had a text from a customer saying her cake was mouldy when she cut it. I asked when she had cut it and she said yesterday, two weeks and two days after she had collected it from me, all my cakes are made fresh and from scratch, i just cant understand why she would order a cake two weeks in advance, i offered her, her money back or another cake, she chose another cake, sounds strange to me. just wondering what you would do as i dont think it was my fault that she ordered a cake two weeks in advance( if thats what happened).
Gross! 2 week old cake?? What does she expect?? This is in no way your fault! Definitely put her on your "no more cake for you" list!
I certainly would not have offered her a refund or another cake! 2 weeks and 2 days - why buy a freshly made scratch cake to keep it for that long before cutting it - you should have told her that you do not use preservatives in your cakes!!! Mind you the mind boggles as to how some people do not use their common sense - maybe we all need to start putting a consume by date on our cakes!!! 
I will chime in with the others that have already answered you, no refund. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and she probably caught you off guard when she called and if it had been me I would have been, "Oh no, what can I do to save my reputation?" If you had a couple of minutes to really think about it you would have been able to arrive at the conclusion as the others. Why on earth wait for 2 weeks to cut it and sorry, No Refund for You!. Make her cake and if she calls again, sorry no more cakes.
And of course....be sure and tag the "replacement" cake with a consume-by date. This customer is clearly too dumb to figure that out!
Wow...2 weeks after she collected it??? I always ask customers "when is the party?" to make sure they are not picking up a cake and leaving it for days. I had 2 customers recently who picked up cakes up to 2 days before they actually cut it and serve it. Got great reviews but still...I found it strange they picked up the cake 2 days in advance...far less in ur case...2 wks. Gad. Sounds weird to me. Ppl are so funny about a cake that is not freshly baked. Makes me wonder how long they keep things in their home to eat... :S Very weird........
had a text from a customer saying her cake was mouldy when she cut it. I asked when she had cut it and she said yesterday, two weeks and two days after she had collected it from me, all my cakes are made fresh and from scratch, i just cant understand why she would order a cake two weeks in advance, i offered her, her money back or another cake, she chose another cake, sounds strange to me. just wondering what you would do as i dont think it was my fault that she ordered a cake two weeks in advance( if thats what happened).
I just can't understand why you would offer her money or cake for being ridiculous. Really?
Do you have a website? Under my FAQs I clearly state that cake, cupcakes & cookies are to be enjoyed with a 3 day shelf life. I've seen even a 2 day shelf life on some cake websites. Let people know verbally as well as put it in writing that your cakes should be eaten within x days of pick-up.
.....Gross! 2 week old cake?? What does she expect?? This is in no way your fault! ....
......You cannot be responsible for two week old cake, that's just K K KRAZY! You are tooo kind!!! .........
....Why on earth did you offer her a refund or replacement when the cake was cut over two weeks after she collected it.....
Exactly what they all said. Why, oh why did you offer a refund or cake?? NO way was any of it your fault requiring a refund.
Please tell her that she's NOT purchasing a Twinky from you, it's a freshly baked cake. If she made dinner, would she think that it would still be fresh 2 weeks later.............I should hope not. She's either one brick short of a chimney or a scammer trying to get two for the price of one. If you've ever left a Twinkie out on your counter, you know what I'm talking about - they last forever.
It may not be fresh, but I doubt seriously it was moldy. If it was in a refrigerator for 2 weeks, covered with butter cream or fondant, there is no way that it would turn like that. Even if it was out on the counter...UNLESS you had fresh fruit in the filling or an egg based custard filling, the cake should not have been moldy.
Why did you take her word for it?
And no..absolutely you should never have offered any kind of refund or freebie! I would honestly call her back and say you've reconsidered. Her call caught you off guard and that after reviewing the situation you don't feel you have any obligation to provide any sort of restitution since...
a) they did not provide any evidence that the cake was bad and
b) you are not responsible for any cake one day past delivery.
Do you really want to keep these people as customers? They are scammers...and if they're not...well...they're just stupid. And who needs that?
It may not be fresh, but I doubt seriously it was moldy. If it was in a refrigerator for 2 weeks, covered with butter cream or fondant, there is no way that it would turn like that. Even if it was out on the counter...UNLESS you had fresh fruit in the filling or an egg based custard filling, the cake should not have been moldy.
Why did you take her word for it?
And no..absolutely you should never have offered any kind of refund or freebie! I would honestly call her back and say you've reconsidered. Her call caught you off guard and that after reviewing the situation you don't feel you have any obligation to provide any sort of restitution since...
a) they did not provide any evidence that the cake was bad and
b) you are not responsible for any cake one day past delivery.
Do you really want to keep these people as customers? They are scammers...and if they're not...well...they're just stupid. And who needs that?
carmijok - the original poster is from the UK, so I'm going to hazard a guess that the cake was covered in sugarpaste (fondant) as that's more the 'norm' over here - and we don't refrigerate cakes, as, again, fresh fruit fillings and custards aren't really very common here.
I do agree that it may have been as stale and as hard as a brick, but probably not mouldy.
But I can also see going back to the customer now would be really awkward. I really feel for the OP, because I can totally relate to that feeling when you get a complaint and you just want to make things OK. It's almost like a panic / knee-jerk reaction.... (I had a complaint a little while ago, which I later found out from a mutual friend who was at the party, was totally unfounded!! Fortunately, I had told her that as she had thrown the supposedly stale cake away instead of bringing it to me, I was unable to look into the matter!!!!)
Suzanne x
[quote=
carmijok - the original poster is from the UK, so I'm going to hazard a guess that the cake was covered in sugarpaste (fondant) as that's more the 'norm' over here - and we don't refrigerate cakes, as, again, fresh fruit fillings and custards aren't really very common here.
I do agree that it may have been as stale and as hard as a brick, but probably not mouldy.
But I can also see going back to the customer now would be really awkward. I really feel for the OP, because I can totally relate to that feeling when you get a complaint and you just want to make things OK. It's almost like a panic / knee-jerk reaction.... (I had a complaint a little while ago, which I later found out from a mutual friend who was at the party, was totally unfounded!! Fortunately, I had told her that as she had thrown the supposedly stale cake away instead of bringing it to me, I was unable to look into the matter!!!!)
Suzanne x
I really would have no problem going back to the customer at all! What would be the problem? That they'd be offended or think me 'unprofessional'? Ha! That would be the least of my worries! I would be more concerned that just chalking this up to experience would set a dangerous precedent down the road for anyone who thinks that-- hey..it worked once...let's do it again! (i.e. 'friends' of the original customer).
If she does not have any written agreement for a refund or freebie, then she has no obligation to provide either one. And if the OP is concerned about bad PR...well consider the source and the source's friends. Probably much the same and no reason to want them as customers anyway.
She did the work, provided a fresh product and earned her money. I think she should stand up for herself and her business and not let others take advantage of her good nature. Just my opinion! 
It's true, cake starts to grow mold in about 2 weeks at room temperature. Her cake was probably moldy 2-4 days before she cut it. Whatever it's covered with (BC or fondant), it holds the moisture in and becomes more moist with time. The mold starts where the icing touches the cake -- as the two meld, it gets slimy. Even if you don't yet SEE the mold on two week old cake, you'll still smell that it is no longer edible.
thanks for the replies, i offered her a refund /another cake as i dont want her bad mouthing my work she came to me through other customers, so cut my losses and learnt a lesson as in not to do anymore for her. I do state cakes are best eaten straight away.
1. mold, moldy
2. I wouldn't give her squat. Why would you think a cake would last more than 2 weeks without freezing it.
Well aren't you the English police? This time though, I wish you would have consulted the dictionary.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mould
1. mold, moldy
As the saying goes, we are divided by a common language.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mould_1?q=mould
There are plenty of other words which differ in their spellings, depending on whether you're in the UK or USA.
Just a few examples:
Colour
Flavour
Theatre
thanks for the replies, i offered her a refund /another cake as i dont want her bad mouthing my work she came to me through other customers, so cut my losses and learnt a lesson as in not to do anymore for her. I do state cakes are best eaten straight away.
You state that 'cakes are best eaten straight away". That's pretty open-ended. You're just saying that it's better to be consumed...not that it's imperative to do so. You need something a little more firm such as
'To ensure the freshest cake possible, please serve within 12 hours of delivery. We do not assume responsibility for any cake that is served past the recommended time period for consumption.
In addition, any cake not served within that time frame should be refrigerated to avoid spoilage.'
Or something like that to get your point across. As proven by your experience, some people lack common sense...and you need to cover yourself to make sure it doesn't happen again! 
i have made hundreds of cakes with no problem, just one stupid customer who thinks it will last for weeks, most of my customers are regular and so know that they are collected the day before or on the day they are eaten, this is one I wont be doing any more for.
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