I just love all the replies you got, and how you handled the situation! I hope I have the guts to do the very same thing if that ever happens to me! And it is true, buttercream does get cracks in it just from handling the cake, but that certainly doesn't mean it's dry. That lady just didn't give it a chance. I would NEVER have the nerve to tell someone I didn't like their cake! But you did the right thing!

One thing did happen to me one time. This lady that usually orders cakes from me and usually raves about them, just said this particular cake was "nice", but nothing more. She never ordered from me again, but her excuse was she had trouble collecting the money in order to pay me. I think that was just an excuse, but that's okay. You can't please everyone!

I concur with all the others !! Your cakes are very nice. When I read the part about you taking the cake back, my thought was, "RIGHT ON". Not in a mean or ugly way, but what's fair is fair. You put so much time into a cake, and to have someone say it's not what I wanted. Alrighty then, here's your money back, the cake is mine. No free cake after all the hard work that was put into it. Sorry.

I'm curious as to how she reacted when you took the cake back. If I were her, I probably would have stood there wondering what had just happened to me (really). But I think you did the right thing. You set boundaries with her and showed her that if she orders something, does not give you specific instructions, does not LISTEN TO WHAT YOU TELL HER (about not being able to do the border she wants), then complains, well, look what it gets you. Your money back with no cake. Now I have to go buy one of those REALLY BAD store bought cakes?? Say it isn't so

I'm new to this, but I am learning some REALLY VALUABLE lessons from all of you. Good job, girl. You keep bakin' those beautiful cakes for others to enjoy !!!

Suzanne

She actually wasnt at her desk when I went down there. Thank goodness! I dont know if I could have done it then. So unfortunatly, i didnt see the look on her face when she got back to her desk to see it minus a cake. It is almost gone now! I emailed her when I got back to my desk and just said "I'm sorry the cake was not what you expected, I left the money on your desk"

Oh , That is hysterical!
I would love to have been a fly on the wall when she saw that cake was gone!

I love the way you handled the situation! Make sure to keep us updated if she does/says anything!

BTW - your cakes are fantastic! Don't give up on baking/decorating; you are not going to please everyone that you make a cake for.

Bravo for you- her loss, sweetie! Your cakes look great- love the purple hat cake!!

You did exactly the right thing. Throught the years I have learned that there are some people that will never be happy, no matter what you do. I could tell you stories about run-ins with some very difficult customers, and it could take half a day. The worst one though that ever happened was this: when I was a cake decorator at a local grocery store, I made a cake for a lady to take to work. We had a book of pictures the customer to have to be Kopycaked onto their cake. I did the cake, and the lady picked up the cake, however, the person who took the order out at the bakery counter, had written down the wrong picture number. I offered to fix it quick for her, and have someone from the store deliver it to her at her job(same place my hubby works). I figured since it was only 6 in the morning, and she didnt need it until their lunch time, it would work out. But no, the woman stood out in the store ranting and screaming, and then she called me a dumb f------!! and just took the cake, swearing all the way out of the store. I burst into tears and hid in the bathroom for a half hour. I felt miserable the whole day, and was ready to quit decorating right then and there.

IGNORE IDIOTS & don't stop decorating...also you really should have posted a note with this cake after you had cut it, stating--"so & so thought this cake was dry--what do you think" then maybe it would have gotten back to so & so--oh i'm sorry, i'm being MEAN

Watch her!! With all those rave reviews you are getting she just may try to sneak up there and snag a piece.

Wow I really couldn't have done that (not sure what she wanted the cake for--but now she doesnt have one)...............I guess it depends on the tone in which she complained.... Every cake I make I am disappointed with because it doesnt look anything like the picture in my head.....perhaps it just wasnt what she pictured either.....seems like if you had worked out a discount you wouldnt have been out the $20 you spent on the cake....but maybe she didnt want to work with you (and just wanted a free cake).

Bravo! Bravo! I applaud you for taking back the cake. I read about so many of us giving the money back and letting the person keep the cake. Oh no, no, no... this is not the way it should be. Good for you and keep on decorating!

I don't think you should have to work out a discount because someone didn't like it. The last time I bought something at the store and I didn't like it, I got my money back, and they got the item back.

Did she say she wanted her money back? If not, I bet she was floored when she got back to her desk to find the cake gone and the money back.

Ha ha! That is hilarious! She didn't get to taste the cake, did she? I hope she heard from other people how delicious it was.

That is awesome! Good for you! You shouldn't be embarassed - especially after the rave reviews! SHE Should be embarassed - she didn't even TASTE the cake - heck w/ all the cake pokers and icing swipers out there - she didn't even stick her finger in the icing and taste a little bit of it to see if it was dry???? I mean I guess that's good b/c you could take it back completely decorated and give to your co-workers - no pieces missing or marks in the icing..... but still, um what was she thinking? Did you tell her that sometimes buttercream cracks and that it does not mean the cake is dry? I would have asked her to taste it before I took it back - I prob. would have tasted it with her and if I agreed it was dry - give the money back - but if it was perfectly moist - I'd say "well looks like it's fine - enjoy!" Although she could be pissed about a piece missing out of the cake then! But I don't know - I don't think I'd complain until AFTER I had tasted something - and if everyone else thought it was dry too - then I would complain to the decorator - but not before!!!

Don't give up decorating b/c of difficult customers - there are a TON out there who just live to complain - there could be nothing wrong - like that flower arrangement - please - "i dont like orange and purple - fix it?" It was a GIFT - SHE didn't place the order - so how was the florist to know she didn't like orange and purple? I don't think I've ever sent back flowers to have them changed b/c i wasn't so keen on the colors... I mean maybe if it was a sweater or something and the color looked atrocious ON me - then I might take a gift back to exchange for color - but my gosh ..... there are just people out there that live to complain and to see what they can get free - don't let it get to you! If you haven't gotten 10 complaints in a row (from different customers)- then I say it was a fluke and to forget about it!

You Go Girl! Hooray for you! Take the cake and run! I so admire you for taking the cake. I would have been spineless and left it, but secretly wanted to take the cake, but then I would have felt bad about them not having any cake to eat if they needed it right then.

I'll have to remember this if this ever happens to me. Please keep us updated on how she reacts. I would have LOVED to see the look on her face. I bet it was priceless! I bet she looked like this:

hahahahahahahahaha. I can be so evil sometimes.

You all sure do know how to make a girl feel better! I didnt even concider NOT taking the cake back! She did ask for her money back. I was so shocked when she called that I just went down there right away, so I was surprised she wasnt right there, since I had JUST talked to her on the phone. She wasnt rude on the phone, so I didnt really want to face her. Worked out I guess, she never emailed me back to say she got the $, but she also didnt say she DIDNT get it! So alls well that ends well..the cake is now all gone....I dont know if she snuck up to get a piece or not, but I sure hope she heard all around the office how yummy it was!

Good luck. I hope she doesn't give you any trouble when you see her at work. Nothing like working around a someone that you've had problems with before. I would just hate for it to seem weird or something everytime you see her.

Sounds like she is cheap and was looking for a discount or favor to help her pay for the pretty cake you made.. ha..... you showed her!!!!!!!!!
let her go to Albertson's and get her cakes.... she probably tries that trick with them also.

Bravo to you for not letting her get away with this>>>>>>>

erinkalins----
Your cakes are beautiful I agree with the ladies here she is probably still shocked and can't believe you took the cake away LOL They are right some people think
'I didn't like it I want my money back and still keep the cake"
Then if the cake is that bad ask for the refund give the cake back don't blame the cake decorator and go to Walmart to buy one!!!!!!!
Some people I swear wake up in the morning thinking "OK how many things am I gonna be able to get for free today" Your cakes are perfect and adorable I see nothing wrong with them "LOOKS DRY" what does she know I bet she burns water!!! Don't ler her put you down. Where did you take the cake? You said "I took it up here, cut it and passed out" Good luck to you and keep on baking

dont be embarrassed and dont stop making cakes - who knows, she actually maybe wasnt pleased with the product - and that is her right (I know the tendency here seems to be to think that anyone who wants their money back is looking for a freebie- not giving you or anyone else a hard time (before anyone jumps on the defensive wagon about my post)- the fact is no we cant please everyone all the time, and there are times when we produce something that is not satisfactory to one client but may be right for others but 10 other people didnt order it, but because we are professional (or ought to behave that way becuase we are business people and if we dont our reputations go downhill quickly) we do the right thing and make things right when a customer is not happy (I'm not talking about the horror stories). it is humanly impossible to be perfect- we just cant go through life without F%%%ing up once in a while- and it just takes a big person to admit when we F%%% up (I'm talking generically- not about this particular stituation- it's impossible or unreasonable to get on any sort of bandwagon without knowing the 'full' story- I mean all we hear is one side right? Again, not pickin on you or anyone else. If a client didnt like it and it wasnt up to snuff and they were not being unreasonable, the big thing to do is apologize, admit to ourselves and to them we didnt produce something perfect, the client wasnt happy and we made the situation right so the customer doesnt go away ranting (Bad press is on average 10 times more powerful than good press )

Ok I'm talking from a fair customer's point of view here- and shall expect a whole earful from a bunch of you I suspect, but ifI was worried about that I wouldnt post this in the first place.
Ok so again, please read this what I'm saying with a clear mind and try not and get defensive. Because I do not question the enormous talent in here. Just wanted to point out perhaps not in this situation but in general that just PERHAPS not every customer who wants their money back or partially refunded is trying to get a freebie or a Walmart price for a champagne taste.

It's just that the majority of 'refund' type stories that I hear about in here the finger is invariably pointed at the customer for being out of their minds LOL (I'm not saying there arent those kinds, just trying to make it fair game that not all customers are cheapo assholes trying to scam lol
EDited to add that I am fairly new and havent read many of the threads yet so please forgive me if there are those I'm referring to that I havent read yet lol. I need to pass a law for more hours in hte day so I can catch up on all the darn reading LOL

And keep on baking those lovely creations you all do so well!

Actually, Oceanspitfire, you have a very valid point. It is possible that even though the cake was gorgeous, it just wasn't what the customer wanted. But in that case, all you can do is give them their money back. I certainly wouldn't let them have the cake for free though, just in case they are trying to 'work you over'. There are some honest people out there that only complain when they are genuinely dissatisfied, it's just that we deal with so many of the other type that it's hard to determine whose full of sawdust in the head!! I would not expect anyone to rake you over the coals for expressing your opinion, especially since you did it in such a nice way!!

I have a feeling that I'm going to encounter this problem tomorrow - and thanks to you, I will just walk away with the cake if she doesn't like it! My customer is already getting a 20% discount on my normal price, so there's no way I'm going to take even more money off just because it wasn't what she had in mind (and she's been a nightmare to pin down on exactly what she wants!). I hope I'm wrong about my customer, but thank you for showing me the light of what to do if she doesn't

I say, the days of"having your cake and eating it too" are over!

No money, no cake....life is tough huh???

Who are these people?

I just make cakes for family and dhs work but not for any money so I can only imagine the RAGE you girls have to hold in.

Sheesh..some people!

Cricketlegs

I had one lady who was dissapointed about a cake-she didn't come right out and say it but you could see it in her face when she picked it up-so I told her to take that one and I made her a different one to go with it (I think it was not as large as she anticipated it would be) I did an "attachment" cake that complimented the original and she was thrilled-even got a 'tip" out of it-still made a profit after the 2nd cake and she is a regular customer-I think things are open to presentation and interpretation-and how it is handled on both parts-we have all returned something at the store at one time or another-and granted a cake is a bit different-but I do agree that if someone is not happy with the cake-take it back and refund-don't just give it away to them-if it wasn't "good enough" to pay for-they they don't need to have a freebie-keep on baking and decoration-you do really great work and honestly, if she wants to order again, I would discuss this with her and find out exactly what she wasn't happy with and give it another shot-if she doesn't ask then that's the way it goes...

Goody for you !!!!!! Sooorrrreeeeaaaaaaa.......for her.......

I would have done the same thing...."took back the cake"......at least the one's that did eat cake enjoyed it !!!!!!!

Like everyone is saying......some people out there just live to complain....and "expect" everything for FREE just because they complain.....it's hard when you put alot of effort into making and decorating the cake......

You go girl !!!!!!!!

LOL. Well....I'm glad at least SOMEONE got to enjoy it!

I wonder what her reaction is going to be??

Keep us updated.