Teamwork, a gas generator, flashlights and improvisation kept Karin's Florist in Vienna, Va., up and running and on the road after some unusually severe weather hit the area recently.   

Designers worked by candlelight and brides didn't let a few lightening bolts keep them from coming in for consultations, says James Gregory, who handles IT support and customer service for the shop.

A series of intense thunderstorms spawned at least two tornados and took out power for thousands of homes and businesses across Northern Virginia and the Washington, D.C. area in early June. "They were calling for storms on Wednesday, but we weren't expecting what happened," says Gregory.

Having wrangled with power outages before, Gregory says they keep a gas-operated generator in a storage shed outside. Gregory's laptop served as the main computer, but could only be used "with what ever battery life it had." Designers worked by flashlights and candles, relying on limited light from windows or venturing outside when possible.

The shop routed incoming orders through the "FTD Flowers All Hours" phone service but had to stop taking orders during the two-day outage. Drivers made all deliveries, dodging downed trees, and dealt with out-of-commission streetlights.

The power failure and bad weather didn't stop Karin's customers, especially those with big days on the horizon. "We had brides coming in to do consultations in the dark," Gregory says. Instead of the cozy confines of the suddenly pitch-black bridal area, designers used an upstairs office with lots of windows.

The power was back on by early Thursday morning, only to disappear again by lunch. The whole Karin's Florist team really pulled together and no one complained about the low-tech and high-temperature conditions or the power company's sense of timing. The shop's power was restored 15 minutes before closing.

"This happens all the time in the summer, so we have got this routine down pat," Gregory says. The routine has gotten some reinforcements since the early June storm. An electrician has come in and set up a new system that keeps the phones and computers on, despite major grid outages.  "The next time, the things that count for customers will still work," says Linda Kasulis, one of the designers who consulted the determined brides.

But technology hasn't trumped good old-fashioned preparation. Gregory says he's already restocked the register's flashlight and candle supply.

Two weeks later and two days before E-brief relied on its own storm-tested Internet connection to arrive in your inbox, (Karin's Florist and SAF share a weather system and an electric company), another batch of wicked weather felled trees and power lines.

"The light's flickered and we all took our positions, grabbing flashlights," Kasulis says. "But, they stayed on — this time."

--Amanda Long and Morgan Schimminger
along@safnow.org, mschimminger@safnow.org

 

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