move to another state, she bought the flower shop and continues to operate it today.
The biggest change for the flower shop has been the types of customers. Before, when Flushing had more Koreans than Chinese, the majority of the customers had been Koreans. Now, as there are more Chinese businesses coming in as well as more Chinese residents, a majority of the customers are Chinese. Another big portion of customers are regulars – they come in for new plants, soil, nutritions, and just to say hi and inquire about their plant problems.
As I also live in Flushing, I expected Ji-hyun to have a lot of complaints about the area, and as I predicted, she was full of dissatisfaction with the area. The biggest thing was the rent – “The rent is too high – and we can’t say anything about it because this location is such a great location for both customers and for us. If we say anything about the rent, the landlord just tells us to get out.” In addition, she mentioned that these days, the water bill was coming out to an outrageous amount – “Yes, we’re a flower shop and we definitely use more water than your regular business. However, the increase in the water bill happened after the landlord changed how the water we use is measured. We’ve been talking to the landlord about this because it just doesn’t make sense – we use the same amount of water as we did before but the price climbed up to unbelievable heights. My boss is contacting lawyers about this now and I hope we find a solution soon.”
Although Ji-hyun had many complaints about the location, she also appreciated how convenient it was for customers to visit. The part of Flushing the flower shop is located is a residential area, and it is very easy to walk right up to the flower shop and enter. There are many people that walk by during the day, so the business always has customers. In addition, there is a nursing home right next door to the flower shop, which brings additional customers – “Many people come in and buy flowers for their family in the nursing home, and many times the nursing home asks us to prepare flowers for an event.”
When I asked what the secret was to the flower shop surviving today, Ji-hyun told me that the location had a big portion. In addition, she said that “American florists don’t pay much attention to the wrapping. However, we take a lot of care to make sure that the flowers are wrapped up beautifully and that the wrapping paper is complimentary to the flowers.” For the biggest obstacle the flower shop is facing, Ji-hyun said that there are many customers that make ridiculous requests, “Although it is something the flower shop can’t do anything about, some customers throw a fit when something is not to their liking.”
When I asked if she wanted to change anything about the business, Ji-hyun laughed and pretended to become the owner of the flower shop. “If I can change anything, I would change the layout of the building – the previous owner made weird renovations and it’s really dangerous for the people who work here – we have the entrance to the basement right behind the counter so we have to make sure not to fall in every time we come behind. Also, the building itself is really old – last year, we had a problem with the McDonald’s next door because of rats. We couldn’t figure out where they kept coming from – there are too many holes and cracks in this building.
As I wrapped up the interview, it felt more like two friends talking rather than a straight-forward interview. Both Ji-hyun and I were laughing while complaining about living in Flushing, and I cheerfully left after the interview, my four rejections forgotten about. I promised Ji-hyun to come in later to buy a cactus, which I had wanted to grow for months now, and she promised to teach me how to take care of it so that it wouldn’t die like it’s less fortunate counterparts that had been under my care before.
