WBBM 780 - Chicago's #1 source for local news, traffic and weather - It?s the Thought That Counts: Happy Mother?s Day, But Less Delivered Due to High Gas Costs

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Posted: Sunday, 11 May 2008 1:41PM

It?s the Thought That Counts: Happy Mother?s Day, But Less Delivered Due to High Gas Costs

MERRILLVILLE -- With gas prices nearing $4 per gallon, northwest Indiana florists are cutting back on deliveries on the most sacred of delivery days -- Mother's Day.
Many shops have chosen to outsource some sales, while others are restricting their delivery radius this Mother's Day weekend.

To combat the high cost of fuel, Flowers by Ruffles owner Juanita Capoyianes said she was forced to restrict her delivery radius and raise the charge by $1.

"We have cut out a lot of our delivery area," Capoyianes said. "We're trying to stay mainly in Merrillville, and for Mother's Day we're only delivering in Merrillville because the prices are so high."

Capoyianes said her business gets hit hard at the pump, paying at least $70 to fill the delivery van. As an effort to save her customers gas money, she said, they may place orders online instead of stopping into the shop.

Portage Flower Shop co-owner Carol Young is outraged about the soaring gas prices.

"I don't understand why the oil companies are making billions of dollars in record profits," she said. "If the economy is so bad, and we're paying so much for gas, they shouldn't be making record profits."

Young said her company spends close to $200 per week on fuel. Her customers have complained about the high delivery charge, but she said it's out of her hands. "When you're running vans around clear from Timbuktu you've got to charge for it," she said.

Jessica's Florist in St. John had to restrict their delivery area this year, said owner Sheryl Brzozowski. They no longer deliver to Valparaiso or Chesterton.

Not only are delivery fees going up for flowers, but Jefferson Street Flowers co-owner Jeff Norris said the cost of wholesale flowers is up 7 percent compared to this time last year.

Norris said his Hammond-based company has not raised its delivery charge because it purchased a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle.

"We still have the van," he said. "But we only use that for big, big deliveries, otherwise it sits."

Merrillville Florist owner Ramona McCrovitz said she spent more than $2,500 last month on gas for the company's four delivery vans.

To cushion the cost of fuel, McCrovitz said she tried to decrease her other bills, such as electricity.

"That's part of it," she said. "You're in this business because you love it. We just have to survive any way we can.”

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