Hi,
I am new in the business which I run from home and recently had a dissatisfied customer. I was a chocolate cake and said it was dry. I have done many cakes and all were very happy with my cakes. Does anyone have any suggestions? Do I give her a complimentary cake so that she will order in the future.
Would appeciate any advice.
No, you can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time! So long as 99.9% of people like what you do, you just have to learn to live with that 0.1% who don't!
I would be right on the phone with her. Offer her a small cake of the same or ask her if she would like to try another flavor. With being a new business I'd make it right. When I was new to the business I once had a customer complain that her cake was too moist. Turns out I thought It could have been that my fruit filling was too wet. I made her a new 8" with just one layer of filling made sure I had it firm enough. She is now a frequent customer & has refered a few my way. 
That happen to me. A long story short she wanted two for the price of one. As a matter of fact the cake was soooo ddddrrryyyyy. She bought 5 more of the same cake for the holiday. LOL. So no, I would not specialy you know for a fact that your Dame Good. 
Apologize that she was not completely satisfied with her order, thank her for the feedback, and offer her a free cake in any flavor she would like to try (a SMALL cake, like a 6 or 8 inch round) Sometimes people just want to be heard, and for you to acknowledge her complaint. DON'T get defensive, but don't necessarily accept blame or say you did anything wrong, unless you know the cake was indeed dry. Did you eat any scraps off of the cake?
Wow. This looks like a CC breakthrough!!!! Usually everyone is slamming the customer. Thes comments are right on target. A dry cake needs to be refunded.
Here is a suggestion: Tell her that you are constantly experimenting with tweaking recipes and flavors. Ask her what her favorite flavors are and tell her that when you make those cakes, you will make her a six inch cake and she can help by offering feedback on how her family liked the cake. This does not have to be true, but the cake, or two, will be a peace offering to her and she will tell all of her friends how you tried so hard to win back her business. You can make her cakes and send out the rest of the batter as cupcake samples to businesses. A win for both of you.
I have a full satisfaction guarantee for my business. It is set up so that the situation can be handled without the customer being able to take advantage, but can be remedied in a professional manner. The customer has to check the box before completing the order. If anyone would like the wording, pm me.
Thanks everyone for your replies. The cake according to me was not dry. I had done another delivery on the same day to another customer who was pleased.
sweecakes, you can have two cakes bake differently in the same oven. The top and middle do not bake the same, even in pricey convections. Heat still rises. Bottom line, the customer was not happy. If you buy something and it ends up not as expected, you return it. We in the cake business are not immune to good customer service. But your main objective should be that you have a customer who WILL tell that the cake was dry for a long time to come. In the end, you stand to lose much more than the cost of a few cakes.
sweecakes, you can have two cakes bake differently in the same oven. The top and middle do not bake the same, even in pricey convections. Heat still rises. Bottom line, the customer was not happy. If you buy something and it ends up not as expected, you return it. We in the cake business are not immune to good customer service. But your main objective should be that you have a customer who WILL tell that the cake was dry for a long time to come. In the end, you stand to lose much more than the cost of a few cakes.
This is so very true. I made 4 dozen cupcakes for a coworker. Same oven, same batter, different results. They tasted great, but some of them came out a little more "done" than I like. Like I said, they tasted great and looked great.
After placing the order a few weeks ago, my coworker and her daughter changed the birthday plans and the party was pushed back another day. She failed to inform me of this. I knew those cupcakes would not last that extra day. I immediately refunded half the money and have given her a credit for a future purchase.
Even though she is the one that changed the plans, my company name is attached to those cupcakes. She didn't want to take the refund or the credit, but I insisted. She said she appreciated the gesture and the need for me to ensure the quality of my product.
brenda, I agree completely. I have a customer who wants three different things for two different occasions. She wanted it all at the same time. This will make one item old. My decision is to make two different deliveries so that MY product will be at its best. I will not charge more.
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