Staying rooted
All About Flowers perseveres through trials of pandemic
Opening its doors in 1995, All About Flowers has been one of the longest running Main Street businesses in downtown El Dorado. And in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, owner Rexayn Tribble and her team are working hard to keep it that way.
“El Dorado is my home, it is my town. I care about the people. So continuing to serve this community means a lot to me,” she said.
The love Tribble has for the El Dorado community comes through as she expresses her appreciation for her customers and other community members.
“Customers have continued to support us and I can’t thank them enough,” Tribble stated.
As many businesses both local and larger scramble to make ends meet during the pandemic, the purchasing power of community members is more important than ever before.
This is also essential because during the pandemic, in an effort to social distance, people are utilizing more corporate online flower services that outsource their orders to numerous businesses and don’t give them all the profit even though these shops are doing all the work, Tribble said. And at a time where businesses need to maximize their profit margins, having
customers order directly from them is what’s allowing All About Flowers to keep its doors open.
All About Flowers has been able to stay afloat in part due to their business model. The majority of its orders are placed on the shop’s website or by phone, Tribble said. Then they deliver the order without having to come in direct contact with the customer.
“I can manage my business with zero contact. You call on the phone, you place the order. We take your credit card. We deliver. We sit your order on your front porch. We notify you that your order has been delivered; all of this with zero contact,” Tribble explained.
Even though All About Flowers is still having success and no layoffs have been needed, there has still been an economic impact on the business. Because large social gatherings are discouraged, or sometimes even banned, some of the events the shop would normally service are not happening.
“Where we have gotten hammered are in events. Weddings, graduations, dance recitals. Those were huge business opportunities for us to invest in other seasonal high times like Christmas and Valentines. But because of the virus those events are now gone,” Tribble said.
To help make up for this loss in revenue, she has applied for small business grants, including one through Main Street America, an organization geared towards helping small businesses across the country.
But even in the midst of uncertainty and trying times, Tribble has taken comfort in the acts of kindness of local community members and groups, she said.
She shared how the
College Avenue Church of Christ gave her a call and put in a request that warmed her heart and contributed to her belief that El Dorado will get through these hard times.
“They handpicked so many members of their congregation and had us make bud vases and the pastor and some of the elders came. They picked up the flowers and delivered them with a note of encouragement,” Tribble said.
It is this type of generosity, the supportive spirit of the El Dorado community, that Tribble believes will continue to allow All About Flowers and other neighboring businesses to flourish.