Couple's excellent performance puts them in the driving seat at NetFlorist

Johannesburg, 2 December, 2009 – Taking receipt of a bouquet or gift from a NetFlorist driver will bring a smile to most people's faces, but being on the giving end of this transaction proved to be a lifesaver for Chris Mapson and Zelda Harris. Both lost their jobs when their company closed down. After a year of taking on temporary work while looking for permanent employment, the couple finally found jobs as drivers for NetFlorist. Due to their excellent performance the two have worked their way up the ranks and they will soon be heading up NetFlorist's new hub in Pretoria from the beginning of December.

Although the driving jobs were a step down from their previous positions as sales consultants, Mapson and Harris decided to make the most of their situation and came to love their new occupation, especially because they no longer had to collect money from clients. "I call myself the love angel – my deliveries bring joy to people's lives and comfort where there's sorrow," Mapson said. "Besides," added Harris, "Many CEOs started at the bottom of the food chain."

The couple's motto of delivering at all costs has led them into some amusing situations. Mapson arrived at a house one day and found that the recipient was out. The sender of the gift he was delivering gave him permission to jump the wall and leave the flowers in the garage. Harris once arrived at a maternity ward to make a delivery, only to find that the recipient had been discharged. Some sleuthing led her to the new mother's home, who she was dumbstruck to discover was a woman in her 60s. As a result of the couple's belief in being polite to those they deal with and in making them feel happy and important, as well as their determination to improve their delivery times, NetFlorist and the two themselves have received compliments from customers and recipients of the company's products.

Both Harris and Mapson are ecstatic about their imminent promotion to manageress and assistant manager of the Pretoria hub. They believe that the keys to success in the delivery business are loving one's job, staying motivated and treating the business as one's own. Their advice to those who have lost their jobs is to stay positive, never to give up and to remember that every cloud has a silver lining. They are a living testament to these words, which may sound hollow coming from anyone who has not lost their job to the economic downturn.

Explaining why NetFlorist decided to open another hub, CEO Ryan Bacher said, "We see Pretoria as a tremendous growth area for the company and the city is part of NetFlorist's national growth strategy." For this reason the company has decided to fulfil its orders there in-house to ensure that it makes good on the promise to deliver flowers and gifts on time and in perfect condition. "We are in the business of delivering emotions and there is no room for error in that arena," Bacher said. "We are confident that we will deliver timely, high-quality service to all our existing and new customers in Pretoria."

Celia Lopes, Operations Manager for NetFlorist, is impressed by how Harris and Mapson's commitment and zest have raised the bar for the company's other drivers. "Our drivers have risen to the challenge, resulting in greater efficiency and fewer complaints," Lopes said. "From what I've seen, I'm confident that the couple have what it takes to run the hub smoothly and effectively and I wish them success and tonnes of deliveries!"

/ends.