BRIGHTON - Local florist Leanne’s Pretty Petals wants the world to know that they’re not who you think they are.
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Located in Brighton, Leanne’s Pretty Petals was recently mistaken for LeAnn’s Local Petals, a shop in Kentucky that has faced criticism for allegedly mishandling the firing of an employee according to a TikTok video. Due to the confusion, Leanne’s Pretty Petals in Brighton has seen an influx of negative comments and reviews. Owner Leanne Muenstermann asks community members to speak up to clear up the confusion and improve their ratings.
“With all this that’s been going on, the people that have reached out to me has just been very humbling,” Muenstermann said. “It makes me cry to think about it, how they’ve all come out and said, ‘You don’t deserve this, and we support you, and we’re glad that you’re here.’ It’s just been really humbling, and I’m grateful for them.”
Muenstermann began work at Brad’s Brighton Floral in 2001. When Brad retired, he sold the shop to Muenstermann and it reopened as Leanne’s Pretty Petals in 2014.
Despite being located in a smaller town, the floral shop has flourished. Muenstermann credited the Riverbend community for making her shop a success.
“Brighton is a very supportive community,” she said. “A lot of flower shops that are in small towns, they can’t make it, especially in a small town as small as Brighton. They can’t make it because they just don’t have the support and the amount of people like in the big cities to keep them going. So I’m very grateful that the community here supports me. They always tell me, people always come and say, ‘We’re so glad you’re here.’”
As a full-service flower shop, Muenstermann specializes in sympathy arrangements, but she does her share of weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and more. She was recently inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers, which has a membership of only 1,500 worldwide.
Her husband, who she jokingly calls the CEO, will deliver flowers to communities throughout the region, including Medora, Jerseyville, Alton, Wood River and beyond. Their other two employees — two cats, who they call the “Walmart greeters” of the business — don’t contribute much, but bring smiles to everyone who visits.
In a series of Facebook posts, Muenstermann clarified that the shop does not have any other employees. She also asked the community to leave positive reviews on Google and the business’s Facebook page. In the past week, the shop’s reviews have tanked due to the confusion, which Muenstermann said has the potential to really hurt her business.
She explained that people who send arrangements from out-of-state will often look at these reviews when choosing a florist, and other florists will only recommend floral shops with positive reviews. She also said that Google flagged the influx of recent reviews as spam, deleting both positive and negative reviews from her business profile.
“You can go from really good to really bad really quick if you have something like this going on,” she said. “It’s just been a big mess.”
Muenstermann noted that the floral industry is challenging right now, as all small businesses are struggling and flowers are a “luxury” when many people are prioritizing needs. But Leanne’s Pretty Petals is still happy to serve the Riverbend region in any way they can. She encourages people to reach out for their floral needs and support Leanne’s Pretty Petals when possible.
“It’s a tough business right now,” she shared. “But with the community support, we’ll keep trucking and hanging in there.”
For more information about Leanne’s Pretty Petals, visit their official website at BrightonILFlowerShop.com or their official Facebook page.
