Maya Pottiger
Galford Has Owned Suzanne's Florist In Pasadena For 28 Years
Suzanne Galford found what she wanted to do early on in life, and she has stuck with it for the past 50 years.
In 1990, Galford opened Suzanne’s Florist on Mountain Road. At the beginning, it was she and her sister-in-law who ran the store. Since then, Galford has hired six employees.
Galford has owned her store in Pasadena for 28 years, and her first holiday at the store was Valentine’s Day.
However, she started in the flower business long before opening her own store.
When Galford was 15, her friend’s mother worked at a florists, and the owner personally trained Galford. “She gave me a book and said, ‘Here, make this,’” Galford said. “Apparently I could figure out the depth and the height; I didn’t take any classes.”
Galford earned a two-year scholarship to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where she studied psychology. But when the two years of her scholarship were up, Galford decided not to continue working toward her degree.
“I just did the two years and I was still working, and I thought, ‘Why am I continuing this when I would really rather do that?’” Galford said. “I know I’ve always liked it and everything else was second to it.”
However, Galford does have her American Institute of Floral Design certification. It gives her a step up, she said, and requires a lot of knowledge ranging from flowers to customer service.
Though she didn’t earn her degree, Galford said she still applies what she learned in her psychology classes to her flower business.
“When somebody leaves here or gets off the phone, they have trust in me to do what is in their head. There’s where the psychology comes in,” Galford said. “I pick their brain and kind of get an idea of what they really want.”
Customer service and satisfaction are things Galford takes very seriously.
She photographs every arrangement before it goes out and keeps a record of every flower that goes into each arrangement. Galford also examines every arrangement before it leaves the store to ensure it’s up to the standards her customers expect.
Over the last 50 years, Galford said she has received only a handful of complaints and no one’s ever been “super disappointed.”
“If it’s a good day and everyone’s liked everything, that always makes me feel good,” Galford said. “There’s always going to be a glitch somewhere, and I agonize over it until it’s straightened out.”
If she hadn’t found her niche, Galford said she has no idea what else she would be doing. She feels lucky to have found her calling so early.
“You get to use the whole box of crayons. That’s how I try to look at it,” Galford said. “I know that my business makes people happy and helps people that are sad.”
Riviera Beach
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