m.o.b. Complaint (I never get these). How to handle this? - Page 4

I'd be tracking down a venue stat and talking to them. I know you said who even knows if there was a venue, but it shouldn't take more than little Googling if your town isn't too big. I'd find bridey on Facebook, and if she has a public friend list, start there. See if anyone checked in somewhere on Saturday that looks right, and go from there. Something isn't adding up here. Time for some detective work!

Edited to add: Spokane, ok, kinda big place huh?

I have never eaten a cake that was 9 days old and not frozen. IMBC while delicious I'm sure, will not taste well after this long. Like others have stated, who knows where this cake has been and what it's been through.

I wouldn't offer a free anniversary cake. If they didn't like my wedding cake, what makes me think they will want another cake from me especially if they are this angry.

You say that the MOB complained that the cake tastes like there was shortening in it. Bring up her complaints and address each one. I would offer her a partial refund. But certainly not a substantial amount.

Jason, Im sorry, but at this point I dont think she will give any good reviews whether she gets the refund she desires or not.

buttttt...just my opinion.

Agreed, the goal is to avoid potential bad reviews and other problems like credit card chargebacks.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you . I would only.communicate in email .I would ask how they stored the cake ? I'm wondering if they possibly froze it and it did not have time to thaw. I m sure it didnt taste like shortening .Saying that alone suggests scam to me .because you did not use shortening..
I believe you made a wonderful cake .
I seriously doubt that guests were not eating your cake .Unless it wasnt stored or served properly by being too warm or too cold . I would email them several questions and or be prepared to ask when/if they show up. I also would not stand and be yelled at.This just sounds like they had cake left and are just trying to get some money back . If there is nothing you can do offer them a small refund and be done with the whole family and ban.them from your facebook.
I would maybe write a post on my facebook on properly storing IMBC cakes.
I have a feeling they may not show up .
Please let us know the outcome.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you . I would only.communicate in email .I would ask how they stored the cake ? I'm wondering if they possibly froze it and it did not have time to thaw. I m sure it didnt taste like shortening .Saying that alone suggests scam to me .because you did not use shortening..
I believe you made a wonderful cake .
I seriously doubt that guests were not eating your cake .Unless it wasnt stored or served properly by being too warm or too cold . I would email them several questions and or be prepared to ask when/if they show up. I also would not stand and be yelled at.This just sounds like they had cake left and are just trying to get some money back . If there is nothing you can do offer them a small refund and be done with the whole family and ban.them from your facebook.
I would maybe write a post on my facebook on properly storing IMBC cakes.
I have a feeling they may not show up .
Please let us know the outcome.

First of all, you did the right thing telling them to wrap the cake really and freeze until they bring it back to you. It will be interesting to see just how well they wrapped it.
Now if the wedding was on Saturday and the cake tasted that bad, why did they leave until the Wednesday to make the complaint? If it was that bad that everyone at the wedding felt the need to complain about this awful cake, wouldn't this be something you would do first thing Monday morning?
I would not let them into your home. Take the cake from them, thank them for bringing it all the way back and let them know you will be examining the cake to see what went wrong and you will be in touch in due course.
You need to check how much of the cake they bring with them. Is it just the cake that wasnt cut or is there cut pieces as well?
Taste the cake. You know what it should taste like, so have they tampered with it?
You have time now to mull this over without being on display. If you feel there is nothing wrong with cake, go back to them, maybe in writing, and explain that you have examined the cake and in your opinion there is nothing wrong. The taste and texture is as it should be. Explain you have made this cake many times before and find it strange that they feel the need to complain about this cake as usually you have nothing but good reviews. You are also very meticulous when baking and decorating cakes. I am sorry that you have felt the need to complain, but unfortunately, on this occasion I will not be offering any form of compensation as I feel there is no just cause for the complaint. However, if you feel there is cause for complaint and wish to take this further, please feel free to do so.
This just stinks of them trying to get some money back. I hope I have helped in some way. Good luck.

First of all, you did the right thing telling them to wrap the cake really and freeze until they bring it back to you. It will be interesting to see just how well they wrapped it.
Now if the wedding was on Saturday and the cake tasted that bad, why did they leave until the Wednesday to make the complaint? If it was that bad that everyone at the wedding felt the need to complain about this awful cake, wouldn't this be something you would do first thing Monday morning?
I would not let them into your home. Take the cake from them, thank them for bringing it all the way back and let them know you will be examining the cake to see what went wrong and you will be in touch in due course.
You need to check how much of the cake they bring with them. Is it just the cake that wasnt cut or is there cut pieces as well?
Taste the cake. You know what it should taste like, so have they tampered with it?
You have time now to mull this over without being on display. If you feel there is nothing wrong with cake, go back to them, maybe in writing, and explain that you have examined the cake and in your opinion there is nothing wrong. The taste and texture is as it should be. Explain you have made this cake many times before and find it strange that they feel the need to complain about this cake as usually you have nothing but good reviews. You are also very meticulous when baking and decorating cakes. I am sorry that you have felt the need to complain, but unfortunately, on this occasion I will not be offering any form of compensation as I feel there is no just cause for the complaint. However, if you feel there is cause for complaint and wish to take this further, please feel free to do so.
This just stinks of them trying to get some money back. I hope I have helped in some way. Good luck.

Boy, this is a tough one. In my opinion, there's fault at both ends of this. I think you're correct in that the cake was probably cold and that's why it tasted dry and the "shortening" comment probably comes from the "mouthfeel" of IMBC not necessarily the taste -- have you ever put cold IMBC in your mouth? It is similar to the feeling of putting a cold pat of butter in your mouth - nasty! once it melts it tastes fine, but the initial shock can be a bit disheartening if you're not familiar with it and the closest thing people can relate it to is shortening because that's what they assume all icing is made out of.

You may have given them step but step instructions and the maybe the followed them and maybe they didn't but, from personal experience, there is no way the middle of three tier cake will come to "room temp" in 30 to 60 minutes. I've cut into cakes that were refridgerated overnight and had been out for 4 hours and was shocked to find the centers of the stacked tiers (particularly the larger bottom ones) to still be cold and the filling solid.

So even though you were "c.y.a" but giving specific instructions, it still may not have been enough, especially for someone with no cake experience. Unfortunately, your only real fault here is the lack of a contract. By listing specific terms i.e. they assume all respsonsibility for the condition of the cake, etc. once it leave your premises if it is picked up and issues as far as quality, etc. must be reported withing 24 hours, etc. etc and having them sign off of this, it releases you from these type of incedents (or at least gives you a leg to stand on).

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how I would proceed in this situation either. It sounds like you're confident in the quality of your product so I guess I would say stand behind it. At this point I wouldn't be comfortable in tasting the leftovers, as other posters of said, who knows what they've done to it. I would email her (for paper trails sake and you can follow up with a phone call) and explain that you've thought it over and unfortunately due to the time that has elapsed, etc. that tasting it at this point would be moot. Then kindly explain to her all that you've already expressed here regarding your cake and never having a complaint about it before, etc.

Although you could offer her a free anniversary cake, I wouldn't think that someone that's not happy with how your cake tasted would really want another one. Maybe a small refund or nothing at all. It sounds like no matter what you do, she's not going to be happy (well, unless she get's her money back, lol!)

Good luck!

I agree that you shouldn't put a clause about "subjective taste". I'd run from that so fast. To me that screams, you don't have confidence in your own product so I have to trust your word it's good enough. Not to mention, you still have the law of merchantability. And it wouldn't matter if you determined something was good enough, it would come down to a customer taking you to court to show a cake didn't taste good enough. And this after the possibility of losing lots of customers upfront who would not trust that clause. You could put something in your contract that gives 24 or 48 hours to return any cake that didn't taste right (not the wording I'd use, but the idea)

I still have it in my gut that the mob knew she planned to do this before they even picked up the cake. Ordered more than they needed and figured they could get money back on any unused portion, rather than order the size they really needed.

I hate to feed conspiracy theories, but I have a feeling that somehow there is more to the story. I said earlier they may have destroyed this cake 5 minutes after they picked it up.

I don't what discussion had occurred in regard to delivery of the cake. Providing there was a discussion, that could be a point of reference for them to show why it is better to pay the delivery fee than to pick up a cake yourself. Just getting the cake there safely isn't all that matters, it's all in proper storage and timing of setup.

I have to agree with your husband on this. I think you're very much on top of this, but still, just be sure to maintain your composure. And keep in mind that if they get angry, loud, etc., your best revenge is to remain calm. When they holler they are attempting to get the better of you and the more you remain calm, the more frustrated they will become because they can't get you upset. Plus, you'll feel better about yourself when it's over and you'll have the added benefit of them knowing they couldn't get under your skin.

Good luck.

I just really think that you shouldn't let them show up with ten day old cake trying to show you that it's dry. It will prove nothing and will only open the door for them to harass you in person.

I've been thinking about this a lot. Your plan of letting them bring in a 10 day old cake, and then to tell them it was "no use to bring in a 10 day old cake" may be counter-productive. That might enrage me further (were I your crazy m.o.b.), if I followed your directions and then you said "well it's no use" after I got there.

If they have so much cake left, they ordered too much cake. They can't have it both ways - "everybody" couldn't have been talking about how bad the cake was if hardly anyone ate it. Maybe there was lots of beer and booze at the reception. Maybe they didn't cut it until people had started leaving. It's impossible to tell. But I think if it were me, and my business, I would go with what your first instinct was, which was to offer a free anniversary cake, and your apology that the cake did not meet their expectations. But your cake had no shortening, and they tasted it before they ordered it, which you can gently remind them (although I'm sure they''ll say it doesn't taste like the tasting cake). But they complained too late for me to believe this is really about the taste or true dissatisfaction. I think they just were pissed that they had so much leftover cake.

Edited to add: I'm thinking about how the cake cutting works at every wedding I've been to, or participated in: The cake cutter cuts cake, and someone else runs the plated cake out to the guests at their tables. The cutter keeps cutting until all guests who want one have a plate of cake in front of them. Logically, did someone run up to the cake cutter, waving their arms and screaming "Stop cutting the cake! It's bad! No one wants any!" It just doesn't make sense to me. They had too much cake.