Portlands Florist

How can you tell that a florist is a good one?
my thoughts
1) you will find a vast collection of flowers
2) Prearranged flower bouquets with lovely colours
3) Price is fair
4) the quality of help you can get for matching a nice flower arrangement
well, these points are things you can hardly find in this place!
over a course of three months, I have been purchasing flowers from Portlands Florist, and notice how much money I am spending on flowers– a total waste of money.
I started getting my bouquet from M&S and found it beat every expensive arrangement I got from Portland’s Florist.
my mother (who doesn’t live in London) came to visit and notice this small flower shop a stone away from flat, she went in and asked about a price of one of the bouquets (made of 6 flowers), she was told it is £45– her spontaneous reaction was ‘isn’t expensive?‘
and the florist launched her rage at my mum, screaming and telling her that this is not supermarket flowers!
of course there is no way we are going back to this florist
a. supermarket flowers are absolutely fine and do the job
b. if you have a habit of filling your flat with flowers, this is not going to work at these prices
c. the woman there has shown no good manners towards customers. she was constantly on the phone and when she attends to your request you end up with a less than impressive flower arrangement.