I had a wedding this weekend and did a beautiful 4 tier hexagon cake. I took a picture of the cake and messaged it to my bride before I left to deliver it. I use the sps for all of my tiered cakes. It was a 1 hr drive to get to my delivery, all was fine until 5 miles away.... I had someone pull out in front of me and had to slam on the brakes so I wouldn't hit him.....and... the cake fell.

The whole top tier was smashed against the back of my seat on it's way down, the bottom tier crushed on the back edge where it slid and the middle 2 just got mushed on the back side. It was not able to be saved. The grooms cake and the anniversary cake that were boxed separate were just fine. I delivered those and the site had me bring in the wedding cake to see if there was anything that could be done.

The maid of honor(brides sister) told me to go buy sheet cakes from the store so they would still have cake to serve. The site brought out a dummy cake for looks.

I brought back the ruined cake since the site refused to use it and found the sps was still in place the cake literally slipped off the cake boards.

The groom called me today wanting a full refund for everything. I don't feel that is reasonable because I did deliver part of the order and purchased cakes out of my pocket for them. I am willing to give them what is left after delivery charges and expenses. He told me that I lied to him... guests said they saw the cake whole coming out of the van at the site which it was in pieces by that time. No guests saw the cake because I took it to a back entrance right into the kitchen.

What would you do?

Is there any way to prevent this,( it is a 1st for me) having a cake slide like that? There is no way to put a center dowel through using the sps setup.

Did you remember to notch out the whole on the cake board where the pointy part of the plate goes and put buttercream on the SPS plates before putting the cake w/ cake board on the plate? that generally keeps it from slipping, even with "stopping short." That's the only reason why I can think the SPS system wouldn't work .... especially if the system is still in place. Sorry this happened to you! I had it happen once ... before I switched to the SPS system ... and haven't turned back since.

Personally I would refund the price of the wedding cake alone. I think it's totally unreasonable to expect a refund for the grooms cake and the anniversary cake. You will have to eat the cost of the sheet cakes though, you can't expect them to pay for that.

I can't help on the SPS issue, never used it.

You know, sometimes you just cannot save it, whether it's got straws, SPS, or dowels. Shit just happens.

Sorry this happened to you. If you had to slam on the breaks I don't think any support system in the world could have saved it.

I agree with a PP. They get a refund for the wedding cake only. If the groom's cake and anniversary cake were fine then no refund for those.

I would give them a full refund and apologize for the cake disaster even though it was something you couldn't avoid. I think you have to save your reputation. I think good customer service goes a long way. Thats just me (and I don't have a business,so take it for what its worth)......sorry that happened to you

Refund for wedding cake only. If they ate it, they bought it. As far as the cost of the sheet cakes, I would just eat the cost of that myself.

I'm so sorry this happened to you, but I would honestly refund it all. Now, on the other hand, if I was this groom, I wound then in turn not accept the offer and pay for the groom's cake. It's a good thing the hall had a dummy cake on hand. I may start traveling with one of those just in case
I go with the "customer is always right" 99% of the time. And when their wedding cake was smashed in pieces, I'd have to say that would be one of those times.

The only thing that *might* have saved it was a cake safe....

I think you need to refund everything except the groom's cake....although if they are really upset, just give a full refund, the groom's cake being a "freebie" for the disappointment they had in not having the cake they ordered.

In reality (and of course what happened to you is every decorator's nightmare! I feel horrible for you!).....in this day in age...if I were getting married and I were the bride...I would not know the truth, or the whole story, of what happened...all I would know is that I did not get a wedding cake, but instead I got a fake cake and stale bakery sheet cakes. I would probably want a full refund.

I'm really sorry this happened....

Refund the wedding cake only. Personally, I think the "freebie" should be the sheet cakes that you were, in your words, "told" to go and buy. And that is being generous...I mean, if the venue had a dummy available then truly someone from there or the family really should have gone to make that purchase. And, then all you would have truly had to refund would have been the wedding cake. But, you went above and beyond in this situation and made a trip and purchased cakes out of your own pocket.
I certainly wouldn't refund the groom's cake too. Yes, I know the bride didn't get the cake she ordered, but she will soon find out that marriage is "life" and in life we don't always get what we want or expect.
Honestly, I believe that the really big couture cake places would only refund the price of the wedding cake MINUS the cost of the sheet cakes. And, they wouldn't look back...

They bought two cakes from you. One was delivered fine. The other was not. Of course a full refund is in order on the one that didn't make it. But I don't see why you should refund the other cake that was delivered as ordered, in perfect condition. After refunding the wedding cake your 'compensation' to them for the disappointment was free sheet cakes, so no need to go throwing in a free groom's cake as well. That's just my opinion.

You all seem to have the same thought as me. I had thought of refunding the cost of the wedding cake but not the grooms cake or mileage to deliver it. I agree with giving them the sheet cakes free as a replacement.

Thank you for your advice!
Crystal

You know I think that there is far to much entitlement given to brides these days. I totally understand that they pay to have the perfect day, HOWEVER sometimes things are unavoidable. The OP didn't choose to have someone pull out in front of her and there was literally nothing she could have done. Some brides and grooms have got (as far as I am concerned) stinking attitudes. The OP went out of her way to go and get replacement cakes and has apologised, I don't see why she needs to refund the whole amount! At the end of the day, it is just a cake - nobody died, they didn't lose their house, the day wasn't ruined. I can guarantee that the guests didn't decide to themselves, 'Oh there is no wedding cake, that's my day ruined', and if the bride and groom allowed an accident to ruin their day, then they allowed that to happen. I am getting married next year and I can assure you that if my cake was ruined and nothing could have been done to prevent it, I'd be like 'oh well, I'm disappointed but what can I do'. I certainly wouldn't allow it to ruin a day I'd spent a load of money on and I would know that the baker would likely already be gutted, so trying to shaft them out of more money doesn't make the situation any better.
I think that an honest apology, a refund for the wedding cake and something like a discount off their next cake is sufficient. At what lengths should someone have to go to, to ensure that they don't get a bad review? There is good customer service and then there is just being made a fool of.
Anyway I understand that it's personal opinion and I'm not trying to offend anyone, just my ten cents worth.

Sorry to hear about your cake trouble. I would have been sick the second I looked over the damage.

I'm so sorry- that must have been terrible! I wonder why they weren't willing to slice and serve the middle tiers that were essentially fine- have the dummy on display, but still serve at least some of the cake- it would have saves some money at least! I'd say no matter what, refund the wedding cake, beyond that, I wouldn't worry, you did what you could.

Stories like this make me glad I deliver all my tiered cakes in boxes, and stack them at the site. I've never had a problem, if it's a 5 tier cake, there are 5 cake boxes spread on the floor of the van. Sorry this happened to you.

If the cake had been ruined because of your incompetence, that would be one thing. Then they could say, "YOU ruined our day. Refund it all!" But this was not your fault. It was an accident. It happened to you as much as it did to them. Yes, refund for the wedding cake. But there is no reason you should suffer some additional punishment of refunding two other cakes.

I would make sure the couple understood why you were only refunding the wedding cake. Tell them if this had been your fault, you would refund the whole thing as a gesture and way to make it up to them. But since this was an accident, you feel you are not responsible for more than what it takes to set that part of the order right...meaning refund for the cake plus your gift of the sheet cakes.

This is a cakers worst nightmare. I am so sorry this happened to you & caused so much stress.

We spend a lot of time fussing that brides do not spend enough on cake or place enough importance on the wedding cake.

Everyone has a different part of the wedding reception that is important to them. For me, the dress, cake and photos are all that matter. If one was a disaster it would be a big disappointment.

100% refund, handwritten apology & move on.

She had no cake pictures and her vision that you sold her on was not at the reception. That isnt a bridezilla, it is a customer who was disappointed on a very important day that hopefully only happens once in a lifetime.

This is so sad, I am sorry it happened to you. Definitely a worst nightmare scenario, and no easy answers on what to do. My instict would be to refund the wedding cake only, not the grooms cake. Don't understand why the venue wouldn't serve, almost wonder if someone in the wedding party instructed them in that direction.

Deep breaths, this too shall pass, although it probably does not feel like it right now! One more reminder of the importance of liability insurance .... you never know when someone is going to raise a bigger stink than "just" wanting a refund.