On Wednesday afternoon (1 December), an email from Ryan at NetFlorist raised concerns on Twitter, with many users questioning whether the mail was legitimate or a scam.
The email in question was addressed to users who supposedly hadn’t ordered again from NetFlorist following their first order. Its subject line read “Is everything okay?”.
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“I thought I’d follow up to see how your experience went with us, but when I logged in onto our backend, I noticed that you hadn’t given us another try just yet,” the email said.
It offered users an hour-long deal — order something, and if you’re not happy with it, the company will pay for it.
“Tell you what, I have such faith in my team and in my company that I’ll pay for your order. If you’re not happy with what we deliver — from both a general or product perspective, give my team a call, let me know what went wrong (this kind of feedback is very important to me) and I’ll pay for it, in full, no catch!”.
The email told users to log into their profile. It said that credit was available in the checkout process or on the user’s profile.
It also included a password reset link, as well as links to suggested products.
Multiple Twitter users posted screenshots of the email on social media and mentioned the “weird” email.
Anyone else get a very weird Netflorist email?
— Simon (@simon_orgill) December 1, 2021
I need netflorist to actually disappear pic.twitter.com/KTUZLlUd0u
— pia (@pippajane_) December 1, 2021
Er. Who told @NetFlorist this was a good idea? Ew. pic.twitter.com/4XQB7HOeVO
— Fully-vaxxed Kylo Ren and 72 others (@SawyerBean21) December 1, 2021
Others also questioned whether it was a scam — especially due to the limited-time offer and the password reset prompt. Password reset links often appear in scam emails.
NetFlorist confirms Ryan email came from them
On Thursday morning, 2 December, the company confirmed that the email came from the company’s Managing Director Ryan Bacher.
“That was totally us! Our MD, Ryan, enjoys connecting with people, getting feedback & making sure we’re always on our toes,” the company posted in a few replies on social media.
Hey 'bud'! You were probably thinking "What in 'carnation' is going on here?" That was totally us! Our MD, Ryan, enjoys connecting with people, getting feedback & making sure we’re always on our toes
— Netflorist (@NetFlorist) December 2, 2021
However, even though concerns about a breach of the company’s mailing list by a scammer have been put at ease — there’s another issue that has arisen.
Many of those posting about the mail said that they have repeatedly tried to unsubscribe from NetFlorist’s mailing list. According to South Africa’s Protection of Private Information (POPI) Act, companies need to comply with these requests.
I cannot believe I unsubscribed from netflorist around the time POPIA was coming into play and RYAN STILL HAD THE AUDACITY TO EMAIL ME.
— kirti is fully vaccinated (@kirti_unbound) December 1, 2021
I won't lie, it's been a really tough week so far. And the fact that @NetFlorist has chosen this week to start emailing me again, more than a year after I mailed, tweeted, pleaded, cajoled, and even got them on air with @wendyknowler to explain why they wouldn't unsubscribe me…
— Pippa Hudson (@pjchudson) December 2, 2021
For users who have tried to unsubscribe and still receive emails from the company, it is possible to report the issue to the Information Regulator of South Africa.
Residents of South Africa can lodge complaints via email using the address POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za. The Information Regulator states that you should lodge a complaint “should you feel that your personal information has been violated”.
If you would like to simply block the emails from your inbox, you can do so in your email client.
In Gmail, select the three dots to the right of the email and select the “Block” option. This will automatically send all emails from that address to your spam folder.
However, this does not prevent a company from using a different email address to contact you.
Read more: Department of Health wants South Africans to sign up to be ‘Vax Champs’
Feature image: Justin Morgan/Unsplash
