Got A Really Nasty Review From A Customer...

Decorating By fytar Updated 14 Mar 2006 , 3:28pm by ge978

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fytar Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:14pm
post #1 of 24

I just got a call today from a friend who was in touch with the customer. The customer said that the cake I made for her last weekend was HORRIBLE!! Some pretty harsh words that don't make me feel very good icon_cry.gif . As my friend was describing the customer's comments I first was a little worried. Then as she described ALL of the customer's complaints I began to get angry and not worried I guess. She said the icing was HORRIBLE, BITTER, left an AFTERTASTE and the cake was too dense. She said the little girl (for whom the cake was made) "took two bites and SPIT it out!". It was a strawberry cake with strawberry icing (icing flavored with LorAnn strawberry flavor like I always use). I had leftover batter that I baked and froze for my family and leftover icing. The timing of this call was good I suppose since my husband and I ate a healthy portion of the cake with the leftover icing LASTNIGHT! I ate all mine and he, even though he hates the thought of eating cake anymore since I've been decorating, ate all of his too. I thought it was very moist and tasty. Matter of fact, I have several REPEAT customers that have had this very same cake and they keep coming back and sending more my way!

I don't know if you all are like me, but I taste each and every batch of icing that I make so that I can make any consistency or flavor enhancements as needed. I rarely ever measure icing ingredients now that I've been doing it for a while.

I think this lady just wanted something to complain about but she seemed so very nice when I delivered it. She did love the look of the cake though.

Just venting I guess. I don't do this very often...

23 replies
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bonniebakes Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:18pm
post #2 of 24

sorry to hear that!!

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ape Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:18pm
post #3 of 24

So the customer didn't call you herself? It must not have been that bad or she would have called asking for her money back, huh?

Don't worry about it....

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Euphoriabakery Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:18pm
post #4 of 24

You have to wonder if she even tasted it. I'm sure it was yummy, it sounds good! And you can't go by a kids taste buds. My daughter spits half her food out. And sometimes she won't eat something she loved the day before! Don't worry it sounds like others like the cake and you tastyed it yourself so you know its good. Who needs a customer that is pick snickety anyways!

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edencakes Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:19pm
post #5 of 24

Sorry this happened, try not to let it bother you... she might have been complaining because she knew it would get back to you, and she was hoping to get something out of it.

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AmberCakes Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:20pm
post #6 of 24

That was harsh! Hopefully she is not saying that to get her money back or something. Don't let it bring you down. Keep baking and tasting like you said. LOL. I guess once in a while everyone get's those kind of people.

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ge978 Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:37pm
post #7 of 24

I know how it feels when someone complains about your cakes...its not a good feeling at all. But not everyone has the same tastes. Maybe they are used to light & fluffy cakes with really really sweet icing & maybe thats why she thought it was bitter or she's just not used to strawberry icing. There are people say my cakes are too dense also....usually because its just not what they are accustomed to.
Some people are just harsh the way they say things. Because I'm sure its just cake to her she probably didn't think anything of the way she was complaining. If you & your family tasted it & it was good, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

By the way..was it the Strawberry Shortcake one in your photos? I love it...its beautiful!!

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fytar Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:40pm
post #8 of 24

Well, this is my first complaint like this. The only other complaint I had was at a large church event (that I made the keyboard cake for) and about three of my friends that I asked said they either didn't like pound cake or didn't know it was supposed to be pound cake texture and said it was a very slight bit dry but tasted good...huhhh?

I asked my friend if she even hinted to wanting her money back and she said she didn't say anything about money. Oh well, thankfully I've made three cakes for three other people that work with this friend and they've all given high regards. If I dwell on this, it's going to eat away at me.

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fytar Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:46pm
post #9 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by ge978



By the way..was it the Strawberry Shortcake one in your photos? I love it...its beautiful!!




Yeah icon_redface.gif

I only had the green icing left over but the whole cake was in green and only the border was the pink so I can't figure this one out. Maybe it was the color paste I used, but I've used it on everything else that I've had to have pink on. I had added salt to the icing so as not to have a too sweet taste, but again, I do this to all my icing and I can't escape the fact that when I tasted it, it was good. I don't know, it was only a day old when they cut it as well, so it couldn't have been spoiled. I mean, come on, the leftover icing I ate lastnight was over a week old and had been out of the refrigerator at room temperature for a day when I ate it!! I'm just completely stumped with this woman's complaint.

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projectqueen Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:55pm
post #10 of 24

I don't know what coloring you used or how much but I just wanted to add something that happened to me.

I was making a Barney cake for my daughter's birthday party and it was only the second cake I ever made. I made the bc icing and tasted it, it tasted great. I went and got the Wilton red and blue and mixed them together to get purple. Well, Barney purple is a hard color to achieve so I had to add more and more Wilton paste to get the right color. Finally, I had it, the perfect Barney purple! I got my decorating bag out and filled it up all ready to go. Don't know why, but I decided to taste it again. YUCK, I spit it out myself. It was the most bitter thing I ever tasted and had a nasty aftertaste, not at all like the sweet delicious buttercream I started with. I had to throw the whole thing away. That red was nasty. I went to a cake supply store and got Americolor gels and only had to add a small bit to get the right color - no bitter aftertaste.

I'm just glad I tasted it before I tried to feed that cake to anyone. thumbsdown.gif

I'm not saying it was your color or that you used too much, but just in case you had to add more than usual to get the right color, it's a possibility. I taste everything now.... icon_wink.gif

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MikeRowesHunny Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 9:58pm
post #11 of 24

Hey - don't sweat it! I had someone call to ask for a price for a cake after eating one I did for another customer and actually said to me 'I don't want one like you did for XXX, it was too heavy, I didn't like it'. That upset me at the time because it is the buttermilk cake I always make for difficult moulds and sheetcakes and no-one has ever said that before - it's always been compliments! Anyway, she didn't like my price and never called back, I have a feeling that anything I did for her would have been wrong somehow anyway - there are just people like that!

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Hardygirl18 Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:00pm
post #12 of 24

I am sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with this person. don't let it get to you. I saw the cake in your photos.. you did a great job on it.. it's really pretty.

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tiptop57 Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:02pm
post #13 of 24

fytar, don't worry about the complaint and take it in stride. When I was in art school we had critiques three or four times a week and I found people can be very rude and they don't even know it. You would slave over something for a very long time only to have it shredded before your eyes with "comments". But I gained a thick skin because of it. Not everybodys taste is the same; they may not like the same color combo, shape or style of something. Not to give you something else to worry over, but I think would be more concerned about why your "friend" past the info along in the first place. What could she gain from doing that...

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fytar Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:07pm
post #14 of 24

thanks everyone...I'll be over it by tomorrow I suppose! It could've been as the color in the pink sat overnight it tasted bad, but like I said, the green was still good lastnight when I ate it. I'll have to sleep on it. Nothing like a good long nap after work to make you forget!! Talk with all of you tomorrow. T

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fytar Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:08pm
post #15 of 24

I guess the customer felt more comfortable being nasty to someone she knew, so she went through my friend instead of straight to me...

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texascupcake09 Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:09pm
post #16 of 24

Sorry to hear your customer was unhappy. Or was she really? Someone ate the cake because she didn't return it. You know it was good, so don't sweat it! I tell my customers, if you don't like the product bring it back for a full refund and my family and I will eat it! Very simple! If you don't bring it back then don't complain and don't expect a refund. I wouldn't ever bake for her again. You don't need that kind of criticism, take care of the customers that treat you right.

Good Luck and Keep Baking Girl!

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mmdd Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:13pm
post #17 of 24

Everyone's a critic! Ha ha! Seriously, though, my first wedding cake was snubbed at a little because it wasn't "perfect". I'll attach a pic of it, but you should have heard the compliments when they ate it.

Anyway, nothing is worth saying if they can't say it to your face. I wouldn't worry about it. And, if your husband even liked it....well I wouldn't worry a bit!!

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mmdd Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:23pm
post #18 of 24

Well, I did forget, but I can't seem to get one to attach now. Any help? I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

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gailsgoodies Posted 13 Mar 2006 , 10:29pm
post #19 of 24
Quote:
Quote:

I just got a call today from a friend who was in touch with the customer. The customer said that the cake I made for her last weekend was HORRIBLE!! Some pretty harsh words that don't make me feel very good . As my friend was describing the customer's comments I first was a little worried. Then as she described ALL of the customer's complaints I began to get angry and not worried I guess.




I'm really sorry, but my first thought was "how honest was the friend who told you this information?"

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fytar Posted 14 Mar 2006 , 1:53pm
post #20 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by gailsgoodies

Quote:
Quote:

I just got a call today from a friend who was in touch with the customer. The customer said that the cake I made for her last weekend was HORRIBLE!! Some pretty harsh words that don't make me feel very good . As my friend was describing the customer's comments I first was a little worried. Then as she described ALL of the customer's complaints I began to get angry and not worried I guess.



I'm really sorry, but my first thought was "how honest was the friend who told you this information?"




She is my really close friend. She said she defended my cakes and couldn't believe this woman, that her reaction was "No, she has never made a bad cake and I've been to many events that she made the cake at and I buy all my cakes from her...". My friend did say the ONLY thing she wish were different is that my icing weren't so sweet - but then again, she likes the more whipped type icing and she likes cake that isn't so sweet as well.

My friend was just checking to see if I had talked to the woman since I made the cake and I told her no so she shared what the woman said.

Oh, on a side note, my husband is so sweet. He is on the road to Orlando and he called to tell me not to put any more thought into that woman's comments. He said if he were to tell his boss and his boss' wife (they eat my cakes all the time - I've even used them as guinea pigs!) that I had my first "bad" cake, they wouldn't believe him. So that made me feel better.

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fytar Posted 14 Mar 2006 , 1:57pm
post #21 of 24
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmdd

Well, I did forget, but I can't seem to get one to attach now. Any help? I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.




MMDD, If that cake is in your photos, then I don't see it! I see the one that says it was your first wedding cake and I think it was very nice. I actually would love to do one just like if ever given the chance. thumbs_up.gif

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mmdd Posted 14 Mar 2006 , 2:03pm
post #22 of 24

fytar~it is the one that's in my photos called my first wedding cake. Thanks for the compliment. I don't know why, but for some reason the family snubbed their noses...initially. The grandmother thought it was way too sweet....and she insisted on telling my mother, etc. (Now that I think about it...I don't guess it was bad after all because 2 months later, they asked me to do another cake.)

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fytar Posted 14 Mar 2006 , 3:05pm
post #23 of 24

I'm just going to have to let this pass. I guess I'm over another mark - the first complaint mark!! I guess I'm on my way to becoming a famous cake decorator!!

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ge978 Posted 14 Mar 2006 , 3:28pm
post #24 of 24

Fytar: what a great way to look at it!

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