Proof of Flower Delivery: What You Receive and When
The most common call we get after an order is dispatched is not about the flowers themselves — it is about proof. Did she actually get them? Did he open the door? Was the bouquet in good condition when it arrived? These are fair questions, especially when you are ordering from another city and cannot see the moment yourself. At Five Flowers we send a structured delivery confirmation every time, and understanding what is in that confirmation — and what it is not — saves a lot of back-and-forth.
What the Delivery Confirmation Actually Contains
When our courier hands over a bouquet, three things are recorded and sent to you almost immediately: a photograph of the moment of handover, a timestamp showing the exact minute delivery was completed, and a short text note from the courier describing the situation on the ground. These three elements arrive together as a single message to the contact you provided at checkout — usually a mobile number via messenger or SMS, depending on what works in your region. The photograph is taken by the courier at the door or at the point of handover, not before leaving the shop. This distinction matters because it shows the bouquet as the recipient actually received it, not as it looked when it was wrapped. You will see the flowers, the packaging, and typically the hands or doorstep of the recipient. The timestamp is generated automatically by our dispatch system the moment the courier marks the order complete on their device, so it reflects real delivery time rather than estimated time. The courier note is a brief, plain-language description — something like 'handed to recipient personally at the entrance' or 'left with building concierge as instructed, recipient notified.' It is not a long report, but it gives you the context the photograph alone cannot. All three pieces of information are stored in your order history if you placed the order through our website with an account, so you can return to them later without searching through messages.
Bouquets we can deliver
How Long After Handover the Confirmation Arrives
In most cases the confirmation reaches you within five to fifteen minutes of the actual handover. The courier photographs the delivery, marks the order as complete in the app, and the system sends the message automatically. There is no manual step where someone in the office reviews and approves before sending, which keeps the window short. The slight delay between handover and your receiving the message is usually down to mobile network conditions, particularly in buildings with poor indoor signal. Saint Petersburg has a number of older apartment blocks and business centres where ground-floor or basement delivery points have weak coverage, and the courier may need to step outside before the app syncs. If you have not received confirmation within thirty minutes of the estimated delivery window, that is a reasonable moment to contact us — not because something is wrong, but because it lets us check the courier's status quickly. Delays beyond thirty minutes almost always have a straightforward explanation: the recipient was not immediately available and the courier waited, or there was a queue at a building with a security desk. We do not send partial confirmations — you either receive the full set of photo, timestamp and note, or we follow up with you directly to explain what happened. One thing to be aware of: if you placed the order for a future time slot, the confirmation clock starts at the actual delivery moment, not at the time you placed the order. A bouquet of garden roses ordered at nine in the morning for a two o'clock delivery will generate its confirmation shortly after two, not at nine.
The Photograph: What It Shows and What to Look For
The handover photograph is taken with the bouquet in its final wrapped state, at the point of transfer. For most orders this means you will see the outer packaging — kraft paper, a box, or a hat box depending on what you chose — and the recipient's hands or the surface where the bouquet was placed. We do not unwrap the bouquet to photograph the stems or water tubes before handing it over, because doing so would damage the presentation. What you can reasonably assess from the photograph is whether the packaging is intact, whether the volume of the arrangement looks consistent with what you ordered, and whether the delivery location matches what you expected. If you ordered a large mixed bouquet of peonies and hydrangeas and the photograph shows a slim single-stem wrap, that is worth querying immediately. The photograph also captures lighting conditions, which can sometimes make colours look different from how they appear in the shop. Peonies photographed in a dim corridor will look darker than they are; white ranunculus under yellow artificial light can look cream. This is normal and not a sign of substitution. If you have concerns about specific varieties, the courier note will mention any substitutions made on the day — for example, if spray roses replaced standard roses because of a morning stock issue. We keep the photograph on file for fourteen days after delivery, so if you need to raise a question about condition or content, you have a clear window to do so without relying on your own screenshot.
The Courier Note: Reading It Correctly
The courier note is short by design — typically one to three sentences. Its purpose is to record the delivery circumstance, not to describe the recipient's reaction or the condition of every stem. Russian delivery culture often involves handing flowers to a concierge, a neighbour, or a family member when the intended recipient is not home, and the note will specify exactly who accepted the order. This is standard practice and not a failure of delivery. If the note reads 'handed to a woman who identified herself as the recipient's mother,' that tells you the bouquet reached the address and was accepted by someone present. Whether you are comfortable with that depends on the nature of the occasion, and if you want delivery only to the named recipient, you can specify that at checkout. The note will also flag any access issues that caused a delay, such as a locked gate, a security check-in process, or a recipient who asked the courier to wait. In some corporate buildings in Saint Petersburg, couriers must register at reception and wait for the recipient to come down, which can add ten to twenty minutes. The note records this so you understand the timeline. What the note does not contain is a florist's assessment of flower condition at the moment of delivery — that is not something a courier is trained to provide. If you want a condition check, the photograph is your primary reference. Any concerns about freshness that arise after delivery should come to us within twenty-four hours, while the flowers are still in a state we can assess from photographs you take at home.
When the Recipient Is Not Home: How Confirmation Changes
A significant share of delivery queries come from situations where the recipient was unexpectedly absent. In Russia it is common for a neighbour, building concierge, or relative to accept flowers on someone's behalf, and our couriers are trained to handle this rather than simply leave and mark a failed delivery. If the recipient is not home and no one is available to accept, the courier will call the number on the order and, if that does not connect, will call you as the sender. The confirmation you receive in this case will still include a photograph and timestamp, but the courier note will describe the alternative outcome — for example, 'recipient did not answer, bouquet left with concierge at desk, recipient notified by courier via phone.' The photograph in this scenario may show the concierge desk or the door rather than a person's hands, which is normal. If the bouquet cannot be delivered at all — an address that turns out to be incorrect, a building that will not allow entry, a recipient who refuses the order — you will receive a call from us before any final decision is made. We do not abandon a delivery without speaking to the sender first. Flowers that cannot be delivered are brought back to the shop and kept in the cold room, which holds between two and four degrees Celsius, while we resolve the situation. Delicate varieties like anemones and sweet peas are more sensitive to repeated temperature changes than robust stems like chrysanthemums or alstroemeria, so resolving a failed delivery quickly protects the quality of what you paid for.
Checking Your Confirmation Against the Order
Once you receive the confirmation, it takes about two minutes to cross-check it against what you ordered, and doing this promptly is worthwhile. Look at the timestamp first — does it fall within the delivery window you selected? If you chose a morning slot and the timestamp shows an afternoon delivery, that is a service issue and we want to know. Next look at the photograph. The packaging should match the product type you ordered: a box arrangement will arrive in a box, a hand-tied bouquet will be wrapped. If the size looks significantly smaller than expected, take a screenshot and contact us the same day. Then read the courier note for the handover detail. If you specified delivery to the recipient personally and the note shows it went to a third party, and that matters to you, raise it with us — we can document it and review whether the instruction was recorded correctly on the order. One practical tip for corporate or surprise deliveries: if you are sending flowers to an office and you want to confirm the recipient received them personally rather than through a colleague, ask us to note 'personal handover only' in the delivery instructions. This does not always guarantee it — office receptions have their own rules — but it means the courier will make the extra effort and the note will reflect whether it was achieved. For private addresses the personal handover rate is considerably higher, because most apartment buildings have no intermediary layer between the door and the resident.
How to Use Confirmation as a Record for Corporate Orders
Corporate clients ordering flowers for clients, events or staff milestones often need delivery confirmation as part of an internal record or expense process. The photo, timestamp and courier note together function as a basic delivery receipt, and for most internal purposes this is sufficient. If your accounts department or compliance process requires something more formal, contact us before placing the order rather than after — we can arrange a PDF summary of the confirmation details for orders above a certain volume, which covers the order reference, delivery address, time and photographic evidence in a single document. For recurring corporate accounts, all confirmation records are stored against your account history and can be accessed in bulk for a given date range. This is useful for quarterly reporting or for auditing a series of client gift deliveries. One thing to understand about Russian business culture when ordering flowers for a client: it is common for a personal assistant or office manager to accept flowers on behalf of a senior recipient, and this will show in the courier note. This is not a sign the flowers did not reach the right person — it is simply how many Saint Petersburg offices operate, and the recipient will typically be informed immediately by their assistant. If the flowers are going to a private home address for a business occasion, the confirmation works exactly as it does for personal orders: photograph, timestamp, note, delivered to you within fifteen minutes of handover.
Delivery confirmation at Five Flowers is not an afterthought — it is a structured record built into every order. The photograph shows condition and packaging at the moment of handover, the timestamp is generated automatically so it cannot be adjusted, and the courier note fills in the circumstance that a photograph cannot capture on its own. You receive all three within fifteen minutes of delivery in most cases, and the record stays accessible in your order history for two weeks. If anything in the confirmation does not match what you ordered, the same day is the right time to contact us — flowers are perishable, and so is the window in which we can assess and act on a quality concern. We deliver bouquets across Russia in 1–2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can I request that the courier photograph the bouquet unwrapped before handing it over?
We do not unwrap bouquets at the door as standard, because it damages the presentation the recipient sees. If you need to verify specific varieties — say, that the order contains garden roses rather than spray roses — add this request in the order notes and we will photograph the open arrangement at the shop before dispatch, not at the door.
What happens if my confirmation message never arrives?
Check your spam folder and confirm the mobile number on your order is correct. If you still have nothing thirty minutes after the delivery window closed, call us directly. The most common cause is a network sync delay when the courier was in a building with poor signal. We can resend the confirmation manually from the order record within minutes.
Does the recipient see the same confirmation I receive?
No. The delivery confirmation goes only to the sender — the person who placed and paid for the order. The recipient receives the flowers and whatever card message you included. If you want the recipient to have a record of the delivery time, you can forward your confirmation to them yourself after you receive it.
How long is the delivery photograph stored?
We keep the handover photograph on file for fourteen days after delivery. After that it is removed from active storage. If you think you may need it for a dispute, a corporate record or any other reason, download or screenshot it within that window. For corporate accounts with a formal agreement we can extend storage on request.
If the courier leaves the bouquet with a concierge, is that considered a completed delivery?
Yes, in most cases. Russian building concierges routinely accept deliveries on behalf of residents, and this is a recognised handover point. The courier note will name who accepted the order. If you want delivery only to the named recipient and no one else, specify this clearly in the order instructions — we will do our best to honour it, though some buildings make this difficult.
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