Do you get feed back from each customers? When I dont get a feed back from customers I get worried and think what went wrong with my cake? Is that normal? How do i rectify this issue?
Oh, I know. It makes me a bit crazy!
No, not everyone calls me to tell me how much they liked the Sometimes, and I love those.
Aside from contacting them to ask, I have no suggestions. It's part of doing business. I don't always tell the restaurant that I enjoyed my dinner. When it is exceptional, I do. When I get what I expect, I don't. When I get busy, or distracted and it's been too long since dinner, I don't.
Sometimes, no news is good news.
It drives me crazy not hearing anything so I started sending out an email 24 hours after I deliver an order that states
Mm this is a good idea! Will send a follow up email to my clients.
It drives me crazy not hearing anything so I started sending out an email 24 hours after I deliver an order that states
I think that this is an AWESOME idea!
ABefore I started baking i used to order from someone else not too far from me, i absolutely love her cakes but did not always have the time after a party to give feedback. Don't worry about it if they haven't replied to you- no news is good news!!
I'm with the no news/good news policy. If I have a problem with a vendor I will contact them. I really don't want to be bothered after the fact. I say put out your best product and let your revenues build your confidence.
Thank you all. My husband has been saying the same thing as you guys! No news is good news.
I agree that no news is good news. (Though I'm not a cake professional.) I have to respectfully disagree with people that email their customers to say thank you for your business. I don't think it's necessary. From a consumer standpoint, I get really annoyed at the amount of email I get. I don't like that every entity I have ever done business with that has my email feels they have the right to continue to contact me. I do respond to customer satisfaction surveys though if I had a particularly positive experience with a service or product.
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Original message sent by maryintucson
I agree that no news is good news. (Though I'm not a cake professional.) I have to respectfully disagree with people that email their customers to say thank you for your business. I don't think it's necessary. From a consumer standpoint, I get really annoyed at the amount of email I get. I don't like that every entity I have ever done business with that has my email feels they have the right to continue to contact me. I do respond to customer satisfaction surveys though if I had a particularly positive experience with a service or product.
It may depend on the event as well. If your made a wedding cake for a customer I don't think they would mind an email congratulating them on their nuptials (and by the way, thanking them for their business). For a birthday or anniversary cake it's probably not warranted.
For me the issue isn't confidence it's about customer service.
96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, however 91% of those will simply leave and never come back – 1st Financial Training services
Since most people won't initiate a complaint if you are proactive an give a chance to express their concern it's better for your business.
Dissatisfied customers whose complaints are taken care of are more likely to remain loyal, and even become advocates, as those that are ‘just’ customers – Strauss & Seidel
Adissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs
70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated – McKinsey
So taking a second to send a simple email to thank them is part of giving a little extra customer service and completely different from spamming someone with a ton of emails. After that there would be no further emails unless the client had a complaint.
Respectfully Jason...Yesterday I went to small butcher and dropped a rather large sum of money on pork to make sausage for an upcoming event. I later went to Walmart and dropped even money for assorted stuff for this event. Neither called or wrote to congratulate me and thank me for my business. My point is, internet commerce provides an opportunity for businesses to be intrusive. Vendors are not friends. For a wedding a person might use 50 vendors. So they all decide to be friendly after the fact and say thank you? That's a little obnoxious I think. But, again, I am a S.A.H.M. People have to look after their bottom line I understand. If the cake was good and a good value, if they got a lot of attention for it, they will be back for more and send business your way.
AI think walmart or your local butchers is slightly different than your baker- especially if they bake from home, sending an e-mail or text message to thank them for their hard work shows appreciation. It gives bakers that ' motivation ' to work to the best of their abilities and shows gratitude, I love being praised for my work and enjoy praising other's.
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Original message sent by maryintucson
Respectfully Jason...Yesterday I went to small butcher and dropped a rather large sum of money on pork to make sausage for an upcoming event. I later went to Walmart and dropped even money for assorted stuff for this event. Neither called or wrote to congratulate me and thank me for my business. My point is, internet commerce provides an opportunity for businesses to be intrusive. Vendors are not friends. For a wedding a person might use 50 vendors. So they all decide to be friendly after the fact and say thank you? That's a little obnoxious I think. But, again, I am a S.A.H.M. People have to look after their bottom line I understand. If the cake was good and a good value, if they got a lot of attention for it, they will be back for more and send business your way.
Buying a bunch of meat from a butcher or shopping at Walmart is a very different situation from working closely with a baker on a custom cake that is tailored to your event. You are right that vendors are not friends, but as a vendor who provides a custom product for such an important event it is not unusual to foster a relationship with a customer. I would think that most people probably wouldn't view a congrats email from such a vendor as obnoxious.
In our business we got to know several customers pretty well just by providing custom birthday cakes for their kids. For our regular customers I would even proactively contact them a month before their kids' birthdays if it looked like the schedule was filling up faster than usual, just to make sure we could fit them in.
Totally agree with Jason buying from walmart or the butcher is not the same as a custom cake. I had a retail location where people were coming in buying a cupcake I wouldn't bother. But when you are offering a custom higher end product it's different.
I do understand about the intrusive nature of some retail establishment and the crazy amount of emails some of them send you. I always have to go unsubscribe or request that they take me off their mailing list. But if one send me an email thanking or asking me to do a survey I have no problem with that.
For me the issue isn't confidence it's about customer service.
96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, however 91% of those will simply leave and never come back – 1st Financial Training services
Since most people won't initiate a complaint if you are proactive an give a chance to express their concern it's better for your business.
Dissatisfied customers whose complaints are taken care of are more likely to remain loyal, and even become advocates, as those that are ‘just’ customers – Strauss & Seidel
Adissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience. Around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people. – White House Office of Consumer Affairs
70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated – McKinsey
So taking a second to send a simple email to thank them is part of giving a little extra customer service and completely different from spamming someone with a ton of emails. After that there would be no further emails unless the client had a complaint.
I love this! Sums up what I believe for customer service. After all, we are in the business of customer service as well.
Buying a bunch of meat from a butcher or shopping at Walmart is a very different situation from working closely with a baker on a custom cake that is tailored to your event. You are right that vendors are not friends, but as a vendor who provides a custom product for such an important event it is not unusual to foster a relationship with a customer. I would think that most people probably wouldn't view a congrats email from such a vendor as obnoxious.
In our business we got to know several customers pretty well just by providing custom birthday cakes for their kids. For our regular customers I would even proactively contact them a month before their kids' birthdays if it looked like the schedule was filling up faster than usual, just to make sure we could fit them in.
I have to agree with Jason on this one. This is the way to create repeat business; by fostering relationships with your clients. A few decades ago, this was not uncommon. Local butchers KNEW every customer. Locel grocery stores KNEW every customer. Yes, our world changing, but small companies and businesses are known for fostering relationships with their clients even today.
I have to agree with Jason on this one. This is the way to create repeat business; by fostering relationships with your clients. A few decades ago, this was not uncommon. Local butchers KNEW every customer. Locel grocery stores KNEW every customer. Yes, our world changing, but small companies and businesses are known for fostering relationships with their clients even today.
Sweet_Cakes well stated, I agree with you 100%.
Sometimes I will send an email a few days later saying something along the lines of, "Hope you enjoyed your cake!" and some small talk about how the venue looked beautiful etc., and I will include a link to the picture of the cake on my Facebook page. Most of the time they will leave wonderful comments under the cake picture, and then you know they loved the cake :)
Sometimes I will send an email a few days later saying something along the lines of, "Hope you enjoyed your cake!" and some small talk about how the venue looked beautiful etc., and I will include a link to the picture of the cake on my Facebook page. Most of the time they will leave wonderful comments under the cake picture, and then you know they loved the cake :)
I like this idea as well! Companies are fast becoming major Facebook users. By getting your clients to Like your Facebook page, this is a way of knowing how many fans you have!
As a former business, I didn't contact each customer to solicit feedback, but I did treasure the feedback that I DID receive. "No news is good news".
As a consumer, I resent emails that ask for feedback. If there is a problem, I'll tell you. If it was WAY above-and-beyond, I'll tell you.
I will also share that when I hired the caterer (MCL Cafeteria) for my son's wedding rehearsal dinner a couple of years ago ( and yes, it DID pain me to pay someone else to do that!), I wrote a glowing letter on all of the above-and-beyond's they did and everything they did right. Everyone was shocked that a "cafeteria" could do sucha fabulous job on the salmon and chicken cordon bleu. My niece also works for MCL but in another city and she called me to say, "Debi!! Your letter got a full page in our corporate company newsletter!" I am confident that I would never have written such a glowing letter had I been responding to a "how did I do?" email.
I have always put a higher value in from-the-heart feedback as opposed to one that hints of being solicited.
As a former business, I didn't contact each customer to solicit feedback, but I did treasure the feedback that I DID receive. "No news is good news".
As a consumer, I resent emails that ask for feedback. If there is a problem, I'll tell you. If it was WAY above-and-beyond, I'll tell you.
I will also share that when I hired the caterer (MCL Cafeteria) for my son's wedding rehearsal dinner a couple of years ago ( and yes, it DID pain me to pay someone else to do that!), I wrote a glowing letter on all of the above-and-beyond's they did and everything they did right. Everyone was shocked that a "cafeteria" could do sucha fabulous job on the salmon and chicken cordon bleu. My niece also works for MCL but in another city and she called me to say, "Debi!! Your letter got a full page in our corporate company newsletter!" I am confident that I would never have written such a glowing letter had I been responding to a "how did I do?" email.
I have always put a higher value in from-the-heart feedback as opposed to one that hints of being solicited.
I somewhat agree with this. BUT...I still like the idea of emailing your customer thanking them for the business and providing a link to the picture of the cake on the website/Facebook.
As a former business, I didn't contact each customer to solicit feedback, but I did treasure the feedback that I DID receive. "No news is good news".
As a consumer, I resent emails that ask for feedback. If there is a problem, I'll tell you. If it was WAY above-and-beyond, I'll tell you.
I will also share that when I hired the caterer (MCL Cafeteria) for my son's wedding rehearsal dinner a couple of years ago ( and yes, it DID pain me to pay someone else to do that!), I wrote a glowing letter on all of the above-and-beyond's they did and everything they did right. Everyone was shocked that a "cafeteria" could do sucha fabulous job on the salmon and chicken cordon bleu. My niece also works for MCL but in another city and she called me to say, "Debi!! Your letter got a full page in our corporate company newsletter!" I am confident that I would never have written such a glowing letter had I been responding to a "how did I do?" email.
I have always put a higher value in from-the-heart feedback as opposed to one that hints of being solicited.
I tend to agree. I do the best job I possibly can, which in my opinion, also includes being non intrusive. I don't think there is any customer who will be irritated because I didn't call or email them after their party, but plenty who will be if I do contact them. I get that some people appreciate it, but you can't always please everybody.
I realise I'm reviving a thread that's a few months old. I searched the topic because I, too, am unsure about whether to contact customers about how they liked their cake, etc.
Seeing as we don't really know which customers will appreciate being contacted after their event, perhaps a solution would be to mention the fact during delivery of the cake, or in the case of weddings, during the signing of contracts. For example 'Thanks so much for ordering your cake from me. I hope you have a great party. If you have feedback or comments about the cake, please don't hesitate to let me know.'
What do you think? Good idea? Bad?
That sounds fine, I suppose, but for my personal taste, it's still too heavy handed. And that means at least some customers will also see it as such. I'd want them to leave the cake and get out of my hair, so that's what I do for them. They're having to deal with all the other venders - the balloon person, the candy person, the entertainment, the caterer, etc. I want to be easy, breezy and the last thing I'm going to be saying at the cake delivery is, hey how 'bout some feedback. Beside, the cake is perfect, right? So I'd just be asking for compliments. I'm sure not going to imply "if you have any problems".
It's Monday and I've already had positive feedback from half of my cake orders for last weekend. If people have something to say, in my experience, they'll say it.
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