Running a flower shop might appear romantic from the outside: beautiful bouquets, thoughtful gestures and special occasions. But according to Marisabelle Zahra Bonnici, the reality of delivering those flowers has become increasingly complex.

“Running a small business in Malta means wearing many hats,” she tells WhosWho.mt. “Florist, designer, customer service - and often delivery driver as well.”

Ms Bonnici runs The Malta Florist, a family business based in Sliema, with greenhouses in Rabat and Għargħur where much of the shop’s stock is grown.

“We grow most of our flowers ourselves,” she explains. “Our shop is in Sliema, but the greenhouses are in Rabat and Għargħur, so even before deliveries begin there is already a lot of movement involved.”

Over the years, she says, simply getting flowers from the shop to customers has become one of the biggest operational challenges.

“Traffic has increased enormously and parking has become extremely difficult, especially in Sliema,” she says. “If you cannot find a place to stop for a few minutes, you risk a fine. Then there are fuel costs, vehicle wear and tear, and the time lost sitting in traffic.”

Yet despite these pressures, customers often expect deliveries to be free - or question why delivery fees have increased.

“Deliveries are not simply a box appearing at someone’s door,” Ms Bonnici says. “There is time, planning, logistics, traffic, parking challenges and real human effort behind every single one.”

Recently, a particular delivery highlighted just how complicated the process can become.

“A delivery was originally booked for 7pm sharp,” she recalls. “We accepted the order and planned to deliver it after closing the shop.”

However, just before the scheduled time, the customer called to change the arrangement.

“At 6:45pm we received a call saying they had just realised they would not be home until 11pm, and asked if we could instead deliver the next morning before 8:30am,” Ms Bonnici says.

By that point, the bouquet had already been prepared.

“Honestly, if the bouquet wasn’t already ready, I probably would not have accepted the request,” she says. “Delivering before 8:30am means doing it before the shop even opens, so the business owner has to make the delivery personally.”

To accommodate the change, she arrived early the next morning.

“I went at 7:30am to make sure the flowers would arrive before the requested time,” she explains.

But the situation quickly became more complicated.

“The recipient refused to open the door because 7:30am was ‘too early’,” Ms Bonnici says. “She insisted the delivery had to be exactly 8:30am, and no later because at 8:30 she leaves for work.”

Moments like these, she says, highlight how much flexibility small businesses already provide.

“Small businesses work incredibly hard to accommodate last-minute changes and special requests,” Bonnici says. “Often this means adjusting schedules, starting work earlier than usual and going the extra mile to make sure someone receives their flowers on time.”

To manage deliveries, the shop has experimented with several third-party courier services, but the costs have often been difficult to justify.

“A few years ago we stopped working with a popular last-mile delivery service because they were asking €25 for a delivery from Sliema to Mellieħa,” she says. “How can I justify that to a client who has a budget of €40 for flowers?”

Today the business sometimes uses Wolt’s courier service, though even that can be expensive.

“From Sliema to Sliema it’s €8.50 with a motorbike,” Ms Bonnici says. “We charge clients €6 for delivery and absorb the rest ourselves.”

Even when deliveries go smoothly, another risk remains: damage during transport.

“On Valentine’s Day we had to replace five bouquets because they arrived damaged,” she says.

And when something goes wrong, customers rarely blame the courier.

“If flowers arrive damaged, no one calls the courier - they call us,” Ms Bonnici says. “We always send a fresh bouquet, but that means we lose money because we have to make a second bouquet and organise a second delivery.”

For Ms Bonnici, the issue is not about complaints but about perspective.

“All we ask for is a little understanding and respect for the people behind the business,” she says.

“The next time you order a delivery, remember that someone is doing their best behind the scenes to make it happen.”