Trump supporters review-bomb B.C. floral shop by accident

A small business owner from B.C.’s Fraser Valley is speaking out after being review-bombed by confused supporters of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump this week.

Keri McKinley told CTV News she was stunned to see a series of negative ratings for her Abbotsford floral shop, Everbloom Designs, appearing on Facebook and Google over recent days.

She also received some very irate private messages.

“Some of it I can’t repeat, honestly,” McKinley said. “I didn’t really understand at first what was happening.”

It didn’t take long to connect the dots.

As it turns out, the owner of another floral shop in Tennessee – the similarly named Everbloom Design, singular – had riled up Trump supporters by announcing she would no longer welcome them in her business.

“I need to create a safe place for me, my staff, and my family,” the owner reportedly said, in a social media video that has since been deleted.

As a result, the online reviews for McKinley’s Everbloom Designs now range from “A lovely store making beautiful floral arrangements” to “The owner is a hateful and pathetic human being.”

Particularly upsetting to McKinley are the multiple reviews that suggest she “discriminates” against her clientele.

“That’s not me,” she said. “We serve everyone, happily.”

In the days since the owner of Memphis-based Everbloom Design set off Trump supporters, McKinley said she has already noticed a decline in sales – during what is a crucial time of year for many small businesses.

If potential customers search for a shop and find “anything questionable, they move onto a different business that provides a similar service,” she said.

The florist has been fighting back against the reviews to the best of her ability, including by contesting them through Google, but much of it is out of her hands.

“I can’t afford to be losing customers,” McKinley said. “I just want everyone to know that … I’m really happy to be doing what I’m doing, and I’d like to continue.”

For anyone who would like to support her, McKinley also noted that her shop sells more than flowers, with a variety of locally made products from other small businesses in the region.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kraig Krause