AI just received my first complaint for one of my specialty cakes. I'm so upset... I've never had someone criticize me in such a rude way.. I appreciate constructive criticism but this client just emailed me after emailing me a first time saying "We loved the cake. It was so good. Thanks so much" ... Now they just sent me an email a week later saying they do not want my $10 off coupon and that the colours were all wrong on the cake and that it was dry and tasted like the worst cake they have ever had....... Im second guessing my business right now... I baked that cake fresh... DH with a box of pudding and an extra egg.. SMBC.. Everybody loves my cake... I dont know what to think or what to say to that email..
AI have a promotion where clients who submit reviews that are allowed to be posted on the website they get a coupon for next time... I only approve the honest comments... Its a little hard to control so I might just cancel that offer.
AI know my cake is not a masterpiece by any means but i put a lot of work into that cake... They even approved the design..... The customer was truly hard to work with from the beginning... Questioned pricing.. Told me i should price by weight, etc... I probably shouldnt have taken the order but it was a slow week
A
Original message sent by CakeAddict95
I have a promotion where clients who submit reviews that are allowed to be posted on the website they get a coupon for next time... I only approve the honest comments... Its a little hard to control so I might just cancel that offer.
Generally it's not a good idea to compensate customers for reviews. If independent review sites like Yelp find out about this they will close down your page and post a warning indicating that customers were paid for reviews.
In this case I don't think you really need to respond to the second email.
AOh I didn't know that.. I will stop the promotion and remove all reviews from the site..... I just figured they would want some motivation to write reviews and thought that would be okay. Thanks for the information jason..
If she didn't ask for a refund, there's really nothing more you can or have to do. But definitely don't second guess yourself. Take the blow (as hard as it is) and keep moving forward, learning from every opportunity. Your skin will thicken over time.
Thank you for that advice ... I do appreciate it ... has this happened to any of you before? I feel like this client was trying to get me to give them a refund to be honest ...
Precisely why I am so upset ... It was really out of no where. I had received their first e-mail and was very happy that they liked the cake ... but then I received this one and I'm so confused as to why they would A) lie to me the first time and say it was good and that they liked it when they did not or B) lie to me now to get a refund when they did like it in the first place .......... I'm not sure what to think
Did she explicitly ask for a refund? Or was she just complaining?
Because he didn't ask for a refund specifically, i'm not sure whether he wanted a free cake or not .... Then again when he showed up to give me a deposit he gave me about 1/4 of what we had discussed, since he "didn't have much cash on him", and conveniently "forgot" how much he paid last time and wanted to pay me less for the cake then what I was charging for the deposit. I'm usually very strict with my contract but these clients did not speak English very well and it was hard to communicate with them.
ADid you receive the rest of the money they owed you?
AMake sure you print receipts for yourself and for the customer (you'll need yours). I was lucky and found a very good contract that another decorator let me use as a template so I have _____deposit is due (Date) the rest is due on or before (Date) as well as any final changes, I give them a reciept then clip/staple a copy to their paperwork and stick it in my folder. They're arranged by month, in a file cabinet. You can buy reciept books at the store make sure you get one with a copy for yourself.
Yes I told him I wouldn't make the cake unless I was paid in full so he came back with the rest of the money.
The guy is yanking your chain. He first loved the cake THEN days later it was terrible? "Conveniently" didn't have money until he found out he wasn't going to get a cake unless he ponied up the cash? He's fishing for a refund. I would either not respond or send something along the lines of "Thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry you were not completely satisfied with your order."
Then put him on the No Cakes for You list.
Make sure you print receipts for yourself and for the customer (you'll need yours). I was lucky and found a very good contract that another decorator let me use as a template so I have _____deposit is due (Date) the rest is due on or before (Date) as well as any final changes, I give them a reciept then clip/staple a copy to their paperwork and stick it in my folder. They're arranged by month, in a file cabinet. You can buy reciept books at the store make sure you get one with a copy for yourself.
Oh I always do too! I've got his receipts and an official signed invoice. It's just that he seemed to be one of those "it's just a cake. i'm not paying X amount of money for a cake. what are these papers for? it's just a cake"
AI see! Well that's a shame, I know a complaint of any kind can really sting.
Some people are negotiators from start to finish. They do everything possible to get the price down and try all sorts of stuff. They may come from a place where this sort of thing is kind of normal. If this is the case, it means nothing about your cake and they probably don't understand that this is upsetting you and why you're not giving back as good as you've gotten.
A
Original message sent by howsweet
Some people are negotiators from start to finish. They do everything possible to get the price down and try all sorts of stuff. They may come from a place where this sort of thing is kind of normal. If this is the case, it means nothing about your cake and they probably don't understand that this is upsetting you and why you're not giving back as good as you've gotten.
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