Guarantee FAIL

Ever have one of those times when you try to do something really nice and it doesn't work out because of some other entity's failure?

Today I learned that a friend was feeling down, so I found a place online that works with local florists to have them deliver a little bouquet to this person's place of work. They said they had guaranteed same-day delivery for orders received before 2:00 pm. My order was placed before 2:00 pm, and I waited to hear from this person and their excitement of flowers surprising them at work. It never happened. And finally at about 6:00 (in the timezone of the person) I get a phone call from the florist saying they didn't get a chance to deliver the flowers and would I like free upgrade and have them delivered tomorrow. No, I don't want them delivered tomorrow; if I did I wouldn't have specifically placed the order with someone guaranteeing same-day delivery. So, I tried to do something really nice, but was foiled.

Don't guarantee same-day delivery if you can't make good on that guarantee. If you're a real customer pleasing business you would have called me when you realized you weren't going to make it and offered something like: "We won't be able to do it, but we did guarantee to deliver today, would you like us to contact other florists and find someone who will be able to do something similar and arrange for that delivery on your behalf?" That would have been customer service. But no, instead I get, "We didn't do it, do you want us to do it tomorrow?"