The one I'm not surprised because she didn't say anything about a cake I made last year for her daughter, but she ordered again, so it must have been good. A friend of hers emailed me though to tell me she LOVED the cake and that it was delicious and inquired about a cake for her son...

The other three - one was a week ago and I've heard nothing - good or bad.

The other two were for yesterday - and I haven't heard anything.

What is the usual protocol? Since these are paid for cakes, they don't have to do the courtesy thing, but is it good to email them to ask? Or to say something general like, "I hope your party was a success and thank you for choosing me to do the cake." or somethig like that?


I don't want to be pushy, but if something wasn't good, I want to know about it. Or, if they were really pleased, this helps to know too!

melissa

I would assume if you don't hear any feedback everything was perfect. I believe most service providers should initiate a feedback process for customers so they can improve their processes and service (e.g. follow-up calls when you purchase a new car, etc.). So your idea of a post-party email is a great idea. You could create a 'form' email you send to all your customers asking for ratings, suggestions, general comments, etc...

No news is good news. Drop it.

I generally take high quality photos of all my cakes for my portfolio. I usually email a acopy of the photo to the client a fewvdays after their event saying something like 'Thought I'd send a photo as I know how hard it can be to get a good one at a fun party.' Idon't ask for feedback, but generally they reply with somethingVabout how they liked it or whatever, sometimes they send a photo of the recipient cutting/eating the cake. It's a subtle non-pushy way of getting some feedback.

great idea emma-I guess no news is good news and the more I do I have to remenber that all people will not react the same. A friend of mine once said -people consider it a service and unfortunately people usually feel free to complain but to respond so much when satisfied...

foer example a wedding cake I did- got rave reviews from the manager at the venue who called ahead to tell the manager at the next venue who great he cake was and to look out for the groons cake I was delivering. It got great reviews here -it got great reviews from other friends who where at he wedding

from the cuople-nadda


when i ran into them the other day the where nothing but praise and appreciation- BUT they never called-e-mailed nuttin' nadda


so.... like some have said I guess

no news is good news


but I am with you berry - I love feedback

I totally understand where you are coming from. I would LOVE feedback about all the cakes I make. But, I did not give feedback to the past person I ordered cakes from, just continued to order. I don't give feedback to people who provide a service for me - I don't call the cleaners and tell them they did a nice job with my shirt, I don't call the plumber and tell him he did a great job on our plumbing. I have to remind myself that. Don't get me wrong, I feel JUST like you - I want them to email me or call me and tell me they loved it but I just sit and wait and they eventually order again and that is all the feedback I need

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. If you picked up a cake at a grocery store, would you make a point to call them and tell them what you thought about it? Doubtful! Your customer would certainly tell you if there was something wrong! Your customer paid you, you said thank-you, and it's done.

It would be nice to get raves about everything we do, but it's just not realistic. How many times have you gone into a restaurant, enjoyed a wonderful meal and gone back to the kitchen to compliment the chef?

Just putting a 'real-life' spin on it.

Repeat and referal customers are the best compliments there are!

I have a few customers that email with terrific feedback all the time, and a few that I've learned give feedback months later when they order another. I posted about this same thing a long time ago because it really bothered me too, but now I feel like Indydebi-no news is good news. Assume they loved it. I do like Emma's idea though!

I sort of agree that no news is good news and that contacting for follow up isn't a great idea....I also think that if they were too polite to tell you the cakes were bad, they probably would not tell you if you called and asked. And lastly, I think they were just fine because quite frankly, if they sucked, you wouldn't be getting more orders as the 'bad' word of mouth would have killed ur business!

I only had one person call after I had delivered a cake to say how much they liked it - I still have it on my voicemail....how pathetic is that? So I totally understand your desire to hear feedback.......

I agree with the no news is good news, if you get a referral I take that as positive feedback, heck I just had someone call who was referred by someone who didn't go through to order stage with their initial inquiry.

Having said that I LOVE emma's idea, especially if it's a wedding cake, I've been to a couple of weddings where the photographer forgot or didn't get a very good photo of the cake, lucky for the bride and groom I had taken pictures of the cake and gave them copies of the pics. (This is weddings where cakes weren't done by me). You often get a lot of people in the way at birthday's too so a clear shot of the cake is a fabulous idea, I'm going to start doing that! Thanks emma!

Well I know it's not from the people but will we do?!?!?!?! cuz I think all of your cakes look great and you do a really nice job.

I can honestly say I would probably never think to call/email/write my cake baker/decorator if the cake was great. I'm not saying that's right! I would certainly be a better, more considerate person if I did that (well and now after having read this thread I probably would lol). I totally 100% agree why you would WANT to hear feedback and why it would be ideal if every customer did give you the feedback (especially raves!) you deserve.

My point is just that you should NOT feel bad or worry that the customers didn't like your work, no matter how many orders in a row go without comment. Like previous posters have said: your referrals speak volumes. Don't doubt yourself!!

If you're really uncomfortable about not getting ANY feedback (good or bad) I could have sworn I read a thread a few weeks (months?) ago offering some suggestions of a vendor thank-you letter that includes a solicitation for feedback. Some people do this with their final invoice (even if the invoice reads "PAID"). Again though, try to put yourself in the shoes of the average, everyday customer...they may not want to spare the 5 minutes to fill something out. They figure, you're a business, you make great cakes, you already know that.

I love Emma's idea - a great idea if you can take a spectacular photo of the cake. Chances are at the party nobody got as good a shot as you did in the privacy of your own kitchen. Then they contact you just to thank you for doing something so nice...and of course they'll tell you how they liked the cake too .