Why are you taking photographs

of all those orders"? enquired the little voice from inside the shop. The voice belonged to a young girl having a browse at some soft toys, while I was taking photographs of all the orders I had made up ready for the drivers to grab and head off out to deliver. 

To some, this girl would have been dismissed as one of those "inquisitive children" (I hear Mums and Dads say to their own kids so often to "stop asking questions and let the lady (that's me) get on with her work". I find this sad because if kids don't ask the questions then they will always wonder (and never learn) so first off let me say that I am more than happy for them to ask, and if I am able to answer then I will do; and answer this little girl I could. 

I photograph absolutely everything that is going out to be delivered.  It started a long time ago when we sent some flowers to a funeral; there was a lot of trouble among the family and as it turned out the item we had sent was (bigger) better than most of the other tributes there (these others hadn't been made by us). A particular family member took exception to her having paid more for her tribute which ended up smaller than the one we made, and when nobody was looking she swapped the card from her tribute, with the one on the tribute we had made. Now, aside from the tributes being different sizes, they were also different colours, so when our customer got to the funeral and found a small orange tribute with her card on, and a large pinky shaded tribute (which is what she had ordered) with the other family members name on, she was not happy (and nor would I have been if I had been her). I knew that I had made what the customer had asked me for, but I had no proof at the time. I did ask her to go back to where the flowers were so I could phone her once she was there as I could remember the flowers I'd used in the tribute and wanted to talk her through them while she was stood looking at them, but she was so upset and angry she demanded her money back and vowed never to use us again. 

This to me was so upsetting; I hate the thought that a customer believed I had let her down for a start, but also as a small business in these economic times we couldn't afford to go around making up tributes which we then ended up paying for ourselves. After that day I made sure I make a point of writing down every single flower that goes into any order (whether it be for a funeral, birthday or a *just because*) and then I photograph the flowers too. This way if anyone was to try it on (and sadly there are many, many, many people that will try it on, and tell me we delivered the wrong flowers/colours or that the flowers were dead when they arrived) I am able to show them the photograph (backed up by the list of flowers I have) as proof that I have made what they have asked for; and that the flowers were very much alive too when delivered. Yes I know it's a very sad world we live in when we have to do things like this, but sadly there are (as always) the few that ruin things for the many. 

I hope I answered the little girls question well?