I mad this cake the other day for a customer http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1051983
I thought it was really cute, But I got this email from her tonight....
Stacey,
I was under the impression that this cake would be
homemade, not a Betty Crocker cake with pretty icing
on top. I am very disappointed that I spent $30 for a
cake that I could have gotten at a bakery for a little
bit more but with a good cake.
When you said you could make 3 flavors I was under the
impression that you had recipes for those 3 flavors.
I do not like boxed cake, therefore I did not like the
flavor of this cake, plus the cake was not WHITE as I
requested, but it was YELLOW.
What the heck is going on here?
OK so I did not make this cake from a box and i thought it tasted really good as i always taste the bits i cut off just to make sure everything is fine, As i am sure most of you do....
I just couldn't believe this She only payed $30!!!!!!!!!!
Also i knew from the moment she started email me this would be a problem women i should have listened to my gut..When she turned up and got the cake she looked all mad about something even my husband made a comment as soon as she left about the way she acted...So i knew this email was coming...OK now i have vented i wanted to know how many other people have had customers like this?
Oh and she actually had to buy her own birthday cake, I think that says it all about her.....
Wow, that cake is so cute. I can't believe that she didn't even mention how much work went into it. Just another lesson in how to deal with people - have to take the bad with the good.
OUCH!!! That really hurt when my mouth dropped open and got rug-burn on my chin!
A betty crocker with some pretty icing on top?????? Is she freakin' nuts????
Whenever I come across a thread like this, I like to look at the photo first to see if I can figure out what lame complaint the customer is going to have. I was amazed at your detail .... the clothes on the floor, the wet puddles on the floormat, the bar of soap hap-hazardly resting on the tub's edge. I gave up and went to the thread to see what part of it she didn't like. I was never so shocked in my life to find out she didn't like any of it!!
Man, I'd be SO booked next time she calls for something. She's a moron!
interesting, same thing going on here with me.... and my girl has gotten another baker involved.... some people are just rude.. and plan to be that way from the beginning... I was accused of using regular fondant and not mmf like I said I was going to use.... now do you think I would PAY for real fondant and not sub mmf if i could.... I don't think so... chin up lady... I am floating in your boat too... lets just wade on out of this thing together... and rise above it!
Cake is wonderful.... so adorable ... the details are phenomenol. She obviously didn't deserve it.... Sounds like she was looking to find fault from the get go. Some people are just miserable and like to spread it around.... Don't ever bake for her again. IMHO that is...
Some people don't know what real cake tastes like. Your cake is amazing! I'd tell her to *bite me*.
I know it's rude, but I just couldn't believe what I was reading. I've heard of people that are not happy unless they are unhappy. She might just be one of them.
The cake was over and above what she should have expected for $30.
I think the cake is really cute! You did a great job with the details- I love the bath tub and the bubbles. Just curious, what did she say she wanted it to look like? It sounds like she had her mind made up that she wasn't going to be happy with it as soon as she picked it up.
Anyway, no more cake for her! Did you send her a reply?
Stacey,
I agree with everyone else, your cake is beautiful and its quite evident that you put alot of attention to detail.
However, for whatever reason she felt she got a box cake mix, she did recognize the decoration was "Pretty" You do not mention if the cake had 3 flavors or just 3 colors.
I'm sorry I don't mean to rain on your parade. I know lots of times people take out their frustrations on the wrong people and it does seem to be the case this time as well, but the lesson to be learned in my humble opionion is to make sure the customer understands exactly what they are getting. 99% of our customers are so happy to see us that we are dumbfounded when 1 is not.
Wow, how unbelievably rude.
Just for the sake of never having to deal with her again I would be just as rude back.
Dear Miss Pissypants,
Considering you were not present when the actual cake was baked you have no way of knowing it was a boxed cake, which by the way it is NOT.
Please try to find a bakery that will make this cake for $30 and let me know when you DON'T so I can laugh in your face.
Hope you had a nice birthday.
Sincerely (not) Yours,
Stacey
from the sound of it she did NOT deserve such a pretty and well thought out cake!
you did an AMAZING job....dont let her pee in your Cheerios...you made a beautiful cake..she just is a poor sport with a bad attitude
I love this cake and I'm in awe that you made it for ONLY $30! Are you nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't care if it were a box mix or not. You way under cut yourself. Don't do that again.
As far as the lady. Tell her sorry but she must not know the taste of a good homemade cake because that is what she got.
I would love to know where she could get a great looking cake like that for a "little bit over $30." No wonder she had to buy her own cake. I wouldn't buy someone so rude a cake either.
Oh well, you KNOW your cake was great and there will always be those people that no matter how hard you try you can't please them. So don't let her bother you.
Just write back saying you are sorry but the cake was NOT a box mix and you are sorry she didn't like it.
Then let it go.
My response would be
"Dear birthday girl,
I bake from scratch, no cake mixes here. Sorry your palate is no where near refined enough to recognise this. I'm sorry you feel you were ripped off for $30, but to be brutally honest, my skills are worth more than that.
I feel it's wise for you to find another cake maker, perhaps someone who thrives on ball busting customers.
have a wonderful day "
But then again.... I'm a grumpy sleep deprived mad woman today....
That woman is crazy!!!!! Unless that cake tasted like dog poo I would be thrilled to have that for my birthday. I wouldn't care that it came from a box, in fact I don't think I would even eat it! I would want to sit it on my kitchen island for the next six months.
Some people are just never happy. I don't think you could have pleased her at all. If you made it from scratch it would have been to dry for her.
Ignore her and DO NOT give her any money back! She got a steal by only paying $30 in the first place.
I'm with JoanneK. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar and this lady is definitely a fly!!
Here is what I would write:
I'm so sorry that you did not like the taste of your birthday cake. That must have been very disappointing. I take a lot of care to bake from scratch, and while I like the taste of my cakes, I realize that everyone may not share my opinion. Once again, I am sorry you were disappointed.
(And then the next time she calls, tell her you're booked and give her the opportunity to find a cake as beautiful as yours for the same price!)
There is only so much we can do as bakers. We provide the best product that we can and hope that others agree. Some people are determined to be unhappy with whatever we may try to do. And I, for one, think your cake is awesome!
for a start those dolls are about 8" so it was a decent size cake, No way would I even contemplate that cake for $35.00 (converted aussie value) even if they supplied the doll, Me personally I would've charged $80.00 easy here.
stick by your guns.!! and tell her your sorry you didnt charge her more.
Stacey,
I know you personally. We took cake decorating classes together. SOO that nobody jumps on me for saying this...
30 bucks?! What's up with that? Now that I've had time to think about that nutty lady, I think I'm more upset with you for charging so cheaply. I'm only saying it because I know you are better than that!
She got an awesome cake for cheap and scratch at that. I use doctored mixes and I still would have charged her 80 for it.
Don't you let her get you down girl. We will all face a customer like this one day. It's good that you shared this so that we can learn how others have dealt with this kind of customer and can learn to get over it. She's nuts, that's all there is to it. Keep baking!
ya know...I've never met a cake I didn't like....lol. The cake is fantastic....you got skills girl...you need to charge more for them. She had probably made up her mind that she wasn't going to like it before she even saw it. I've come to the conclusion that some people just like to create drama because they have nothing else in life...she sounds like one of those people. I like the letter amysue wrote...send her the nice email, don't give her a refund and move on. Next time...trust your instincts. It's amazing how they will give you a feeling about what's going to happen. Next time she wants a cake she can pay someone else out her nose for something as nice as that one.
..."but the lesson to be learned in my humble opionion is to make sure the customer understands exactly what they are getting"....
This sure doesn't sound like a case of the customer not understanding what they were getting.
I never discuss my "recipes" with my customers. It's none of their business how I arrive at the cake flavor they want. Sometimes my cakes start as a mix, sometimes not. The only way I would discuss ingredients is if there was an allergy or health issue or if the customer specifically stated they didn't like either box mixes or homemade...which I've never had happen.
The woman sounds like a nut. If it were me, I wouldn't even bother with a response. She got a bargain to start with...a lot cheaper than I would have done that cake for!
I mad this cake the other day for a customer http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1051983
I thought it was really cute, But I got this email from her tonight....
Stacey,
I was under the impression that this cake would be
homemade, not a Betty Crocker cake with pretty icing
on top. I am very disappointed that I spent $30 for a
cake that I could have gotten at a bakery for a little
bit more but with a good cake.
When you said you could make 3 flavors I was under the
impression that you had recipes for those 3 flavors.
I do not like boxed cake, therefore I did not like the
flavor of this cake, plus the cake was not WHITE as I
requested, but it was YELLOW.
What the heck is going on here?
OK so I did not make this cake from a box and i thought it tasted really good as i always taste the bits i cut off just to make sure everything is fine, As i am sure most of you do....
I just couldn't believe this She only payed $30!!!!!!!!!!
Also i knew from the moment she started email me this would be a problem women i should have listened to my gut..When she turned up and got the cake she looked all mad about something even my husband made a comment as soon as she left about the way she acted...So i knew this email was coming...OK now i have vented i wanted to know how many other people have had customers like this?
Oh and she actually had to buy her own birthday cake, I think that says it all about her.....
How did the subject of the "box cake mix" come up?
I guess it wasn't her taste but that was a very low price
Some people you can't please. Next time follow your gut feeling.
seems to me she got a bargain. people just don't realize just how much time and effort it takes to do 3D cakes. i would put it past me and move on...chalk this up as a learning experience.
I know what was wrong with the cake... You didn't add lemons.
All those years of eating lemons for breakfast destroyed her palette.
I looked at your cake and it looked incredible and only $30.
I bought a cake from a bakery a while ago it was sponge filled and decorated in cream. Shell border on the top and the bottom and writting on the top. $80Au. Very simple lovely but expensive. I did know exactly what I was getting. That's when I took up cake decorating.
Water off a ducks back I say.
Just add her name to your "Don't bake for these people" book.
Keep adding all those wonderful pictures for amateurs like me to learn from.
Veronica
Down under
Agggghhhh. She is an old c...w MOOOO! You are the "cake expert" here and she obviously has not taste. Ignore her and if she continues harassing her tell that you cakes are made with a lot of attention and love and that you don't appreciate her attitude. She was undercharged and that in future you will not take any orders from her again!
The cakes you bake speak for itself and people like that will not influence your sales. They might talk behind you back but most people don't listen to negative people like that because they are negative above everything!
Love your cake!!!!
The wench said the bakery would have charged more ~ and there's your first clue that you wayyyyy under-charged her. If it had been at least $60 she would have thought it was the greatest cake on earth, and bragged to all her friends about her delicious, expensive, but VERY COOL cake!
Instead she's probably showing around photos and saying it was delicious, very cool, and cheaper than the bakery (that obviously hasn't satisfied her either). Get ready for orders off that cake, but tell the next people that call that you cut her a big discount because...um...um.... well you'll think of something!
I am sorry I must be pmsing cause I really disagree with you all when I seen what you would email her
Cause I would of said
Hey Lady
KISS MY A$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(sorry )
Copy all these comments and send them to her!
HERE HERE I agree hehehe
Stacey, your cake is way too cute. I have loved all the "spa" cakes on CC. I can't believe the bad manners from some people. I agree with the above posters-it doesn't matter if it was Betty Crocker or Aunt Carol's recipe, she got a HUGE bargain either way. DO NOT let her get you down. I would submit a very simple response one time only and not talk with her again. She obviously is having a very bad week.
Do you live in Ohio? Your customer sounds just like my aunt!
It's sad, but there's no pleasing this kind of person, so whatever you e-mail back to her, she won't be happy. It seems they're only happy when they are complaining. She probably ordered her own birthday cake so she could complain that she had to order her own birthday cake! My aunt is throwing herself her own birthday party, because no one else wants to, and complaining the whole time! (You can imagine how thrilled everyone is to go to THAT party!) Thank goodness I don't live in Ohio, because I'd have to think up a reason not to do the cake!!
Anyway, I would definitely be "booked" the next time she calls - because even though she was SO mad about the cake, she'll call again. She can't get a cake anywhere else that looks that nice and is that inexpensive!
Your customer sounds like my mother. She lives in a small town and has a fight with every sngle merchant in town. She can't get through the day without fighting with someone who as "wronged" her, and if nobody does her wrong she picks a fight with a server in a restaurant. You're better off just leaving her alone and not doing business with her again, otherwise you might end up with a battle and her talking sh** about you all over town.
She had problems when she picked it up so shake it off and go on. The cake is great! I like what you did with a "bit of pretty icing on top". If I don't make my cake I don't have one, even after my sis moved near me again fter 21 years being in CA. I feel for the woman having to get her own. I don't think any wife or mom should have to do that. Great job on your cake!!
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