AI made a 3D Elmo cake which got complete destroyed during delivery... I couldn't even take it to the customer, it was beyond repair.. My question is, how do I make it up to this customer who had no cake for their kids 1st birthday?! I feel so bad and I worked so hard, idk what to do??[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3133252/width/200/height/400[/IMG] This pic is the before which I did showy customer that I did make it!

I feel for you!  What a lovely cake it was, I can tell it took you a long time.

I hope the mother is understanding.  This happens to the best of bakers on occasion.  I am not a big business but I had a cake destroyed once as well so I know how sick you must feel.  I quickly learned not to trip on front doorsteps…

Definitely a refund is in order, and then offer her another cake.  Then just chalk it up to being a learning experience and it's a story to tell.  

AFull refund and 10% discount on her next order.

AI didn't take any money, and it was a return customer from before (his other cake was perfect!!!) I was thinking to offer the next cake free, but I wasn't sure exactly the right thing to do... Thank you everyone for your replies :) I've been making cakes for 8 years, and this is only the 2nd tragedy, I know it happens sometimes, but that still doesn't make it easier :(

Wow!! You did an awesome job on that cake! So sorry you lost it! 

AThank you so much mfeagan... I seriously cried so hard!!!!!!!

I would have too!! I feel so bad for you! I cried with my first cake disaster too. 

So sorry for your loss!  It must be a week for Elmo cake disasters.  I had one, too.  First, my fondant rippled horribly and then I learned the hard way never to attach a topper until it has reached its destination.  Elmo recovered enough to be useable but I am still horrified by the entire event.  Thanks for sharing your disaster.  It makes the rest of us feel better about ours.  :-)

ANice cake MsMartha! Yes, it's so very tough to watch our hard work fail sometimes! It's good to know that these things happen to everyone sometimes! It's sad, but it happens!!

Sorry this happened to you. I made some investments early on as I do a lot of tiered cakes. If I'm riding alone in my car and have no one to help, I always use something called a Cake Safe (www.cakesafe.com) to deliver. I have the medium width / medium tall because that's the biggest that will fit in my SUV. It's essentially a plexiglass container with a rod that goes through the center of the cake and keeps everything stable. That, along with SPS structure on the inside and I can happily say I've never had a mishap yet. 

It's an expensive investment for home bakers but I can't think of any other way of delivering cakes on NY roads :)

Best,

Frank

Nothing like resurrecting a two year old thread for some advertising... lol