My First Complaint! How Do I Respond??

Business By MustloveDogs Updated 28 Jun 2007 , 5:26am by lovely

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MustloveDogs Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 7:33am
post #1 of 12

I have had my first complaint in 3 years of doing cakes. The customer loves the way they look and doesn't say she hated them, but is really ambiguous with her feedback when I emailed asking how they were as I always do.
The first cake she said some people liked the icing, some the cake but not all liked both. I can understand the icing..fondant so 1/2 don't like it anyway, but the cake really surprised me. I found out later that she thought it was too heavy and I tried to explain that buttercakes are heavier than normal sponges but she didn't seem to get it. She placed 2 orders at the same time and when she tried the Dark chocolate mud cake last week ,her feedback this time said a couple of people found it too "dark". Hello... It's a DARK chocolate mud cake it's supposed to be rich and dark, and my version is really not too rich as I like kids to enjoy it also.
I don't know how to word my reply to her and I am really hurt by this customer that just cannot be satisfied! icon_cry.gif

11 replies
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JoAnnB Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 7:38am
post #2 of 12

You said it, 'she cannot be satisfied'. If she continues to order from you, stop asking her if she liked the cake. She will always find a reason to complain.

If you have sampled your own cakes, and are satisfied that they meet a high standard, don't worry about her.

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alicegop Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 7:48am
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There are just some people.... I'm sure they were great! I agree, don't ask this lady anymore. The proof will be in if she orders from you again, if she does then you know she is just one of those people that like to complain, and if she doesn't... oh well.

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doobsd Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 8:11am
post #4 of 12

If this is your first complaint in three years then just brush it off!! Sometimes you get people who are just impossible to please. Dont second guess yourself. I would make my reply brief something along the lines of, I appreciate your feedback and I hope we can do business again. Dont make it personal and dont take it personally. I know its easy to say. But like I said if it is your first complaint that means every one else is happy with your work.

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emmascakes Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 8:50am
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If a cake feeds say 50 people and she's asking everyone for feedback then youre never going to get everyone liking the cake. You only need to care about what SHE thought of the cake - either she's too feeble to say SHE didn't like the cake or she feels insecure and is asking everyone what they thought. Either she orders more cakes from you in which case don't worry, or she doesn't -in which case, who cares? She sounds like a pain. Tell her you asked what all her partygoers thought of her house and that a few thought the comfy sofa was a bit too comfy.

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yh9080 Posted 24 Jun 2007 , 12:47pm
post #6 of 12

I wouldn't put a lot of stock in her comments. Wait and see if she orders again. If she does, it will be interesting to see what she orders. Maybe in your reply, you could offer her a small discount on her next order.

Not everyone will have the same taste. I went to a wedding recently with some friends. We all agreed that the cake was good. One friend and I thought the icing had way too much almond. A couple of other friends thought it was fine. All a matter of personal taste.

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ozcake Posted 25 Jun 2007 , 11:53am
post #7 of 12

Hi Keira,

Sorry to hear about this lady, I know it is hard not to let it get to you. Not sure if you have replied to her yet or not.

We do about 20,000 customers a year in our restaurant and I have come to learn the hard way that you can't please all of the people all of the time (just have to aim for pleasing most of the people most of the time) I have had people on occasion complain about meals that are perfectly cooked sometimes it is just a matter of their individual taste (one persons just right is another persons too bland or too spicy or whatever) and sometimes they are just a PITA and will never be happy.

Maybe you could say something along the lines of "thank you for your feedback I was somewhat surprised to hear that my cakes were not to some of your guests' taste as these are 2 of my most popular cakes and I usually receive great feedback about them. I use buttercake & mudcake because their dense texture is needed to support the fondant icing that makes up my designs. Should you wish to order again I would be happy to go through a explanation of the different tastes & textures of the cakes I offer so see if we have something that would better suit your guests palette."

HTH icon_smile.gif

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cambo Posted 26 Jun 2007 , 12:42am
post #8 of 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by emmascakes

If a cake feeds say 50 people and she's asking everyone for feedback then youre never going to get everyone liking the cake. You only need to care about what SHE thought of the cake - either she's too feeble to say SHE didn't like the cake or she feels insecure and is asking everyone what they thought. Either she orders more cakes from you in which case don't worry, or she doesn't -in which case, who cares? She sounds like a pain. Tell her you asked what all her partygoers thought of her house and that a few thought the comfy sofa was a bit too comfy.




Amen to that! Nicely stated emmascakes!

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MustloveDogs Posted 26 Jun 2007 , 11:04am
post #9 of 12

Thankyou all for your wonderful support! I have decided to reply to her with ozcakes intro...

Quote:
Quote:


"thank you for your feedback I was somewhat surprised to hear that my cakes were not to some of your guests' taste as these are 2 of my most popular cakes and I usually receive great feedback about them. I use buttercake & mudcake because their dense texture is needed to support the fondant icing that makes up my designs.



This is PERFECT! Thankyou soo much ozcakes!

I also think she is just a complainer and too hard to please, so I really hope she doesn't return for more cakes or she might find me fully booked. If she doesn't like cake at all, why keep buying it? (maybe for her kids' sakes I guess. I do have to wonder at her taste anyway as the 2nd cake she ordered (both orders were done at once) was for a purple castle with a pink dragon for a 30 year old man's surprise fairy party and everyone was dressing up like a fairy to surprise him.. Odd I thought.

Thanks again everyone!! thumbs_up.gif

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beany Posted 28 Jun 2007 , 3:38am
post #10 of 12

Yes- that's a great response ozcake!

Keira, have you heard back from her yet?

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MustloveDogs Posted 28 Jun 2007 , 3:47am
post #11 of 12

Hi beany!
No, I haven't heard back from her yet, this is what I sent to her in the email...
.......
Hello xxxx,
Thankyou for your feedback. I was somewhat surprised to hear that my cakes were not to some tastes as these are 2 of my most popular cakes and I always receive great feedback about them. However, the one thing that I cannot account for is individual tastes.

I use buttercakes and mudcakes because their dense texture is necessary in order to support the icing that makes up my designs. The sugar icing that I use for decorating is enjoyed by about half of those who eat it, but not all will like it. That is why I put a layer of ganache underneath so that the sugar icing may be peeled off if so desired.

What I do account for is the quality of my products. My cakes are designed with child-friendly ingredients and I use the highest quality and freshest ingredients in each cake. Our dark chocolate mud cake has been developed without liqueurs and made to a not-too-rich standard to ensure that children as well as parents can enjoy it. Buttercakes are not sponge cakes and are therefore not light or fluffy. They are therefore similar in density to mudcakes.

Thankyou for your custom and I hope that this explanation clarifies the basis of my designs................




(She had said when collecting the 2nd cake that the first cake which was buttercake that she found the buttercake "heavy", so that's why I included that info in my reply to her)

I have tried to keep the response professional, yet I felt that her comments needed answering as she is the only person in 3 years not to rave about the exact same cakes, and while I know that you can't suit every taste bud out there, her responses were so "blah" compared to normal, that I felt I should explain the cakes to her. She is probably used to woolworth's sponge cakes which I think taste like airwhipped cardboard (light, fluffy and horribly tasteless).

Regards Keira

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lovely Posted 28 Jun 2007 , 5:26am
post #12 of 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by keira

She is probably used to woolworth's sponge cakes which I think taste like airwhipped cardboard (light, fluffy and horribly tasteless).

Regards Keira




lol How true. Have never been able to describe it but that is so fantastically put. Even custard and cream make it tasteless.

Leigh

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