I wouldn't even respond to her at all. Are you really obligated to tell someone when their cake was baked? Most people tend to think that their cakes are baked the night before they are due. It's ridiculous. She's rude and I'd be done with her now.

You replied, stated your case and she now wants to play the e-mail game and treat you like dog poop?

If I were you I would not reply any further.

She will probably e-mail you a time or two again and if she does then you refer to your contract as you did to us. If she pushes back again I would consult your business attorney, or find one who can give you assistance and after consulting with them reply back with "I apologize you feel the way you do, upon recommendation of my lawyer it is suggested that I no longer speak to you on this matter and all inquiries need to be referred to him."

Chances are when she sees that you are proactive with lawyering up she will back right down. She's looking for a refund, and won't want the hassle of a lawyer and court. Small claims maybe, and let her if she does. You will have the documentation of harassment from her, and a paper trail showing you were professional and did the right thing by consulting a lawyer on the matter instead of getting into a potentially nasty she said/she said over e-mail. The judge will see a bride who either over spent or is being a zilla towards you vs. a professional who did the right thing by taking the legal and high road.

Best of luck to your situation.

Thank you everyone. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have a place to vent and feel supported. I will be sending the response I posted today. Decided to wait until my posted business hours so as not to encourage her to send late night or weekend rants. We shall see how or if she responds.

A friend of mine brought up a good point. This woman made a point of commenting on how she was pleased with the look of the cake. My friend thinks she knew she couldnt get away with complaining about that because I take pictures after setup for my records and make them sign for the cake stating that it was received as ordered and undamaged. I guess she figured that I couldnt argue if she said she didnt like the taste.

And if she was so devestated why wait 5 days? My personal wedding cake 16 years ago fell over and they delivered the wrong cake (wrong flavor, wrong color, wrong design, obviously brought me someone elses cake). I went on honeymoon and my Aunt called the bakery at 9am Monday morning to speak with the owner. Her mother had a copy of the contract since she paid for it. Why didnt she call me?

Just spoke with the planner from the other wedding that had the cake I made baked at the same time with the same batches of batter as the complaint cake. We were discussing another wedding for next month.

Aside from the fact that the bride loved her cake, she told me that she brought home the leftover cake from that wedding and her and her husband ate it with every meal until it was gone. They couldnt get enough of it. Her husband kept saying "wow, this is GOOD cake"

Momma28, I totally agree with everyone else, you absolutely need to stick to you guns! You know you cake looked great and tasted great! Besides, if as she said, the cake was so stale and inedible, then she should be able to return all the portions that couldn't be eaten.

Is it just me, or the popularity of "Million Dollar wedding" or "Bridezilla"---- aren't there more and more of these "I was unhappy?" posts?

So bride orders an $800 cake and wants a FULL refund because she though the icing color looked more like "peach" instead of "coral"????

You just have to move on and NOT let some whiny B----H get away with it. You work HARD for your $$$$, so PLEASE keep it!

I think people are emboldened by using email and she is able to say things she probably wouldn't have the nerve to say if she spoke to you in person. If she had to speak to you in person, I think she would back down some. I also would be curious to know if she had a piece, when and under what circumstances. Good luck!!

Unfortunately...SHE"S BACK! I received an email last night of a nature that shocked me. Demending a full refund and saying that she would take me to small claims court and report me to the better business bureau. She said I delivered junk and that I should not advertise fresh cakes since thats not what I make! (MY CAKES ARE MADE FRESH FOR EVERY ORDER!) She then said (after saying the entire cake went in the garbage and not one person ate the cake) that one tier was supposed to be lemon and that no one could taste the difference.FIRST : her contract was for orange zest to be added to one tier of the yellow cake which it was, she doesnt even remember what she ordered?? SECOND: if no one could supposedly tell the difference (she told me specifically at the tasting where I brought a cake with a hint of zest to show that slight freshness that zesting adds, it was not like she ordered creamsicle) then wouldnt they have had to eat of slice of each??????

I wrote back relaying the time frame in which her cake was made (baked thursday evening for decorating friday and delivery saturday). I also let her know that the cake was made at the same time from the same large batches of cake for another wedding and tastings (as I reference in an earlier portion of this thread) and met with rave reviews. I then directed her to her contract which she signed on such and such a date which clearly states that all payments made to your cake are non refundable.

Hoping I dont here from her again, there was more nasty stuff in the email, it was a long rant, I imagine it will be more of the same. She is saying that business is based on word of mouth and hers wont be good if I dont refund her money. Nice to threaten to slander me

hmmmm, lawyer up before she does and refer crazy lady to them.. no more contact between you directly.

as for the word of mouth thing, do you really want business from friends of hers?? and anyway, like you say, all your other cakes have met with rave reveiws.. so dont even bat and eyelash at that little comment. =)

Do I really need a lawyer for small claims court? It will cost more than if I refunded her. If I had ANY doubt, ANY at all I would just refund her and make it go away but those cakes were NOT stale.

My husband actually did say that the best thing that could happen is that she tells all her friends not to order from me and then I wouldnt have deal with that type of person any more.

Wow - I am so sorry!!!! Wonder why she waited 3 weeks before this threat? If I had felt so strongly over something - not sure I would have waited that long. Something doesn't sound right with her. I also agree to stay away from her and her friends!!! They all need to go on the "no cake for you" list!!!!

Dear Momma,
I do not own a business and I am not familar with U.S. laws etc (born in England, living in Germany), and I don't know you or your cakes - so on quite a few levels, I am not qualified to give you advice.
But on a "people" level I would like to say something concerning this:

Do you know what? I think that is exactly what she is waiting for, for you to decide that a lawyer will cost you more than refunding her, and that she will get some sort of refund from you because of this.

Personally, I would advise, that if you can afford it, get a lawyer. Don't let her get away with what she is trying to do, that is just so discusting!
You should fight her tooth and nail - on principle - but like I said, only if you can afford it. But reading what you write, wouldn't you definately win? And wouldn't your costs be refunded?

I really hope you can get this issue resolved soon, for your own peace of mind, as it really does seem to be hurting you, but I do hope you stay strong and don't give into this horrible woman.

I hope you keep us informed, how this issues is resolved and I wish you all the best.

Marina

also, im betting that hearing that you have gotten yourself a lawyer would probably be enough to frighten her off. im in aust. so again, also not familiar with your laws/lawyers/courts etc, but even if you can just find a cheap one, go for it. i dont know if its against the law, but maybe even get a friend to pretend they are lawyer and see what happens...lol, obviously dont do that if its against the law.

I have absolutely NO doubt I would win in small claims court. NONE

Its just that I am used to people RAVING about how good my cakes are, not only beautiful (even the other cake made iwth hers). I have never had a complaint and it is just turning my stomach.

I am hoping that she will understand that I will not be backing down and realize she cant win against a contract she signed and no proof of what she is saying (never got a piece of the cake to prove it wasnt good)

First off, this sucks! I recently received my first bad review too in which the cake was dry (I also baked another cake that day and tasted it myself, not dry) and color was wrong etc.... I was completely in shambles for days about it. But alas I bucked it up. May be the nature of the beast in our business like someone said before food is subjectable - you can not please everyone and people hate spending a lot of money on things they consume and never see again (other than in pictures I guess).

If she does mean what she says about taking you to small claims court then it is good that you baked another cake and a sample cake so that you have witnesses to the texture and flavor to the cake. You also have a contract stating that she did not order lemon cake as she claims. My guess however is that she is just trying a scare tactic with you. She is threating to tell people not to order a cake from you IF you do not give her a full refund. The fact of the matter is is that she will anyway so that is a moot threat.

Ha! One more thing... I wonder if her mother (who paid for the cake) knows what she is up to? She probably plans on running off with money that IF owed would be owed to her mother!

I can totally understand how you feel. It really does put a damper on things and just ties you up in knots to know that someone finds fault in you no matter how off base it is.

IF I were in your shoes.... I'd make a copy of the contract that she signed. Highlight the area that states that you make no refunds. Also, if you can get anyone to send you a review from the other wedding that was the same weekend, baked on the same day, send those reviews along. You can sent it with delivery confirmation so you are sure she got it.

For future reference, I would add to the contract that should there be ANY issues with the cake, pictures and samples of the cake must be provided. The samples have to be well wrapped and FROZEN until they can be produced so as to be in the same condition as when the problem was discovered. No proof, no refund.

cake does not go stale that quickly. Ever watch Ace of Cakes? They decorate a cake for a week, and advertise fresh, never frozen cake.

I'm thinking that if you got a lawyer to write to her and tell her that all correspondence needed to be directed to them for now on, there wouldn't be any more correspondence. On the off chance that she does decide to take you to court, though, print out every email that she's sent you, have copies of the contract, and get signed affidavits from the other people who had the same batch of cake saying that it tasted good. The person who shows up with the right documents in small claims court is the one who's going to win. It's all about the evidence, not about she-said-she-said. You could also have the attorney tell her that if she does sue you, you'll be countersuing for harassment and court costs.

Momma- This is someone who clearly is trying to cover her bases. 1st saying it looks great but tastes awful. Followed by it's so inedible that they threw it all in the trash? If I paid for a wedding cake and we cut slices that were inedible and my guests did not eat it, you bet your butt I would save a box full of uneaten slices. There are so many things that contribute to a cake tating "stale", maybe slices were cut and left out for hours while guests danced and the outside surfaces dried up, maybe the cake was refrigerated and not brought to room temp before serving, or maybe this girl is in the hole for her wedding and trying anything she can to get $$ back. Regardless if she is a troublemaker I would discontinue any detailed emails explaining yourself. She will just use them to add to her story. Any further emails just say without any returned cake for me to determine if the cake was inedible as you explained I am unable to offer any refund. Sincerely- Momma

Good Heavens!! My gut is in knots for you! I've been to small claims court before. Not for my business but from a former landlord. I'm willing to bet money she is just trying to scare you. But if she does try to take you make sure you have a timeline of when the cake was baked. A written letter from the other bride about how her cake turned out, and maybe even some otehr written reviews from past clients, and lots and lots of picts of the cake, and other cakes you have done, all of the e-mail between you, both before and after the complaint, and a copy of the contract with what she had ordered. Let the judge know that if she had brought you back any of the left over cake (which if it was that bad there would be a lot of it) you would have been more then happy to refund her. Unless she can show proof that the cake was stale there is no way that she can win. Especially with her wishy washy story about throwing away the entire cake, then talking about how people couldn't tell the difference between the flavors means that people ate the cake, and enough of the cake to have seconds.
There will always be people like this in the world who will do what ever they can to get their way. Stick with the truth, show your evidence that you are in the right, and from now on put a clause in your contact that states if there in anything wrong with he cake they have 24 hours to bring the cake back for a refund.
GOOD LUCK!

I'm soooo sad for you.
I can only imagine what you must be going through. I had 1 bad experience years ago and it was nowhere near what you are dealing with.
I hope it all works out for you.
Jodi

I am a workers' compensation case manager when I'm not caking. One of the first things I had to learn was to get rid of the "Pollyanna" thoughts that everyone is basically a good person. Sadly, there are those who lie and cheat to get what they want. So, put your big girl panties on and remember that you put out a delicious quality product - don't dwell on her lies and threats, you are worth more than that and don't have the time and energy to waste on her negativity!

I imagine she is just full of empty threats. Don't back down and she will soon give up as she is out of idel threats.

Forget about this and keep on baking!

My friend works in small claims court. He says judges dismiss letters from witnesses as irrelevant, or of little weight. Apparently, they only really consider testimony from live witnesses, not letters that anyone could have written and they don't have time or a real way to verify.

I would ask your witnesses if they'd be willing to make an appearance for you. I know it's difficult for some folks to do. But apparently it makes a big difference.

Don't go running to a lawyer. If necessary just go to small claims court and win. You will because you have all the cards in your favor. You have a signed contract, you have witnesses at another wedding that used the same batch and all she has is her complaints...and probably a couple of 'friends' who will agree with her. Actually I don't even think I'd respond to her last e-mail but if you do remind her of what you have and she doesn't. She may be trying to goad you into sounding unprofessional and try to use that to her advantage. If you do respond maybe say something like this:

"You are the only customer who has ever expressed dissatisfaction about the quality of my cake. Indeed I was shocked when I received your complaint. While it is your right to your opinion--and you can do with that what you wish, I am not obligated make a refund per our signed contract. Plus I know in my heart and from the rave reviews I received (and have proof of) about the other wedding cake I made--using the same batch and baked at the same time as yours--that my cake was NOT 'stale'. If you choose to go to court that is your choice and I will see you there. But keep in mind that when you lose, you will also be out the money you used to file the suit. I take my reputation and quality very seriously and will defend it in court if I have to."

Then if it were ME I'd be tempted to add "Bring it on, BEOTCH!"
But that's just me.
Good luck to you and stand your ground!!

Momma, you're getting some good advice here. I am a lawyer and a hobby cake decorator. I suggest that you discontinue any further email with her, keep printed copies of the email exchanges so far, make a time-line with the order of events and the dates, print photos of the cake, and keep the original signed contract with everything else in a file. You probably do not need a lawyer for small claims court (unless you have incorporated your business -- corporations may be required to appear with a lawyer). The wedding consultant you described above is your best witness and would probably be enough if she would agree to appear at the hearing. If you've watched Judge Judy, you have an idea of what to expect in small claims court -- except there will be a lot more waiting around for your turn. Don't fret. As TNT said, you really can't be in any business for very long without running into something of this sort. Good luck.