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HUGE Cake Disaster, Whats my responsibilty ? - Page 2

post #16 of 30
4/25/12 at 7:05am
The main thing everyone talks about is that we do custom cakes for our customers, we are not in the same category of grocery store or walmart type cakes. This is exactly why your customer booked with you instead of going cheap by ordering from a grocery store.....and that's exactly what your bride ended up with in the end, a grocery store cake. You have to refund the whole amount, the check should have been left with the wedding cake and sheet cakes.
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post #17 of 30
4/25/12 at 12:04pm
I live in a land far far away from the west. I am always amazed with a lot of refund stories. I don't understand why one has to get 100% refund when people ate cake. A certain percentage yes, but 100%?!!
Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now. -quotebites.com

http://m.facebook.com/Edible.Elegance.cakes.Zimbabwe
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73178569@N05/
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Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now. -quotebites.com

http://m.facebook.com/Edible.Elegance.cakes.Zimbabwe
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73178569@N05/
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post #18 of 30
4/25/12 at 12:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosech

I live in a land far far away from the west. I am always amazed with a lot of refund stories. I don't understand why one has to get 100% refund when people ate cake. A certain percentage yes, but 100%?!!



It's more of a goodwill gesture and good business practice than anything else. The baker agreed to provide a wedding cake which is traditionally the focus of the entire reception, and the subject of numerous photos and therefore, memories. Had the baker agreed just to provide cake for the guests to eat, there wouldn't have been any problem. The bride did not receive what she ordered and paid for - period. She was very understanding about it, but she was entitled to a refund.
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post #19 of 30
4/25/12 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scp1127

And the bride will never ever ( like 10 years later) quit telling the story of how you ruined her wedding .......

My sister was married over 30 years and family/friends who attended her wedding STILL talk about how bad her cake tasted. So yeah .... it happens.
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Cake Cutting Guide: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/
www.cateritsimple.blogspot.com
http://debiswritingcollection.blogspot.com/
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post #20 of 30
4/25/12 at 6:24pm
I know you have read the same thing about 12 times over, but I am baffled that you would even have to ask us if you needed to refund the bride! She purchased a wedding cake from you, and you didn't give her one. This is a no brainer.
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post #21 of 30
4/26/12 at 6:17am
rosech, think of it this way. You go to a dealership to buy a new car - your dream car! You place the order after picking the color, the options, everything is just what you want. The car comes in & the dealer calls you to pick it up, you're so excited. Before you get there, they take it down the street to fill the gas tank for you and it gets totaled as they pull out of the parking lot. They go next door to the used car lot and buy you a clunker to replace your beautiful new car that has been ruined and that's what is waiting for you when you go to take delivery from the dealer - are you paying for it, happily letting the dealer keep the $ for what you ordered and driving away in the clunker they delivered to you?
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post #22 of 30
4/26/12 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cfao

rosech, think of it this way. You go to a dealership to buy a new car - your dream car! You place the order after picking the color, the options, everything is just what you want. The car comes in & the dealer calls you to pick it up, you're so excited. Before you get there, they take it down the street to fill the gas tank for you and it gets totaled as they pull out of the parking lot. They go next door to the used car lot and buy you a clunker to replace your beautiful new car that has been ruined and that's what is waiting for you when you go to take delivery from the dealer - are you paying for it, happily letting the dealer keep the $ for what you ordered and driving away in the clunker they delivered to you?



I hear you. I just feel that a decorator should get something at least for what people get to eat. We charge for the decor part and servings right? Maybe get $ for undecorated cake of same size. Then again if all your competition refunds 100%, you might as well do the same.
Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now. -quotebites.com

http://m.facebook.com/Edible.Elegance.cakes.Zimbabwe
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73178569@N05/
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Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now. -quotebites.com

http://m.facebook.com/Edible.Elegance.cakes.Zimbabwe
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73178569@N05/
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post #23 of 30
4/26/12 at 7:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by erin2345

I know you have read the same thing about 12 times over, but I am baffled that you would even have to ask us if you needed to refund the bride! She purchased a wedding cake from you, and you didn't give her one. This is a no brainer.



The OP knew she needed to refund the bride but was hoping we would tell her something different. Let's face it - none of us wants to give money back. Sometimes it's difficult to do the right thing even when we know exactly what that is.
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post #24 of 30
4/27/12 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scp1127

Full refund. The check should have been given to her at the site. No letters, just the refund. An anniversary cake would be in order too.


For those on tight budgets, it's a good idea not to spend the money for a cake until it is delivered and you have feedback from the bride.

.



these two things are exactly what I was going to say.
http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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post #25 of 30
4/30/12 at 12:29am
That reasoning that they ate the cake doesn't work. I would hate to have that as my defense before a judge.

Of course they ate the cake in every one of these situations that we've seen so many times on CC. The host/bride has a crowd of people expecting dessert. Serve the guests first. Deal with the baker later.
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post #26 of 30
5/21/12 at 10:52am
Cake disaster aside...It blows my mind how stupid brides can be. They are putting out all of this money for their wedding day, sign multiple contracts with churches/venues/florists, etc...But this bride didn't find it weird that she wasn't asked to sign a contract?
Brides around here are usually this clueless as well...last week I had a consult with a bride and groom who wanted 15 dozen cupcakes for their wedding...When I pulled out the contract to go over with them (basic contract, guaranteeing my work, my refund policy, deposit info, etc) the bride looked at me like i was insane, she said, "Oh I didn't know we would have to sign a contract for cupcakes and put a deposit down." I had to then explain to her again that their date will not be reserved until a 50% deposit is given.
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post #27 of 30
5/21/12 at 11:03am
I am constantly amazed at the informality of cake ordering these days. I find it utterly amazing that the businesses and the clients do business thru the message function on Facebook.
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post #28 of 30
6/2/12 at 12:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosech

I live in a land far far away from the west. I am always amazed with a lot of refund stories. I don't understand why one has to get 100% refund when people ate cake. A certain percentage yes, but 100%?!!


They ate cake because it is your responsibility to feed the party cake which is what you are paid for.

In some cases a full refund should not be given, but in this case it seems like the cake was either not supported correctly or shipped correctly. If things happen sometime you have to eat that loss and return the money.

As far as the OP saying there was no written contract it doesn't matter. In fact it is in favor of the bride in this case because you didn't provide an intact cake. Once both parties agree on the cake and pay for it that is a contract in itself that will hold up in court. If you don't have the money, tell her that you will pay her back as soon as you can. Maybe she will feel bad for you and only ask for half her money back. But you should feel so bad that you want to pay her the full amount. Why would she want free cakes from the person who couldn't deliver a Wedding cake intact?
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post #29 of 30
6/2/12 at 12:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paperfishies

Cake disaster aside...It blows my mind how stupid brides can be. They are putting out all of this money for their wedding day, sign multiple contracts with churches/venues/florists, etc...But this bride didn't find it weird that she wasn't asked to sign a contract?
Brides around here are usually this clueless as well...last week I had a consult with a bride and groom who wanted 15 dozen cupcakes for their wedding...When I pulled out the contract to go over with them (basic contract, guaranteeing my work, my refund policy, deposit info, etc) the bride looked at me like i was insane, she said, "Oh I didn't know we would have to sign a contract for cupcakes and put a deposit down." I had to then explain to her again that their date will not be reserved until a 50% deposit is given.



For some reason they must think because you are not a bakery that there are different rules, imagine ordering at a bakery and just telling them to make a huge custom made order without a deposit.
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post #30 of 30
6/4/12 at 2:47am
Costumeczar, you agree because you said it first a long time ago. Your wording just stuck in my head because it was perfectly to the point. Send check/credit card credit and then call or email telling them it is done. This is just one more way to help rectify a bad situation. It's hard to bad-mouth a person who is so prompt to fix an unsatisfactory situation.
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