So a customer picked up the cake today and then emailed me later that the figurine fell apart when they lifted it up and it crumbled so now they have to go buy another cake. This is my first issue like this and I'm not sure how to handle it. Obviously I want to reimburse part of the money, but I also did put some time and money into it. How would you handle the situation? TIA!
ETA: Before the cake left my posession, I had put the figurine onto the cake for photos, but took it off for transport. I had no issues with it falling apart or anything, so I'm sure it should have been sturdy enough.
They need an entire new cake just for the figurine falling off?? 
why do they have to buy another cake just because the figurine fell apart? Did it fall apart when the picked the cake up or when they picked the figurine up? If the figurine fell apart when they picked it up then I would say that it's their fault, it is after all just food and is not indistructable. I would ask them to send me a picture.
By the way I am not a professional, so this is just my personal opinion.
From what she said in the email, the figurine crumbled. This lady can be very melodramatic, so it makes me wonder how bad it actually was. And from what she said, it fell apart when she picked the figurine up.
I find it really hard to believe the figure fell apart with regular lifting.. She probably crushed it by accident and then blamed you.... at any rate I would ask to see apicture of how bad it really is.. Other than that I would not offer any refund.. Cake is fine..
You know what shape it was in when it left your care so you are no longer responsible for it when it leaves.. Does the grocery store give you another cake if you drop it in their parking lot??? Not likely!!
And from what she said, it fell apart when she picked the figurine up.
She probably wasn't very careful when she picked it up. Non-cake people don't realize that it is sugar and therefore is a lot more delicate then a plastic figurine would be. If she was picking up the figurine and she broke it, it is not your fault.
If you don't work with her you will have a P.O.'d customer, so why not refund the price of the topper? It makes no sense that she had to buy another cake.
I agree with all the above comments. Her words were crumbled? Not broke? Hard to believe it crumbled, and lets just say for good measure it did "crumble" sounds like an issue of not being careful. Crumbled to me means little pieces of figure, which means it was crushed. Its not titanium!
And a whole new cake.... Puhlease!! the cake tastes the same figure or not, and you put work in to it. I wouldn't give a refund, but if its something you want to smooth over so you don't get bad reviews from her, then I'd offer a discount on the next cake, like 10% or $15 off a cake of $75 or more. But not a refund.
Thanks everyone for the input.
The customer hasn't asked for a refund yet, so I'm just kind of preparing for what the next step may be. I figured I wouldn't offer any refund until she asks. Is that what you would do?
I can't imagine why in the world she needed to buy a whole new cake
I wouldn't offer a refund unless she asks for one and then just for the cost of the topper. I would mention to her that you are surprised that it fell apart since you put it on the cake for a picture and removed it and it stayed together just fine.
I'm still trying to figure out why they had to buy a whole new cake. That doesn't make any sense to me.
I have it in my contract, that they have to initial so they can't say they didn't know, if they're choosing a customer pick-up instead of me delivering it, after they sign off on it and it leaves my hands, ANYTHING that happens thereafter is NOT my problem.
I, too, am not sure why they'd need a whole other cake because of a topper issue. Sounds like they're playing you to get money back, which must be working since you want to refund them!
I wouldn't bother asking for a picture because at this point, she can do any damage she wants to the topper and say "look what happend," kwim ? I doubt you could trust a picture at this point.
That's very strange she said it required her to buy an entirely new cake. That's the avenue I would be pursuing, not what happened to the topper. Something is fishy here!
I had something similar happen to me this past summer. A client sent her husband to pick up a buttercream cake. We did not have a box wide enough to set the cake in, so we used a full sheet box. We put slip guards underneath it, placed and secured it in the vehicle for him, told him how to drive, and off and away he went. That was at 2pm.
At 6:30, the wife calls to say that the cake was ruined because it wasn't boxed properly. (Now, mind you, the cake was a 12" on a 14" board, so there was a bumper... she was trying to claim that the cake slid around and damaged the sides). She wanted me to offer the money back. I told her that once it leaves the shop, it is out of our hands, but if she brought it back, I would definitely stay late and fix it for her. However I was not going to refund it.
Well guess what? She declined my offer to repair the cake, which makes me wonder if the cake was damaged in the first place. I think she just wanted to have her cake for free and eat it too.
The next time you send out a cake, make sure the person initials something that states it is out of your hands once it leaves your place of business. It sounds to me that this lady is trying to get her money back from you. I have had an open shop for two years, and this does happen.....be careful!!
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