In July 1992, a prospect called me with a special request. She asked if I could find 100 rose-shaped chocolates wrapped in foil. It was to be given to the bridal party and friends at her wedding.

I was still new to the gift basket business and had never been asked to search for a special product. Not wanting to turn away a potential sale, I agreed and began the hunt.

Two hours and 70 miles later, I hadn’t found the chocolates, but she had. Her gleeful telephone call to me once I returned to my office, exhausted, revealed that a retail store located 20 minutes east of my location sold such confections.

All I had to do, according to her, was to go to the store, buy it, and hold it until she was ready to buy it from me -- at the retail price!

The bulb in my head suddenly went from dim to bright. This arrangement was not working in my favor, and it was time to bow out. How could a person not realize that reselling an item at the exact retail price was not acceptable, especially after I used my car and time to search for and buy the item, then store it in my personal refrigerator during the hot, summer months?

When my blood pressure returned to normal, I called the prospect and told her the truth: "Unfortunately, I don’t have adequate storage space for the chocolates. I hope that another company can assist you, and please consider Sweet Survival if you will be giving thank you gift baskets after the wedding."

Here are some questions that you may have asked yourself while reading this, followed by the corresponding answers:

Q. Why didn’t the prospect buy the chocolates when she was at the store?

A. Because it's better to delegate the project, especially when the prospect thinks it will cost her no extra money for my services.

Q. Why did the prospect think that she could repurchase the chocolates at the retail price?

A. My assumption is that she had no concept of markup. My need to make money is not her concern.

Q. Are we allowed to store products in our personal refrigerators?

A. I’ve never done this and caution you against it. This dilemma is one reason why all of us shy away from any service regulated by the local board of health. It is also similar to using one checking account for both business and personal expenses; it is against the law.

Q. Why say "yes" to the prospect when you know that heat and chocolates don’t mix?

A. I was young, naive, and eager to please in July 1992. Forgive me.

There’s a fine line in our industry between being a gift basket designer and becoming a personal shopper. We want to please the customer by keeping a fair amount of all-occasion products in our inventory, but there are times when we receive a request for something special. Instead of saying "no," we search for an alternative within the inventory, but that doesn’t always work.

If customers are frequently requesting non-inventoried items, perhaps it's best to consider providing a service where you search for and purchase such items as needed. Interested? Here’s what you may be thinking.

1. No. I don’t have it, won’t buy it, can’t do it. I’m the sole employee, and there’s no time to run the streets looking for products such as a nose ring or satanic Bible. There’s no obligation to provide special services. Many designers don’t.

2. Becoming a personal shopper is a possibility. After all, my customers don’t have time to shop. They’re busy and are better off placing the gift-giving tasks in my expert hands. I’m willing to try.

If you chose No. 1, you’re not alone. Many designers cannot provide this time-consuming service at any price. If No. 2 is a consideration, how far will you go to provide this service, and what will you charge? Begin making a list of the special services you believe will benefit customers and gain you a handsome profit. In Part 2, I’ll provide some ideas and the estimated costs to charge for each.

Offering special services may not work for you. On the other hand, it might increase your net profit by 20 percent or more as compared to last year’s revenue.

Click here to read Part 2

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