As more service-seeking consumers let their fingers do the clicking, Tennessee has strengthened its existing deceptive telephone listings ban by widening the law to prohibit deceptive Internet practices. 

Cyndi Ecker might not go so far as to say she's glad the Midwest floods left her family's third-generation florist business sitting in up to five feet of water in Waverly, Iowa. But she will say that the forced do-over of the 65-year-old Ecker's Flowers and Greenhouses is somewhat of a blessing in disguise.

As threats of more flooding persist in the Midwest, so do efforts by those within the floral industry to reach out to those affected. Donations both floral and financial began almost as soon as the waters began exceeding their limits. Floral industry businesses are lending equipment, space and hands to customers, competitors and coworkers. Inspired by the members' natural response to help out, SAF created an online resource exchange page to streamline communication between those who need assistance and those eager to offer it.

Imagine telling your boss she's in desperate need of a makeover. Now imagine doing so on television.

Reader's Digest knows how to simplify things (condensed stories, compact departments) and its Web site wants readers to simplify their summer party festivities with the help of florists.

After a busy, last-minute order-packed Mother's Day, what florist wouldn't appreciate a nice escape? Carrie Bateman won a four-wheeled one after her aggressive Mother's Day promotions paid off with a new Ford Escape for the shop's use.

Ramiro Penaherrera is taking what marketers of breakfast cereal have always known and applying it to flowers: Get the kids begging for your product and the adults are more likely to take a bite and make a buy.

Sometimes it's OK to be a little dim — especially when your lower wattage only applies to your electrical, not mental, output. 

Blame it on casual Fridays: The Men's Dress Furnishings Association, a trade group that represented American tie and dress shirt makers for 60 years, shut its doors earlier this month. A casualty of both casual dress codes and competition from overseas manufacturers, the tie group's demise came just before Father's Day.

A newspaper ad thanking people who sent flowers to a funeral did more than just share one family's message of gratitude. It also amplified the power of flowers to celebrate a life.

Some vegetarians consider their no-meat consumption a religion. The courts, however, don't.

Join us for the 18th Annual SAFPAC Golf Tournament at the beautiful Breakers Ocean Course on Friday, September 19 during SAF Palm Beach 2008.

• "Keys to Communication" by SAF's PFCI featuring Sharon McGukin, AAF, AIFD, PFCI: July 7, 2-3 p.m. in Chicago, in conjunction with the AIFD National Symposium.
• SAF Palm Beach 2008: Sept. 17-20, 2008, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.

News about the aluminum bandits at Kitayama Brothers Greenhouses and the impact of Midwest flooding on Iowa floral businesses were E-Brief's "most-clicked" stories last week.

Our June 11 E-Brief story on the potential boom to the California wedding industry given the legalization of same-sex marriages prompted an e-mail from retail florist Erlene LeBorgne of Rosemont Floral in Portland, Maine.

Help your consumer be a "hip giver" with this customizable guide. The "Hip Giver's Guide" is a month-by-month guide to floral gift giving that offers holiday tips and advice, flowers and plants that are in style, floral research and more! The invaluable guide is sold in packs of five for only $4.95 for members. Members can also download a PDF Hip Giver's Guide.

Weddings are still a focal point on the discussion boards. One educator posted a question asking if other schools receive inquires from brides "looking to buy flowers on a low budget." She wants to know how other schools handle such requests and if students make the floral arrangements as volunteers.

Almost 55 percent of respondents to last week's e-poll feel confident they know what their insurance covers.

Have Florists Changed Vendors Due to Delivery Fees?

Source: SAF online Fuel/Gasoline survey of retail florists, 2008 Results based on 603 responses (response rate = 17 percent).

Less than one-third (27 percent) of florists have changed vendors because of increased delivery charges or fuel surcharges, according to the results of SAF's recent online Fuel/Gasoline Survey of retail florists. On the contrary, almost three-quarters of florists have remained with their vendors despite these increases.