An aquaintance/co-worker asked me to do a wedding cake & grooms cake for her sister-in-law, The wedding cake was relatively simple stacked four tier design, devils food with rasberry filling, grooms cake simple sheet cake. both to serve around 100 guests. She said she would come and pick them up, I explained to her the perils in transporting wedding cakes and to make sure she drives her SUV.
long story short, she came to get the cakes, I make sure the cake was sitting as secure as possible.
She pays me and leaves,calls me about 40 minutes later to tell me the cake tipped over, and asked me what she should do, I told her to go to her local grocery store.
I only charged her .65 per serving so it's not like I made a huge profit.
But should I offer her $$ back?????[/b][/i]
First I'm sorry this happened; second you only charged .65 a slice????????? oh my. Are they asking for a refund?
Anyway to answer your question it depends did you have the correct supports for the cake? assuming you did and you had the customer sign a waiver for self pick up and it was secure on a flat surface in the car then I dont think you need to refund the money.
Did you ask to see pics of the cake? Is any of it savable? Would you be willing to help the customer save the cake if you can? Without spending any more money on the cake I would offer whatever help I could then perhaps offer a discount on another cake.
Sari & Ajawonka
No I don't have a WRITTEN policy, but it's one I've always observed - on pick up, when it's placed in your vehicle it's YOUR cake.
Yes, I did have it doweled very well, each tier individually and then a dowel all the way from top to bottom, I placed it on a non-skid pad perfectly level in her SUV.
My husband and I both couldn't see how it could have "just crashed over" he & I both checked to make sure it was safe.
She didn't out right ask for a refund, but being as she called to tell me what happened I got the feeling that's what she meant. But I only charged .65 a serving!! in the first place, that hardly covers supplies!!![/u]
I hate that all your work was for not, but NO...dont you dare under sell yourself any further. You tried to to tell her and she chose not to have you deliver it. Even if she paid you for delivery she still would be on top instead of toppled over...I agree with ajwonka if you dont have it in the fine print I would add the clause of pick up at your own risk....cake boss software has a fee template that can give you an idea of what to put in writing if your not sure of how to include such a statement....Remember your time is worth so much more...a common friend/family "gift" seems to be 20% off the full price.....I use gift because discount only cheapens your talent...Good Luck with what ever you decide to do.
Are you running a legal business in compliance with health dept regulations or your state's cottage food law (if any)? If not, and this customer is upset and decides to report you, you could have some trouble on your hands.
Since you don't have anything in writing where the customer waives liability for picking up the cake I would offer a full refund to keep her happy, $65 is virtually nothing for a 100-person cake anyway.
I wouldn't refund her, and I'd raise my prices! I hope that you only charged her that much to be nice, because once you add up everything you used to make those cakes, plus the time that it took you to do it, I can only assume that you lost money on it.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%