Giving Up Cake Decorating?

Decorating By dolcebaci Updated 9 Dec 2008 , 5:51am by xstitcher

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dolcebaci Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 4:14am
post #1 of 48

It was bound to happen I got my first negitive feed back on a cake I made. But the feed back came 3 days after the event! I am debating to hang up my bowls and maybe say cake decorating is not for me.

I got the information via eamil and I am not sure if this was just a bad customer or what could it be? I have yet to reply I would like to offer her a make-up cake but I wanted to get some feed back for the pros out here.

As I said out of 100 cakes this is the first that when "bad" ...HELP

47 replies
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confectionaryperfection Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 4:17am
post #2 of 48

dont be so hard on yourself. sometimes people complain just to complain. i had a women one time, told me there was no filling in the cake. i was at the party and she pulled me aside to tell me this and that she wasnt going to pay me. ha! i went to the cake, cut it and showed her am inch thick of canoli filling. she gave me a check and i never took an order from her again.

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TexasSugar Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 4:25am
post #3 of 48

What was the feedback?

I wouldn't quit because of one person out of 100. Everyone has their own opinions, their right to them, but it doesn't mean they are always right.

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lifonahil Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 5:29am
post #4 of 48

What was her complaint?

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dolcebaci Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:20pm
post #5 of 48

claims the cake was not what up to "her standards" that it looked like a 5 year old could have done a better job.

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sillyjodes Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:30pm
post #6 of 48

Wow, that was harsh. I have a 4 yo, who will be 5 in april. All she can do is squeeze icing out of the bag and into her mouth! Really, that was just rude of the customer. If she'd just said, "Not up to her standards," then, I'd say it was an honest complaint. However, saying a 5 yo could do better is just mean. It sounds like she would be hard to please. Your pic are great. I think you should reread your signature line.

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cakelass Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:33pm
post #7 of 48

Dolcebaci please don't give up. Everyone is different. I have a feeling they are one of those customers that complain in hope that they get some sort of freebie or discount.
If you have made up to 100 and no complaints then there is your answer your work is fine. Not everyone is going to like it all the time and to give it up for 1%- NO WAY!!!!
I would email her back and ask her exactly what her standard was and what she was expecting and then take it from there before offering anything. Also this way you have future reference if there was something wrong.

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katgal Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:36pm
post #8 of 48

I took a look at your photos, and your cakes look great! Don't sweat it!

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cakedout Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:38pm
post #9 of 48

{{hugs}} sorry you have to deal with this, but I think we've all been there...several times! I know I have!

We all have cakes that don't come out as well as we had envisioned, or measure up to what the customer is expecting. Nonetheless, I'm sure the customer certainly got a better cake than what could be found at the local Wal-Mart....so just go ahead and have your pity party-only 1 hour allowed icon_wink.gif then just chalk it up and move on.

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Wildrose6633 Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:41pm
post #10 of 48

Excuse me but no 5 year old could even in their wildest dreams have made any cake look even close to what you can do. Persoanlly I don't think she wants to pay and this is how she thinks she will get around it. Stand your ground you do wonderful work. She's the one needing glasses.

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stephaniescakenj Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:41pm
post #11 of 48

Unless your customer was Colette Peters, Ron Ben-Israel, the Queen of England (I could go on icon_biggrin.gif ) than this person has unrealistic standards. Your cakes are beautiful! If she picked it up and had no complaints, I'm perplexed. Usually people that are always out for a discount, make a complaint almost right away, like you would have heard from her as soon as the party was over. I would respond something to the effect of, "I appreciate you bringing your concerns to my attention and apologize that the cake was not what you expected, I pride myself on the quality of my cakes. If you had a concern, I wish you would have brought it to my attention at pickup so I could have rectified the situation. However, after the fact, there is nothing I can do to make amends...blah blah blah" IF and a big if, you would like this person to order from you again, I would suggest a discount on a future cake otherwise, forget about her and keep making cakes! You do great work!

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kaat Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:42pm
post #12 of 48

Don't give up!
I think in this case it has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with her! I know it's tough when someone criticizes our babies but try to Remember the 99% of satisfied customers and chalk it up to a learning experience!

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dlinnane Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:42pm
post #13 of 48

Just looked at your photos. People who do your caliber of work would never turn out anything bad enough to deserve such criticism. It's very important that you not let her turn you away from what you do so very well. Her problems are not yours. Keep up the beautiful work!

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newmansmom2004 Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:47pm
post #14 of 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by dolcebaci

claims the cake was not what up to "her standards" that it looked like a 5 year old could have done a better job.




I'd tell the ungrateful sweatbeast that if she knows a 5 year old who can make sugar flowers and do stringwork like you do then she should hire the 5 year old next time. Your work is terrific and the woman's a loon icon_eek.gif - don't let her get to you!

JR

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dakjack Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 8:49pm
post #15 of 48

I looked at some of your photos and they certainly don't look like a 5 year old did them. Keep on cakin'!

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mmdiez10 Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:01pm
post #16 of 48

Don't give up. I looked at your work and the cakes are beautiful. You will never please everyone. Just remember all the happy faces of the customers who were pleased and that will cloud the one negative review. Your charity work involving breast cancer research is too important to allow some insensitive person to distract you. Go eat some marshmallow fondant and smile!

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angelatx Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:05pm
post #17 of 48

you have to be having a bad day or maybe other things going on wrong dolce, cuz for someone with your talent to quit cuz of one customer is CRAZY! i am kidding of course, i don't believe you to be crazy, but come on! look at your work, it is so beautiful. geez if i could make cakes like you i would be in Cake Heaven daily( and making some serious money, i give my stuff away only to family and friends). so i would completely ignore what she said and deal with it how your heart tells you to. if you choose to not do anything, so be it, cuz it sounds to me like their is no cake that would satisfy that queen of sheba, so offering discounts in the future i wouldn't do or you might have to deal with it again. BUT DON'T QUIT cuz of one idiot. *sighs* no joke dolce, don't quit! you are really good. well i have put in my two cents for whatever its worth. goodluck and don't let others idiocy dictate how you live your life. Have a great day everyone!! (i don't usually get so worked up, but geez your that GOOD) icon_biggrin.gificon_biggrin.gif

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superstar Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:18pm
post #18 of 48

You're joking...right! Your cakes are lovely, which cake is she referring to as I can't see one that would warrant a complaint of any kind.

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higginspeg Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:20pm
post #19 of 48

This is going to be fun! My MIL has a friend who complains about everythng. She is so good at making people miserable, she's wound up getting things free or paying next to nothing just so she'd leave the poor customer service people alone. This is a very true story. The poor woman even looks like she complains about everything.

On that note, it takes all kinds to make the world go around. I haven't read the other posts, but I gather that she was pretty detailed in her message to you about what she thought was wrong with your work. I haven't seen your work and so I can keep an open mind about this. I also don't have a business yet baking cakes to sell so I'll be talking from a different standpoint that most people.

What I would do if I were in this situation (planning ahead) is to ask her to give you examples (by providing pictures) of people in your area who do the same kind of work you do (make her work for it here) so that you have an opportunity to compare your work with theirs. Also ask for pictures of the cake from the event (so you can see if something happened after delivery/pick up, etc ). Once you have the examples of other work and your work next to it, see how your quality compares and decide from there if YOU feel YOU met her expectations.

Now, if there isn't anyone else in your area who does this type of work to the quality that you do it, you will know because you'll have proof and can pat yourself on the back for that, and you win, and nothing further needs to be done.

If she proves that there is someone else who gives better quality, you know that you are going to have to practice more to compete with them. In this instance, you have an opportunity to offer a discount on her next cake (a percentage not a specific dollar amount), or a refund of that same % on the cake you made for her that she is not happy with (but it's your choice, don't let her choose between the two).

An unhappy customer tells more people about it than one who is happy and we all know the customer isn't always right, and it takes all kinds to make the world go around.

I have worked in a customer service field for many years. I owned my own transcription business and worked with office managers and doctors who thought they were better and knew more than I did. You learn to smile through your clinched teeth. Let them eat cake will take on a whole new meaning for you.

I don't know anything about you or your work, but my gut tells me that you are serious, dedicated, creative and very driven. It's up to you whether or not you let them take that away from you. Just because people say something, doesn't make it true unless you believe it to be, and you have 99 other people who have never said anything about being unhappy.

And, if you want to be catty about the whole thing, if you offer the % off her next order, you can always be too busy for a while to make a cake for her until you feel like it would be okay. Now if she comes back that time with a problem, you'll know she has a bigger problem than your cakes. At that point, you don't have to try to make it better for her, you can have the satisfaction of not taking orders from her any more. and you can tell her that you think, since she is so disappointed, it would just be best if she used someone else from now on.

Life is too short to play by someone else's rules. At 44, I am finally learning that. I hope this is helpful to you. (I also hope I remember it when it's my turn.) icon_biggrin.gif

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hilly Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:41pm
post #20 of 48

Your cakes are awesome! I agree, I think this woman was just complaining to complain.

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GipsyGourmet Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:41pm
post #21 of 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by dolcebaci

It was bound to happen I got my first negitive feed back on a cake I made. But the feed back came 3 days after the event! I am debating to hang up my bowls and maybe say cake decorating is not for me.

I got the information via eamil and I am not sure if this was just a bad customer or what could it be? I have yet to reply I would like to offer her a make-up cake but I wanted to get some feed back for the pros out here.

As I said out of 100 cakes this is the first that when "bad" ...HELP




Okay, I'm totally new at cake decorating and fortunately this has not happened to me yet, hope it doesn't, but I'm not so arrogant to think that my work will always please everyone. I looked at some of your work on CC, your cakes are beautiful -- I would love to see a picture of the cake in question, it may be posted, just not sure which one we're talking about. Her comments were very harsh -- don't think I'd make anymore cakes for her. Regardless, I would not quit, don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch! icon_biggrin.gif

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Donnagardner Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:44pm
post #22 of 48

Your cakes are very pretty so I would say she was just being a snooty *****. I would not quit doing something I like to do just because one person didn"t like my work. If your cakes taste good and you have had no other complaints write this one off and move ahead.

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KatieKake Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 9:46pm
post #23 of 48

I think the first thing I would ask, is "what are your standards"? I am sorry you don't feel the cake was up to them
.
Please return the cake, so I can investigate what was wrong with it. If that is not possible, due to the fact, you ate the cake, I am afraid that there is nothing I can do the rectify the situation.

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need2sleep Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 10:03pm
post #24 of 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by KatieKake

I think the first thing I would ask, is "what are your standards"? I am sorry you don't feel the cake was up to them
.
Please return the cake, so I can investigate what was wrong with it. If that is not possible, due to the fact, you ate the cake, I am afraid that there is nothing I can do the rectify the situation.


Ooh, I think Katie Kake makes a good point!! Besides 99 out of 100, is pretty close to perfection if you ask me!

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Rosie2 Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 10:40pm
post #25 of 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by higginspeg

She is so good at making people miserable, she's wound up getting things free or paying next to nothing just so she'd leave the poor customer service people alone. This is a very true story.




Wow, my daughter's MIL does exactly the same thing!! This is another very true story...when I first met her I though...poor woman she always has such bad luck with her food...
Lately, I WON'T go anywhere if she's included!!...and my daughter thinks I'm being rude, but I don't care I won't go if she's going and I refuse to bring her to my favorite restaurant...and yes, she's always getting free dinners, coupons, discounts, etc... icon_redface.gif
Oh, and get this...she's proud of it!!! icon_confused.gificon_confused.gif
I wonder if she is the one that order that cake from Dolcebaci...(??)

And Dolcebaci, I totally understand how you feel...I'd probably feel the same way, but let me tell you something--your cakes are not just pretty they are PIECES OF ART...and if you placed 4th on a competition of 1000 cakes doesn't that tell you something?? that lady was probably trying to get a free cake from you or a big discount...she's probably my daughter's MIL!! icon_redface.gificon_redface.gif

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bobwonderbuns Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 11:03pm
post #26 of 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by dolcebaci

It was bound to happen I got my first negitive feed back on a cake I made. But the feed back came 3 days after the event! I am debating to hang up my bowls and maybe say cake decorating is not for me.

I got the information via eamil and I am not sure if this was just a bad customer or what could it be? I have yet to reply I would like to offer her a make-up cake but I wanted to get some feed back for the pros out here.

As I said out of 100 cakes this is the first that when "bad" ...HELP




Don't sweat it Dolcebaci. I delivered a cake just this morning and everyone in the office except for ONE person loved it. The one -- found that the trim wasn't what she thought it would be. THE TRIM!!! So she starts whining about it -- I thought the trim would be gold. Why isn't it gold? It really should be gold. Yada yada yada. icon_rolleyes.gif My answer "well my dear you are always welcome to do better." icon_twisted.gificon_lol.gif That's the polite way of saying "Bite me." icon_biggrin.gif

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jamhays Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 11:07pm
post #27 of 48

Don't you think "not up to my standards" is kind of a vague complaint?

Unless she could give me an example of a SPECIFIC problem, I would have to say, I'm sorry you didn't like it...next time, call a 5 year old.

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Rosie2 Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 11:32pm
post #28 of 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamhays

next time, call a 5 year old.



LOL, LOL icon_lol.gificon_lol.gif perfect answer!!!!

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rockytop Posted 13 Nov 2008 , 11:49pm
post #29 of 48

Please don't give up .If it took 3 days to complain then they must had to look hard at what to complain about . I have seen pictures of your cakes and they are outstanding. Keep your chin up, baking pans and pastry bags nearby.

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dolcebaci Posted 14 Nov 2008 , 3:32am
post #30 of 48

Thanks for the kind words all...and you are right....and to brighten up my day I got a thank you card along with a photo of a bride whom I had made a cake for this summer.

She sent me a little note that said..."Thank you for helping all my wedding dreams come true on my special day"...and she has referred me to all her single friends.

Big hug to all....thanks again!


Dolce

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