Needing Assistance On How To Respond To Clients Canceled Order.
Business By CakesByCeci Updated 2 Oct 2016 , 5:40pm by acookieobsession
Hello Everyone,
I have been selling my work for 1.5 yrs and this is my first canceled order.(due to party being canceled)
I am looking for some assistance on how to respond to this client....
Client first contacted me on Aug 13th for placing an order via messaging on my business on Facebook. I responded same day and we conversed about what she wanted, pricing etc.
My invoice was emailed to her that same evening Aug 13th.
On Aug 16th, she emailed me back with questions on the size and servings.
I responded to all of her questions.
On Aug 23rd, She emailed me back stating she would like to go ahead and place the order.
My response was: Okay great. Please select a flavor listed on the Invoice. All deposits are accepted via PayPal. Once your deposit is received your Sept 17th date will be locked in.
She sent me her deposit and I in turned sent her a receipt of Deposit payment received.
On my Invoice it states: A deposit of 50% is required to consider this an order and binding contract for the above described services. The remaining balance will be due in full no later than 10 days before delivery date. Any changes or cancellations to this order must be made at least (3) weeks prior to delivery date. If the above mentioned order is cancelled the 50% cake deposit is non-refundable. Cake ingredients or machinery may come into contact with nuts, milk and wheat products.
Today Sept. 7th @ 11:50am she emailed me stating :
I am going to have to cancel this order due to the party being cancelled.
How should i go about responding??? This has never happened.
Thanks for any advice !
Cecilia
Your contract plainly spells out that the deposit is non-refundable. You have only her word that the party has been cancelled. It might be she found someone else to do it for less and hopes you will renege on your policy and give the deposit back.
Of course none of us know the real reason for the order being cancelled but you have to live up to your contract. That's just good business.
You don't want people to take advantage of you, and you don't know the real story. But sometimes being flexible is good.
What's your instinct about this customer? Was business lost because she had a reserved date, or did you purchase anything for her order? Good customer relations will buy you good will. If you don't want to return the deposit, you could state the cancellation policy and then offer to use the deposit toward another cake.
Have you spent anything yet? Do you have any out of pocket expenses that you can't recoup by using the ingredients etc in another order, or have you made/purchased anything that can only be used on her order?
If you are not out of pocket how about 10% to cover the cost of the time to send the email, with an email making her realise you are doing her a favour by returning the rest. If you are out of pocket take the costs out of the deposit and return the rest.
I'm with Mimi on the what is your gut feeling about this person? It's a small world and the internet is making it a lot smaller people can and do post all sorts of negative stuff on FB.
I'm in business for the long haul, I have had similar situations occur from time to time and trust my judgement of the person involved. On different occasions I have kept the 50%, 25%, 10% it depended on the person and the amount of time/money I had already spent and how close to the function date the cancellation was.
I disagree with returning anything. I would politely say something like 'sorry to hear that, thanks for letting know.'
Done. Your contract states non refundable deposit so stick to it, that's why we have contracts.
one time I did the 'stick to the payment plan' and kept all the money at the point of cancelation -- it was 2/3 of the total price -- I wish I hadn't done it now but this was for a wedding that had been long planned -- I waited a week after the second payment was made before I cashed the check -- so at the time it was a good idea I guess but I totally see/appreciate/like the be more merciful angle too --
at every consult i carefully explained the process and thinking behind each of the payments and why they were not refundable -- especially the part about me being an individual baker not part of a bakery operation that can absorb and flex much better than a single person can -- the bride had not one iota problem with the policy --
and when she did get married to someone else -- she re-booked with me and she paid in full for that cake -- but I do wish I had been nicer/bendier on the policy -- but there were no hard feelings except I'm kinda disappointed in myself at his point --
but I'm sort of remembering that he made some of the payments so that makes it a bit easier too --
depends on the circumstances huh
I can remember only one time I had an order cancelled and it was because the groom was seriously injured/killed(?) in an accident. I didn't hesitate to return all the $$ when the bride called and a couple of days later there was an article in the local paper confirming her story.
I HAVE THE SAME THING ON MY CONTRACT AND TO BE HONEST I DO NOT GIVE BACK THE MONEY ,IN CASE OF CANCELATION I DO ALLOW THE CLIENTS TO CHANGE THE DATE BUT IT MUST BE WITHIN 2 WEEKS FROM THE ORIGINAL DATE. THERE IS THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO THINK...YOU JOB DONT REALLY STARTS WHEN YOU START TO BAKE ...IT DOES WHEN YOU START AT THE PLANNING AND SEARCH. AND SOME TIMES FOR ME I GET FULLY BOOKED AND I HAVE TO SAY "NO" TO ANY EXTRA ORDERS SO IF ON THAT DAY I REJECT A CLIENT BECAUSE I WAS FULLY BOOKED THE PERSON SAY SORRY I MUST CANCEL THE ORDER I WILL BE THE ONE LOSING MONEY BECAUSE I COULD HAVE DONE OTHER ORDERS ...I STAND BY MY CONTRACT
I would offer to apply to new booking otherwise no refund. There is a lot to be said for goodwill in word of mouth and referrals. Plus unless you really are out of pocket or lost other bookings its not a big deal. The contract wording is there to protect you from the customer causing you a problem, but it does allow you the flexibility to be a compassionate business owner and make smarter business decisions with respect to customer service. The hard line may work for money but it doesn't always work for reviews. Kind of a tight rope walk I guess.
Julia-ebay(sjstoner21)
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