Customer Complaint....sorta. (Long & Funny)
Business By whimsette Updated 22 Dec 2006 , 11:36pm by keriskreations
oh my goodnes! I would have been sweating bullets on this one! The chance that a cake could do this is rare, unless there was a filling needed to be refridgerated (like a custard) and it sat out for a long time, it's more likely it would be the food they served.
I'm glad it has worked out for you but I can't help but wonder the damage done to your reputation.
ABSURD! Can't you take legal action against the family because of your harmed reputation?
I dont know about other states but here in CA you cant take legal action unless there is proof of the MOB harming her reputation (emails, someone willing to give a deposition) As great as legal action sounds it is also a very sticky thing when it comes to a reputation.
Has all the correspondence regarding this matter been in the form of e-mails? If that is the case, I hope that you kept copies of each message, received and sent, just in case your next potential customer is a friend of a guest at that wedding.
Theresa 
Maybe I just have a suspicious mind because no one else has asked this question. But, yes, she sent you a fax showing she made a $700.00 donation in your name. Was the fax from the Food Bank or from her? I would call the food bank and ask if a donation had been made in my name by such and such. I'd want to know if they actually received a monetary donation from this woman. They may not be willing to say who made the donation or the amount, but I think they could disclose if a donation had been made in your name. I'd be willing to bet she made that up to appease you. It wouldn't be enough for me, if she has made these accusations about you to people who may impact your future sales and reputation.
ShirleyW
You make a very good point about the receipt. Come to think of it, a note card or letter is usually sent from the charity to the person the donation is honoring.
Maybe she should check it out to see if it's valid.
Theresa
i just hope she spreads the word that it wasn't you who made the cake as fast as I'm sure she said it was! Glad it worked out for you!!
Can you believe the cheek of that daughter?!?! And the mother's no better either.'oops, my mistake' Isn't gonna cover up what happened. I think you should contact her and 'politely' ask if she could clear up the misunderstanding with the guest who were poisoned. It's the least she could do after all that hullaballu.
cake is pretty low risk for food poisining...
what i'm wondering if the food servers hands weren't washed properly that could have made people sick.
on the news here a few months ago...people got deathly ill from a mcdonalds where the food handler didn't was thier hands properly after using the bathroom....fecal matter was in the ice bin...so people got sick after drinking thier soda.
This is a spam email. This lady never ordered a cake from anyone. I've had two along these lines in the last few months. They always start with vague statements about the cake you made them and asking for their money back for no subtantiated reason. Then as you question them further, particularly asking about dates etc. they slip and and have to admit that you didn't do their cake.
I think they're opportunist scammers who try and get a refund out of you in panic. The first one I had really upset me, I replied several times to them and each time their lies became more elaborate until they said they'd faxed me and I'd replied - I don't have a fax.
I actually emailed the last one saying I knew they were spammers trying a con trick and that I would report them if they persisted. In their last email to me they said they'd got the wrong cake decorator after all and gave me the web-site address of the person who made their cake - which didn't exist when I checked them out.
So, it's just a scam. They must go through small business emails and email a few. Maybe very busy businesses just refund, I don't know - but it's rubbish and if you get any future complaints along these lines I'd tell them you're on to them and point out how low their actions are - it certainly stopped the problems I'd been having.
Maybe I just have a suspicious mind because no one else has asked this question. But, yes, she sent you a fax showing she made a $700.00 donation in your name. Was the fax from the Food Bank or from her?
You're not the only one who was suspicious. My jaded side got the best of me and I did a little sleuthing yesterday afternoon.
I called the food bank and explained that I may be a victim of fraud and if they could verify that funds were donated in my name. That checked out.
The bride & groom's wedding announcement appeared in the local papers in 2 cities recently (yay Google!), so there was a wedding. The names of the parents were printed. Mary's name appeared as did the "LAWYER" father of the groom. That all checked out.
I'm pretty confident that nothing sinister is going on now and am just concerned about how to handle damage control with these guests.
Ideally, I'd love to see OhMyGoodies suggestion of a public apology and confession. I doubt that'd ever happen, though.
I really love Risque's idea (thanks!) and am looking at ways to incorporate that into a way to bring this all to closure.
Wow, thank goodness it wasn't a scam like Emmacakes mention.
Okay whimsette, the FOB is a lawyer huh! Hmmmmm, then MOB should really, really know better!
I think I really would seek a professional opinion because once upon a time I was the victim of a very cruel slander case. It took one lawyer and one cop to stop all the cracks and leeks!
I've been dealing with this for the last week and wanted to share the outcome. File this under your "It Takes All Kinds" log, kids.
....
This morning, I had an email from Mary.
Dear Whimsette, Please accept my apologies for putting you through undue stress and worry. As you had suspected you were not the baker of Jane & John's cake though Jane has insisted you were. Jane and John admitted they took the money we offered them to pay for your cake and purchased from a lesser expensive baker without telling us. Little devils!!! What's a mom to do?
As a peace offering Jane, John, and our families have made a donation to (local food bank) in your name. The receipt is coming to your fax number. Merry Christmas, Mary.
The fax did arrive and they made a $700 donation to the food bank in my name.
Let this be a lesson to you all: keep meticulous records, get all the details when dealing with a possible bad situation, and don't work in November and December!
(my emotions as I read through this initial story ...)
And now I'm out of breath. Wow! This is a very good lesson for all of us to learn about keeping meticulous records. I think the Bride's Mother was incredibly gratious in a) admitting her mistake, and b) going above and beyond in her apology for donating such a sizeable sum of $$ to a local charity. It really does take a big person to admit when they're wrong. (And I have to admit I didn't see THAT result coming!!!).
I would suggest you make her something small, just for her and her husband, as a way to thank her for her kindness and thoughtfulness. That way, she can tell people later (which I suspect she will anyway) that it WAS NOT you or your business that provided the suspect wedding cake, AND that you have an excellent product. I think the unexpected turn she gave by making the donation deserves recognition and this sort of unexpected turn would be nice.
But, I would wait just a few days .... if they've been incredibly ill from the potentially bad wedding cake, they might not want to have any sweets for a while!!!
Hooray for you! Obviously, you're a class act!
Happy Baking,
Odessa
No matter WHO'S cake it was, they would have to PROVE it was mycake and not something else that made them sick........ also proof that ANYONE was sickat all....... How many were at the wedding, and did they ALL eat cake and got sick ? Something VERY wrong here........ You cannot just DEMAND money from someone without PROOF that something was wrong........
Well if this happened to me I would be so upset. I know I would have written her back and said her daughter should be thrown in jail for making up such lies!
Also, I don't care how much was sent to the food bank in your name. How does that help you? It only gives her a tax write off. How do you know she doesn't give to them all the time?
I would call her and tell her your "Lawyer" daughter has been trying to get you to sue her for the harmful things she has caused your business.
I'm sure there are 300 people who has heard your business caused them to be sick.
Plus there are 300 people who ate the cheepy cake thinking that was your work.
What she did was wrong and she should not get away with "Oh what's a mother to do" email.
I would NEVER want her or her type to buy from me anyway so I would not kiss up to her. She has already done the damage to your business by her daughters lies and her rude emails as well as bad mouthing you to everyone.
LMAO about the idea of the bride being sick on her honeymoon--HAH!
Brat!
I hope you're right, but my cynical side is thinking that if you were scamming people like this why not go through the local paper and pose as the real Mum of a real wedding? You might strike it lucky and contact the cake decorator who did the cake and get cash for complaining. I still think it's a scam, so much of it doesn't ring true and the tone of the emails is so like the ones I've been getting; I wish I'd kept them to post but I was so upset I just wanted them deleted forever.
I just have to say that I am impressed with how professionally you handled yourself. Like emmascakes though, I'm suspicious that it's a scam. If you could find the info on Google, so could anyone else. It's sad to say, but there are a lot of sick people out there with WAY too much time on their hands. I guess the only way to know for sure would be to look up their address by other means (not by the number they gave you) and show up on their doorstep with a small cake to thank them for their honesty.
If it really was the Mom, can you blame her? Who here, that's a Mom wouldn't totally go after someone that you thought had interfered with your daughter's wedding day being perfect?? She was going on what she believed to be good information. I'm sure admitting that she was wrong and had been lied to was incredibly embarrassing and humiliating. Sheer discomfort probably made her come off as making the apology lightly. Besides, it's hard to say very much when your foot is so far into your mouth. LOL
Again, kudos to you for keeping it professional and courteous. THAT alone says volumes about you and your confidence in the quality of your product.
Wow I can't believe that! You did a very good job of handeling the situation! Sorry for all the stress it caused you, but you did a great job!
Oh wow, I couldn't believe my eyes while reading what happened to you! I'm glad it turn out to your favor and hope this lady can do something to fix your reputation.... I figure, if she had extra $700 to donate in your name, she can send out little notes to her guests and explain the situation to clear your name. Also, the add/article on the paper is not a bad idea. Good luck to you and hope everything is OK.
A suggestion:
My health inspector told me it would be a good idea to keep a small amount of cake (scraps) and icing in a small plastic bag in my freezer. So for each cake, put a piece in date/ label who's cake it was, and keep it for a month.
Then, if you have problems, you whip it out and prove it wasn't you.
Just a suggestion.
Wow, I'd have been just about ready to burst out of my skin if that happened to me.
My health inspector told me it would be a good idea to keep a small amount of cake (scraps) and icing in a small plastic bag in my freezer. So for each cake, put a piece in date/ label who's cake it was, and keep it for a month.
Great idea... because then you only ever have a few of these in the freezer at a time. I will be filing that one away!
I hope you're right, but my cynical side is thinking that if you were scamming people like this why not go through the local paper and pose as the real Mum of a real wedding? You might strike it lucky and contact the cake decorator who did the cake and get cash for complaining. I still think it's a scam, so much of it doesn't ring true and the tone of the emails is so like the ones I've been getting; I wish I'd kept them to post but I was so upset I just wanted them deleted forever.
She said she called the food bank and that the money WAS donated in her name, why would a scam artist do that????
This was clearly NOT a scam, but in fact real.
A suggestion:
My health inspector told me it would be a good idea to keep a small amount of cake (scraps) and icing in a small plastic bag in my freezer. So for each cake, put a piece in date/ label who's cake it was, and keep it for a month.
Then, if you have problems, you whip it out and prove it wasn't you.
Just a suggestion.
That's a very intriguing idea. 
And as for the rest. . .let's not have this thread locked over a dispute regarding whether or not our fellow CC'r was object of a scam. . .
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%