I did'nt consider this a diaster but my client did. I did a 5 tier,stacked construction, all fondant cake for her daughter's wedding this past Sat. When we got to the venue, the bottom tier was cracked irrepairably. With quick thinking, we removed the bottom tier and sent it to the kitchen with the mgr. to be served with the rest after the cake was cut. As with most huge cakes there is always a back to the cake and fortunatly this cake was butted up against the dais with lots of lights and table cloths and what not. The thing that made this the back was not so bad, You could see part of the card board where a little of the fondant had cracked in delivery. I stood on the dais and could not see anything but the top two teirs of the cake. The client must have gone looking behind the cake in order to have seen it. Also she said that the cake was leaning and was'nt level. well it was not leaning and it was level. I use a Constuction level on all of my tiered cakes. I always take pictures of my cakes before I leave home and after set up.
Well I called the client and expressed my concern and offered my apology. I also sent her pictures of the cake from when we completed set up. I dont know what else to say at this point. What do you all think. I'm stressed.
W/o seeing pix it is going to be very hard to help you.
The cake still could have started leaning after you left. Was the table level? Or did you level the cake on the table? that could be the cause of it leaning. Seeing as you had a problem and had to remove a tier it certainly could have caused the whole cake to be unstable.
The first thing that comes to mind is the support system. What did you use?
As for what you should do....you've done it!! You apologized. If your pictures support the fact that the cake was not leaning when you left, then there's nothing left to do. It's cake....things happen. I think you made a great save..and she should appreciate that. I tell ALL of my customers that I don't make perfect cakes. Perfect isfor God. I strive for excellence and accept that even our best efforts sometimes will not please everyone.
I would NOT offer a refund or discount on a future order unless you really feel that you did something wrong.
you can also give her a free cake... my clients liked it... 
I tell ALL of my customers that I don't make perfect cakes. Perfect isfor God. I strive for excellence and accept that even our best efforts sometimes will not please everyone.
I like that!
As for the wedding cake, if you have photos that the cake was fine when you left, I'd leave it at the apology. Was it edible? Did they eat it? Offer an 8" cake on their anniversary if you have to. You cannot be responsible for what anyone does to a cake when you leave. How can you not know if anyone messed with the table or the cake after you left?
First of are you making six figures off of one cake? No? Then dont worry about it! If you were doing a Hollywood cake and getting paid WELL for it, then I would say you have a problem. But since most of us on here are not Collette Peters or Ron Bon Israel, then things are going to happen that you can not for see and the client should understand that. If you feel removing the top tier made the thing lean, then give her the 5%, apologize again and then let it go! Like DDiva said, perfect is for God and as we know, neither was he!!
As for what you should do....you've done it!! You apologized. If your pictures support the fact that the cake was not leaning when you left, then there's nothing left to do. It's cake....things happen. I think you made a great save..and she should appreciate that. I tell ALL of my customers that I don't make perfect cakes. Perfect isfor God. I strive for excellence and accept that even our best efforts sometimes will not please everyone.
I would NOT offer a refund or discount on a future order unless you really feel that you did something wrong.
I disagree. In reading her post she stated when she arrived at the venue the cake was cracked and not repairable so they had to remove the bottom tier. She also state the pictures were taken prior to the cake being delivered to the venue which deem the pictures useless in their defense.
I realize the client's complaint wasn't that there was an actual tier missing, but because of that issue, she may have gone hunting for other problems with the cake. I do realize that the bottom tier was brought to the kitchen and served also. You did the very best you could under the circumstances.
But, because of the bottom tier not being part of the "display" cake, I don't think a 10-15 % refund is unreasonable.
I had a similar issue last year...the bottom of four was utterly cracked and could not be used at all. I ended up giving a 50% refund because the design of the cake had changed, and they were out 50 servings.
I realize the client's complaint wasn't that there was an actual tier missing, but because of that issue, she may have gone hunting for other problems with the cake. I do realize that the bottom tier was brought to the kitchen and served also. You did the very best you could under the circumstances.
But, because of the bottom tier not being part of the "display" cake, I don't think a 10-15 % refund is unreasonable.
I had a similar issue last year...the bottom of four was utterly cracked and could not be used at all. I ended up giving a 50% refund because the design of the cake had changed, and they were out 50 servings.
I agree, its cake, it is not going to stand up to everyone leaning on the table to get a better look. This is why everyone should take pictures after set up. Congrats on the cake and I am sure you did a great job. I wouldn't offer anything else, but an apology. Did this lady bother asking the reception hall if they bumped the table? Probably not. But you have to agree, the cake was set up fine and was fine when you left it, you cant blame yourself for anything that happens to the cake after that.
I did a 5 tier,stacked construction...the bottom tier was cracked irrepairably. With quick thinking, we removed the bottom tier and sent it to the kitchen with the mgr. to be served with the rest after the cake was cut.
Aside from debating about whether or not it was leaning and/or how big the crack in the fondant was, she ordered a 5-tiered cake for display but got a 4-tiered cake for display because the bottom tier was cracked and had to be removed and sent to the kitchen for serving only.
It was a good save on your part and she got all of the cake servings she paid for, but I think you owe her a partial refund because she ordered a 5-tiered cake for display, not a 4-tiered cake + kitchen cake for extra servings.
It would definately be helpful to see pictures in order to give a more honest opinion. Would you post them please?
[First of are you making six figures off of one cake? No? Then dont worry about it! If you were doing a Hollywood cake and getting paid WELL for it, then I would say you have a problem. But since most of us on here are not Collette Peters or Ron Bon Israel, then things are going to happen that you can not for see and the client should understand that. If you feel removing the top tier made the thing lean, then give her the 5%, apologize again and then let it go! Like DDiva said, perfect is for God and as we know, neither was he!!quote]
Huhh?? 
[/quote]
I tell ALL of my customers that I don't make perfect cakes. Perfect isfor God. I strive for excellence and accept that even our best efforts sometimes will not please everyone.
I would NOT offer a refund or discount on a future order unless you really feel that you did something wrong.
I agree 100%
If you had a picture after set up, and everything was fine, an apology would suffice. I am seeing here that maybe you DON"T have that. She may have been a little mad about that and kept watch of the cake to see if anything else could happen. And something may have very well happened!
I would give another apology with a small discount off of a next order, not a refund! They did eat all the cake didn't they? The cake was still in tact for them to use so...you can't give money back for a cake that was fine! Maybe even offer that free cake for the anniversary. That might just make her happy.
I just dont understand why some people just want to complain about every tiny detail to get a discount (And it sounds like its the brides MOM who had the problem, not the bride!)..You apologized, that's enough in my opinion. Especially if they ate it!
Just before my wedding, my bridesmaids and I were in the reception hall at the resort waiting to go out (We had a beach wedding)... The cake tiers had been separated by columns, and I guess since it was a warm day, the cake decided to give a little. It started off leaning just a little bit, and within ten minutes we went over to "inspect"... my friend Amber and I ended up catching the top two tiers of my cake as it fell!! 
We had cake all over our hands. So she's there in her satin bridesmaid gown, and I'm there in my wedding gown, and we are laughing our butts off! There was no complaining, we just had the wedding planner call the bakery. She said she'd take care of it, we took the columns out and sat the cake on top of the bottom tier as centered as we could. At least we knew the icing was amazing!!! When we got back from the ceremony part of wedding, the cake was perfect again! My husband and I even went to the bakery during our honeymoon and thanked them for such a wonderful cake and for fixing it on such short notice (Whether that was their "job" or not).
LadyDZA ... what a great story! You kept your sense of humour and saw the situation for what it was...hugely funny...and not an earth shaking disaster. In no way would your cake maker wish for this to happen. He/she would be mortified. Thanks for sharing.
Actually when I was the mother of the bride and had paid for the cake I felt I had every right to see that everything was as perfect as could be concerning the cake as well as the other aspects of the wedding. It may have been the bride's special day but it was my money paying for it all and I always want my money's worth. If my cake was damaged on arrival you can bet I'd be checking it over real carefully, and I venture to say so would you.
I agree with Snowboarder, the order was for a 5 tier cake to be displayed. What she got was a 4 tier display cake and a kitchen cake. While it was an unforeseen circumstance and a great save on your part, the fact remains she didn't get what she ordered. Number of servings yes, but 5 tiers no. That big tier missing from the bottom would make a big difference in the look. You can't undo anything of course, but I think I'd send her a little card to be redeemed for a free 8" round cake or sheet cake, to be used within the next 10 months. You can only do so much by way of apology. If you try too hard to make it up you could end up being played like a fiddle and you don't want that.
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