If I could rate my experience differently, I would rate it a zero. I had a huge order, left them with simple color swatches & sent picture examples & more specifics in an email. If there was any confusion, or even any doubt that my specific color choices could not be achieved, I should have been notified immediately as I allowed plenty of time prior to my event to make adjustments. The large cupcake was handed over to my friend, who was gracious enough to pick it up for me, in a wide short-sided box and as a result tipped over in transport. It wasn't horrible, we could have fixed it. However, the color was a rich purple instead of a softer steel blue. I called the bakery to see what could be done as the 75 mini cupcakes were done in the wrong color too. When speaking to to staff, I got the run around and the blame. First it was the designer didn't have enough time to play with the color. Then the excuse was we (me) picked it up too late and the color gets darker as time goes on. We were not late in picking up our order and I placed my order nearly two weeks in advance. I originally set the time for 3:00 then moved it up to 12:00 pm, 3 days before that incase we ran into issues.....as it turned out, we DID have issues. We returned to the bakery to have them fix the color. On the way there the cupcakes tipped again, now my sister as the driver. This time the huge cupcake's frosting was really a mess.
The owner knew we were coming and did not deal with us once we arrived. She went to the backroom. She had a young lady attempt to help us. She however basically said we "destroyed" the cupcake, in her words, and "There's was no way it could tip over". I also showed them the original color swatches that I had left with them to see the difference in colors. She even had the nerve to ask me if I understood the difference in frosting between the cookies & cupcakes. Um, really?
I'm an owner of a small business and would never have one of my team members knowingly deal with an unhappy customer when I am present. The owner did not make herself known until she dropped off the cake to the party venue. Even then, I had to ask if she was the owner having seen her back at the bakery earlier. Her husband drove her. When I asked how did they accomplish the task without it tipping over again. Her response was, "Well, you have to drive like you have a cake in the car"! Really? I guess it was her way of saying both my friend and my sister are terrible drivers. Here's a Newsflash, it tipped over when my husband drove it home after the party. She insisted it couldn't tip over, with dowels inserted in the bottom half of the cake. I cut the cake open... it doesn't take a genius or an engineer to figure out the dowels should not have been inserted so closely together but rather equal distance apart so as to balance the top heavy structure of the cake. Too, the dowels were not inserted at the same length leaving 2 shorter, two longer. There was no balance and therefore it tipped easily. So here's a thought, treat customers like we're are not idiots and I, for one, speak the truth! I didn't get mean or nasty or make a snarky retort when the owner said "You have to drive like there's a cake in the car". I say, Own your mistakes, make it right, learn from it and move on. I never once heard a sorry, we could have done this better, gotten the color right, made the goods easier to transport or even a discount. I only heard what we did wrong! The owner should have dealt with us from the start!!! It was clear she didn't even want to discuss it with me when she delivered the corrected goods to us later.
By the way, my friend who originally picked up the goods didn't realize the colors were wrong. She would have notified me instantly. She did however say after the whole fiasco went down that she was glad she held back the fact that there was a hair on the cake that her son had to picked off. She even suggested I stop payment on the card charged. I could never do that but it sure was a good option.
My sister drove all the way from Indiana with baked goods that were packaged correctly and did not suffer the same fate as the goods from this local bakery. How about coming up with better processes rather than better excuses!
Big fail by the owner, on this one. The venue knows of our experience, about 50 of my customers (all women, btw) know about it already. We all are aware how influential customer feedback can impact future business! read more