We just had a mother of the bride call to complain. They ordered a white cake. We used french vanilla because we had issues with a white cake crashing a few weeks ago and we were worried about the stability of a 4 tiered white cake. Hind site we should have made them aware of this. My business partner and I spent 30 minutes going over servings/sizes with her. She decided to order more cake than she needed to get it to look the way she wanted. We explained to her she didn't need that much cake, but she insisted.
She called today. She said that there weren't any issues about the taste or the way it looked, but she was very upset that it looked ugly yellow on the inside instead of white. She also said we mislead her into buying too much cake, which is crazy. I wouldn't want someone to do that to me so we aren't going to do it to someone else. She said do with want you want with this information.
So, what advice do you have? Thanks in advance!
She ordered white, you gave her french vanilla. Unfortunately not telling her was a mistake, and she is owed a refund. Maybe not a full refund, but definitely something substantial, meaning not a certificate for free cupcakes or something.
I would ignore the comments about too much cake and just address the flavor issue. I'll bet she's adding that on just to make her case seem more important.
Doesn't french vanilla still give you a white cake??
Its not like you used butter or something.
Did she sign off on the number of servings that she ordered??
If she did then remind her of your conversations where you explained that she didn't need that much cake and remind her that she signed the contract that shows the number of servings she was ordering.
She said do with want you want with this information.
She said that in a phone call or a voice mail? If it was a 2 way conversation, what did you say in response to that?
Sounds like she left the door open for you to offer her a refund. I feel like you do need to offer a discount based on her not getting the flavor/color choice you agreed on. (but of course, you already know you should have told her first, like you said.) Not a full refund, just a partial for changing the flavor without discussing it. Is there a clause in your contract that provides you can do that unannounced?
HOWEVER, "do what you want" is very passive. Or is it passive aggressive? 
What does your gut tell you to do in regards to the flavor issue? The serving size is a non issue to me since you said you specifically told her it was too much cake for her needs and she insisted.
If I understand correctly, it's the mother of the bride complaining. She has no say in whether the bride was happy or not. I'd wait to see if the bride complains. Without having heard her tone, it could just be that the MOB was just trying to get money back for an expensive wedding. Yes, you did change the cake, and you know you should have told her. But it was the bride's (and the groom's) cake, not hers.
If I understand correctly, it's the mother of the bride complaining. She has no say in whether the bride was happy or not. I'd wait to see if the bride complains.
Depends on who signed the contract. If the MOB is the customer, she is within her rights to ask for compensation if the cake differed from the specs on the contract.
If I understand correctly, it's the mother of the bride complaining. She has no say in whether the bride was happy or not. I'd wait to see if the bride complains.
Depends on who signed the contract. If the MOB is the customer, she is within her rights to ask for compensation if the cake differed from the specs on the contract.
Good Point
We used french vanilla because we had issues with a white cake crashing a few weeks ago and we were worried about the stability of a 4 tiered white cake.
Others already covered them not getting the right flavor of cake, even if the cake tasted good, to me if i didn't get what i ordered i'd want something done about it.
Now as for the other cake crashing a few weeks ago, it's not the cake that holds up the other cake, its the support system that you use. What support system were you using when your other cake crashed? If you don't fix your support system then it won't matter what type of cake you make, you need to fix your support system first.
Honestly, I do think of "White" as a flavor...meaning the White-Almond traditional flavor. If this is what she ordered, but did not get, I would give some sort of refund.
Have you tried the WASC recipe? This recipe, along with a good support system, should give you no further problems in the future with White Cake.
I don't understand why the white cake would have crashed...you should be able to stack angel food cake, carrot cake, or anything else with the proper supports....
I agree that if they wanted white cake (usually people who want white wedding cake want it because of how it looks) then they are owed some sort of a discount...I suppose if it were white they would not have cared if they had extra but if for some reason they were ashamed of the "yellowish" cake (for whatever reason) they would not have liked having leftovers.
My white cake is vanilla flavored, not almond...I think of "white" as a color, since a true white cake will have egg whites and no whole eggs to give it a yellow color. Regardless, it sounds like she was expecting a white cake to be white, so she's owed a refund for that.
As far as too much cake, if you warned her and she complained later, tough. No refund for getting as much cake as you ordered.
Spoke to the MOB this evening. She originally called the bakery owner who talked but I called her back this evening to try to discuss the situation. She was the one that signed the contract.
She reiterated, cake looked great, tasted great, tasted like she expected it was just the color of the cake when cut that she didnt like. We are going to issue her a refund but trying to determine what is a fair amount. She is putting the ball in our court to decide what is the "right" thing to do.
I wouldn't refund her for any more than the extra servings that you told her she didn't need.
Just my opinion.
Theresa 
Did you have a tasting, where she picked a different cake? Also I use egg yolks in my white cake, and its still white....however french vanila is more yellow.......who signed the contract..this is an excellent point...I would want to talk to the bride to see if she was happy......if not ask what would make her happy?? So they dont bad mouth you ....
Spoke to the MOB this evening. She originally called the bakery owner who talked but I called her back this evening to try to discuss the situation. She was the one that signed the contract.
She reiterated, cake looked great, tasted great, tasted like she expected it was just the color of the cake when cut that she didnt like. We are going to issue her a refund but trying to determine what is a fair amount. She is putting the ball in our court to decide what is the "right" thing to do.
Sounds like an amicable conversation and a reasonable MOB. I hope it continues this was and works out for you both.
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