Question... Why didn't she call as soon as the problem arose?? You heard later from someone else that there was a problem? My guess is she knew she was at fault and that's why she didn't call...

I also always put a center dowel in a 2 tiered cake. I also carry all my cakes in my trunk. The one time I tried to put one in my seat leveled out with books it was my one disaster (so far). I have put them in my front floorboard but they don't always fit.

If I'm delivering all the way to the site I put in a large storage bin.

I would probably also offer at least a partial refund but I'm a doormat and I'm still trying to establish my business and its not worth the negative advertisement I could get. I also live in a very small town so when anyone here does anything everyone else hears about it.

I'm sorry this happened. Good luck!

I agree that the trunk of the car is safe. It's completely flat - no matter how you pad the seat with towels, it's never completely level and can shift.

I had a friend pick up a cake in an SUV - there was so much stuff in the back there was no room for a cake and there were two carseats in the backseat. She put it on the floor behind the drivers seat (only flat space) and then put the seat back!! Crunch! Lucikly the box was quite a bit larger than the cake... I don't think there was any damage - maybe the border but not my problem! I don't get it? Did they forget they were picking up a cake?

Hi

I am sorry this happened to you Bellsnbows , that cake is awesome ,
I have had a cake shop for about 15 years and I have heard it all when it comes to people damaging cakes and trying to blame (me or us)
A few weeks ago I had a bride to be pick up a cake for her bridal shower , and she returned with it 30 minutes later , damaged , it was obviously her fault , it plain as day had a ding in the back of the cake the height of the cake box she said it slid and she tried to push it back , it must of slid at 100km an hour to make that dint , and she had hand marks on it and smudged the edges and writing , she said she had set it up at home and taken photos and all and when she came back and it was like that , (meaning it must of been in the design) and slid
I fixed it and made it prettier than when it left on its first trip to her house and certainly let her know in no uncertain terms that it did not happen that way but I am happy to repair it free of charge as I would never want anyone to think I thought a cake looking like it had fallen off a table and been caught was my completed work , you have to be firm and direct and tell these people that you are not responsible for the cake once they take it in their car and that is that , some people drive like maniacs
I never ever put a centre dowel in any of my cakes no matter how many tiers high they are
and I never let anyone put them anywhere but the trunk
I cover them once they have seen them and then help them to the car , move what has to be moved and then say good luck and thats that

please dont feel too bad
Suzy

I guess I'm the only one who puts cakes in the back seat to drive them to places? I do make sure it's level, though. At first, I used a combination of books and towels, and seat-belted the cake box in. (I ALWAYS get a larger box to travel in, even if it's a smaller cake, for safe transport) My husband has since made me a 'leveler' for the seats of both our cars. I have four... one each for the front and back of both cars, and they're labeled. As long as I use those, a center dowel, and a large box so that I can safety-belt it in, I haven't had any problems at all.

Oh, I guess I should also say that my trunk is NOT flat, in the slightest. Even if the cover is on the spare wheel well, it's still a little wonky, so I've never put a cake back there. It's also where all our spare fluids and cleaners are, leaks if it rains, and generally just isn't where I'd choose to put any of my food for longer than it takes to get it from the store to the house.

I'm very sorry that this happened to your cake, but it really does sound like driver error, and I agree that if the one who bought and transported it hasn't complained, then she probably knows that she's not due a refund.

Well, let me ask bellsnbows, do you normally put the "little sticks" in your cakes? I find it interesting that the SIL mentioned this when she left a message. They are clearly seeking a refund or some kind of deal out of this. I am wondering if you normally use dowel rods with your cakes and didn't for some reason this time around. Or if perhaps, the SIL is just confused.

I also think it is pretty lame that the SIL is calling and not the buyer. Perhaps the buyer thinks it is her fault and takes the blame, but her know-it-all SIL is saying that she should get a refund. Some people are just like that - don't we all know.

I think I would offer to do another cake for her at a discounted rate. I don't believe she deserves a refund. There is a fine line between keeping the customer and also not letting them act like it was your fault this happened. You don't want to take the blame, but you also don't want to lose the customer.

I would call the buyer and not the SIL. You may get a totally different response from the buyer. She may admit that some idiot almost ran her off the road and she had to swerve - or something like that.

By the way, great cake!!!!!!

Very cute cake! This sounds like a tough situation especially since you don't have details from the client herself. I agree that you should talk to her personally. The SIL is not your client, and you are not obligated to speak to her. This is an issue that should be handled directly with the customer since she is the one that contracted you to do the cake. SIL probably has issue because it was her son's cake, and your client isn't accepting any responsibility for the cake falling.

I would wait for the client to contact you rather than you seeking her out. If she calls, I suggest asking if she was able to salvage any of the cake and serve it to the guests. If the answer is yes, she should not receive a full refund. I delivered two 2-tier cakes in the back of my Suburban this weekend. Both were doweled but neither had a center dowel and transported just fine.

Thank you to everyone for all of the different opinions. It really helps me to see all angles! By the way, the cake was in a big box and I gave her non-slip mat to put it on. It is kind of a weird situation for who is the client and who is not. My friend/old co-worker gave her my email address and that's how she sent me the cake she wanted. I met my friend with it because she was much closer to me and she brought the money from her sister-in-law. So, technically the mom bought it. I haven't talked to the lady who picked it up. I don't think she's going to admit to any driving errors. I even wondered if she had her music up really loud, isn't that where the speakers are in cars? I know i've read about music knocking cakes off at weddings, etc. I don't know, just a thought. I still haven't gotten to talk to her, we are playing phone tag. We are both teachers so I can't call her during the day. I also wondered why she didn't call me right away. She didn't call until 2 days later.
The cake definitely had dowels in the bottom. I'm not that crazy! (well...maybe...i wonder sometimes! Ha!) I started thinking back to her last cake and the only thing i can think of was it had a number two on top that was stuck on using a popsicle stick. Maybe that's what she means?? I don't know!