Do I Give Back The Money?

Decorating By cowgirl58 Updated 30 Oct 2006 , 5:17pm by noreen816

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cowgirl58 Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 7:23pm
post #1 of 17

A lady ordered and paid for a cake. She was supposed to pick it up yesterday as it was her husband's BD. She still hasn't come to get it. If she doesn't come and changes her mind about it, do I give her back her money??

This has never happened before....

16 replies
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hope22023 Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 7:27pm
post #2 of 17

If you have a way to contact her, I would attempt to call her. If not, I wouldn't refund the money. You still put your time, effort, and money into making the cake. It is not your fault that she either forgot or chose not to pick up the cake.

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StephW Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 7:30pm
post #3 of 17

I don't sell cakes, but I wouldn't give her the money back. This is assuming that she never called to cancel her order and that you made the cake as planned. And you made it for the right date.

Of course, I guess it might depend on why she never came to get the cake. If it was for a very serious reason, then I would certainly take that into consideration.

Just my opinion.

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thyterrell Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 7:36pm
post #4 of 17

I would not offer her back the money either. It is not your fault, no matter why, that she did not pick up the cake. You have already purchased ingredients for the cake, baked, decorated, etc.. You put your time and money into this for her. If she is a good person, she will not ask for her money back, but will apologize to you for not picking it up and tell you to keep the money for your time and effort.

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kjgjam22 Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 7:39pm
post #5 of 17

that one is tricky... you are out of ingrdients and time....so some of the funds are yours. maybe you can come to an agreement with her.

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mmdd Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 8:20pm
post #6 of 17

Did you have a contract made up?

If not, I would not allow any money to be refunded...she wasted a ton of your time, even by not coming for the cake....you're sitting there wondering what to do.


On the other hand, I would maybe consider an emergency, if there was one, but still, she could have called you or something.

I don't know why anyone would want to pay for a cake, then never show to pick it up.


Let us know what happens, ok?

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RisqueBusiness Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 8:27pm
post #7 of 17

well the shelf life of a cake is anywhere from 3 to 5 days.

If she's not looking for her cake by Monday, I'd eighter give it away, donate it or trow it in the mixer and make cake balls.

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cowgirl58 Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 10:34pm
post #8 of 17

Thank you all for your input. Here it is 4:30 PM and she finally called. She is coming to pick up the cake tomorrow. The cake was finished Thursday for p/u Friday and I told her the cake won't be as fresh now. She was tied up and couldn't get over to pick it up. Guess she wasn't that anxious to give her hubby his cake.

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JulieB Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 10:53pm
post #9 of 17

Really, no refund is in order.

She purchased a product, which was ready. You filled her order. Once the cake is made, you're out the price of it, period.

If they call the day before, I still don't refund. I require it to be paid two weeks in advance. I've never had anyone not want the cake late, but I think if someone called a few days in advance, I would hold the order. But that's all I would do, hold the order, maybe give her a time limit, then her money's gone.

If I order a specially-made product from anybody, pick it up or not, I have to pay for it.

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veejaytx Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 11:05pm
post #10 of 17

Your client certainly shouldn't expect to get her money back, it wasn't your fault she didn't go pick up the cake when she said she would.

You are right, she must not have been too worried about the DH birthday not to find time to pick up his cake! Janice

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tcturtleshell Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 11:21pm
post #11 of 17

I agree with everyone else~ No refunds. Glad she finally called so you wouldn't have to worry anymore about this. It was about time. I do think that if she orders another cake from you I would be sure to get the money up front just in case. She doesn't sound very dependable after not picking up the cake for DH. Glad it got settled~

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alicegop Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 11:29pm
post #12 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by kjgjam22

that one is tricky... you are out of ingrdients and time....so some of the funds are yours. maybe you can come to an agreement with her.


Any business class will talk about opportunity cost! Why in the world would you refund the money? You made it.... whether or not it got picked up is totally irrelevant! She paid you to MAKE the cake and you did. End of story. You did what you got paid for. I would give her NOTHING, not even a discount on another cake. Box up the cake somehow and keep it. I am sure you tried to call her and find out why she didn't pick it up. Even if she had not paid you, I would still want to collect FULL COST. Her forgetting has nothing to do with you.

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tyty Posted 28 Oct 2006 , 11:32pm
post #13 of 17

You could wrap the cake and put it in the freezer for her. When she does contact you, you will have the cake she paid for. You did put in the time effort and money to bake to the cake. I wouldn't give the money back, unless it was some kind of emergency. I always try to remember to ask a customer for their numbers so I can contact them if I have some kind of emergency or have any questions about the order.

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RisqueBusiness Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 12:57am
post #14 of 17

ha..so sad to bad, I would've told her that the cake had been disposed of and she would need to place another order.

So sorry...but that's how I feel.

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alicegop Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 2:26am
post #15 of 17

I agree with you risquebusiness, why should I be responsible for storage? I don't have room in my freezer to store a cake. I put food for my kids in there!

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RisqueBusiness Posted 29 Oct 2006 , 4:49am
post #16 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by alicegop

I agree with you risquebusiness, why should I be responsible for storage? I don't have room in my freezer to store a cake. I put food for my kids in there!




Baring DEATH, there are NO unforseen circustances! Even my daughter and I had a falling out over a cake delivery!!! There is ALWAYS someone that can do the client a favor and swing by and pick up a cake!

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noreen816 Posted 30 Oct 2006 , 5:17pm
post #17 of 17

I wouldn't pay her back , you still made the cake!

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