Good customer unhappy with product, Should I refund or offer free product?

Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Oh absolutely - I will certainly remember to ask that in future. I think calling her back the day after asking for the remains of the cake can be seen as defensive, however had I asked her to provide the cake to me at the first call it would have been fine.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

You definitely need to get more assertive. Some good advise on this thread, one about the order sheet, secondly, about asking for the cake back to test if it was not used. Agree asking for it back now would be seen as a bit petty. But you will know for the next time.

My sister had a wedding cake made, one layer of traditional cake, one layer chocolate and biscuit and another layer of toffee and something else. I liked the other two layers except the fruit cake, because I dont like traditional wedding fruit cake. Did not mean there was anything wrong with it though. Those who liked it had that.

One customer not liking the cake should not be enough to knock your confidence either.

Big difference between "not liking" the layer or "something wrong" with cakes. Food is always very subjective.

Person must have a great life if someone not liking a cake ruined their day. I would think the narky relative cheesed her off so she vented at you. Little to be worried about in this day and age.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

You obviously take great pride in your work, try not to worry anymore about this. I actually would consider it very bad manners if I was a guest at a party, to start whining that I didn’t like the taste of the cake. :(
There have been some good suggestions here, so all I will add is-let this go, and if your customer tries to drag the subject up again, be ready with a light-hearted response. You have been more than generous in offering her a free cake. Put it down to experience and keep up the good work.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Sounds to me like it was the mother in law (granny of her son) who didn't like the flavour of the cake!!!
I'm getting hungry for a slice of cake reading this.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Yes you should'nt worry atall about the cake as was previously stated there was nothing wrong with the cake it was the flavour she did'nt like. We don't like the flavour of everything we eat but we don't keep complaining.
Also it was strange for the person to keep saying to her throughout the day that he/she did'nt like the cake. I imagine once would have been enough to say it and if they had any cop on they would have ate the cake and said nothing.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Very bad manners actually. Even if I didn't like the cake I certainly wouldn't upset the hostess by constantly going on about it especially when she was busy with her child's birthday party.

Also 3 to 4 hours is far too long to spend on one cake if you want to make a living from it.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Plus 2!!!

I would never spend that much time on the cake normally, but as it was a special occasion and she is a repeat customer I did it this time. I certainly wont be doing it again.

I've done out order sheets too, they look great so hopefully they'll safeguard me somehow.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Another idea to safeguard yourself is to offer your customers sample tastes of the variety you do, eg a bit if fruit cake, sponge w/jam, chocolate, etc..... That way they know up front what the inside is going to taste like. When I ordered a cake from a shop recently, they had bite size samples ready packed in celophane for me to take away before I filed in the order form.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Not a bad idea homeowner, the only snag is sometimes my orders are by phone only (last minute orders from people who forgot to order from other places). The order forms are ideal anyway as it can be emailed to them for completion very easily. Anyone ordering in advance this is a good idea!
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Hello,
It is always difficult dealing with the public. 99% are wonderful to deal with. You will always get the other type too. Also remember peoples taste differ. The order book is a great idea, it will save you.
Make sure the customer selects the flavour and details anything else they want. That takes the ownus from you.
Bear in mind also that you would need to be god to always get it right.
A token of a small cake would please most genuine customers. It is a good offer. Maybe the lady depends a lot on her perhaps 'know all friend'. Personal taste varies. Maybe the friend always thinks she could do it better.
Should you have a complaint ask for a sample of the offending product. If there is none, politely apoligise and say that 'like any complaint you will need to be given the opportunity to see what the problem is'.
You could state that you have a quality control company that does occasional work for you, and you would be happy to get them to check it out. Having worked with the public all my life I thoroughly enjoyed it but after you handle your first compalint satisfactorily you will be much more confident. Best regards Browtal
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

dmos87 said:
Not a bad idea homeowner, the only snag is sometimes my orders are by phone only (last minute orders from people who forgot to order from other places). The order forms are ideal anyway as it can be emailed to them for completion very easily. Anyone ordering in advance this is a good idea!
Click to expand...

if she is a repeat customer, next time she orders something from you stick to her favourites - if she wants something really different, definitely ask her to come over to your shop and taste it /or bake a little sample and bring it over to her/. then she definitely cannot complain.
i'd also watch for repeats of this kind of behaviour, if she jumped on the "complain and get it for free" wagon, you don't want her as a customer anymore because she not only will misuse you, she'll also spread the gossip about the presumably bad services
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

Your customer was definitely out of order. It doesn't appear that (a) there was anything wrong with the cake or (b) you had introduced a flavour she had specifically asked you not to. One person at the party didn't like the taste of one layer of the cake - that could happen no matter who had made the cake and where she had got it from. I think she had a bit of a cheek to ring you, to be honest, and accepting the offer of a free cake was a bit brass necked.
 
Re: Customer not happy - I feel awful

please don't let this upset you. i'm sure you take great pride in your baking. chin up. if she complains again tell her to go elswhere. some people really have some cheek!!!. i'm sure there was nothing at all wrong with the cake.

best of luck
 
Hi Dmos,

What you describe is a classic Quality Management dilemma, one which small and large businesses alike grapple with everyday.

You are lucky in a way that you are a perfectionist crafts person who is very close to your customer and is so passionate about your business.

If I were you I wouldnt get too hung up about how cheeky your customer is (this might be true but it wont get you or your customers very far!)

Step1. Ensure that immediate customer is happy.
If your customer was a longstanding good customer I would offer her a free cake.

Step2. Identify what went wrong in this instance.
Enlist the help of the customer (Make them work for their "free" cake!).
This step is not as easy as it seems but it is more than worthwhile in the long term.

Step3. Take steps to ensure that this does not happen again.
Some other posters have made some excellent suggestions (some form the confectionary trade) as to how this might be done.
Chocks away said:
Hi dmos 87. My sister is a professional confectioner in Montreal. Over the years she has developed a system to avoid such complications. An order form, detailing flavouring, layering, frosting, colouring, designs and size. She also kept a photo portfolio of previous designs. If someone leaves the ingredients open, she went with the standard Lemon or Vanilla sponge. Hope this helps and good luck. A price hike may also be in order. You seem to be on the low side.
Click to expand...

Step4. Encourage Customer Complaints and Comments.
Seperate out the spurious ones and act to address the issues raised by the genuine comments/complaints.
then return to step 1!
 
dmos plus one on all of the above but with one caveat don't ask for peoples allergies just give a list of ingredients and let the people with the allergies decide if they can eat the cake or not. By asking for their allergies before hand its putting the onus on you to make sure its alright for them to eat.
 
Guys thanks so much for posting! I feel a lot better about the situation after reading the posts.

I've done up order forms which are detailed enough to keep everything straight-forward and will be putting them into effect immediately. Its mostly tick-the-box for choosing your cake and is clearly described. I also put an allergy waiver at the end of the form re: dairy, nuts, etc. just to inform people of what is generally used in all cakes. It also states should that I cannot guarantee there are no traces etc. so hopefully allergies wont be a problem!!

I actually saw the customer in question on Saturday night...she went out of her way to avoid me despite me waving to her to say hello. hmmm....!!
 
dmos87 said:
I also put an allergy waiver at the end of the form re: dairy, nuts, etc. just to inform people of what is generally used in all cakes. It also states should that I cannot guarantee there are no traces etc. so hopefully allergies wont be a problem!!
Click to expand...
So you don't want customers with allergies then?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top