To ask for help on how to reply to this customer?

[Squidpinky]

I need your help on how to reply to this customer.

I make cakes for living, home based but all on the books. Never had a complaint apart from today....

Quoted a lady for a 21st birthday cake for her daughter. Quite an elaborate design but she was very vague in what she wanted - I.e didn't specify colour etc just sort of said what she wanted and said "make it look pretty"

Her daughter's party is tomorrow, the cake is finished and she asked me to send a picture. I did and she was horrified - said it's not what she wanted, I was going to ruin her daughters birthday, the colour was wrong (even though she hadn't specified a colour. I offered to change details on it, obviously couldn't change the colour. She wanted extras adding to it which would have taken 6 hours atleast to make - that would have meant I made zero profit.

I made some changes to the cake which took me 3 hours and I sent her a pic and she was grateful saying it was much better and Thankyou.

I then get a message saying she wants it delivered now as I caused her so much stress and upset. The venue is an hours drive from my house. The original agreement was she was to pick up the cake. I explained this wasn't possible for me to deliver and she said that she has no free time tomorrow and can't collect it.

How do I respond to this? She's the type that will leave a bad review everywhere and anywhere so I have to tread carefully! Help!!!

She's had intention of paying but always the intention of. Knokaknjng to get a discount. She thinks if you go to her to deliver, you're on her territory and she has the upper hand to get money off as you won't have wanted the wasted journey.

By coming to you she doesn't have that Advantage. Her options are take it and pay or don't bother.

Don't worry about the review. It will pale into insignificance Agaibst the positive ones.

My feeling would be to message her and say that since you know she is not 100% happy and there appears to have been a breakdown in communication, you wouldn't feel it beneficial to either of you to have the cake. And then your intention to donate. She'll either confirm (or ignore the message entirely, leaving you hanging, just to piss you about) or she'll suddenly confirm she has miraculously found the time to collect and pay (because where the fuck is she getting a good cake on the day she needs it? Nowhere, that's where). If she collects and leaves you a bad review, post the fundamental parts of your communications under her review.

Hope it all goes smoothly tomorrow!

Christ my first sentence!

Should say she's had no intention of paying and every intention of trying to get a discount.

My post was so long I'm out of touch now!

Been lurking on this thread, OP please post an update tomorrow afternoon, we have to know how this ends!!

Another vote for Fabulously's fabulous idea here. In OP's defence, a lot of small cake businesses like this operate on trust in a local area, I used to do it myself and never charged deposits either or offered drawings! Though I was once directed to the "tradesmen's entrance" when delivering a cake and by a parent at my DS's school too. But she did pay...

She's had intention of paying but always the intention of. Knokaknjng to get a discount

I looked at that and thought that this post had been written by an Swedish furniture store and I had to assemble it before reading lol.

Placemarking as I want to see a picture of this masterpiece.

I think she'll try and negotiate a discount tomorrow. Do not let her leave with the cake without paying in full.

Hope she turns up. Finger's crossed!

I'd love to see the cake as well !

Dare you to be 'out'

Squidpinky I really like the idea of Fabulously.

But because I am a kind hearted-soul I would need to give her one last chance to accept the cake and pay the price and collect the bloomin' thing!

However, if you cannot do this great idea, I would in your shoes suck it up and deliver the cake once she had paid the full amount by credit card over the phone.

I'd also use this as a lesson to draw up a little form that specifies colour, decoration etc, in writing, and only take cake orders once you have a deposit of whatever percentage

Yes, I know loads of others have said that, just adding my voice to the general hum of advice!

Is it wrong that I'm willing her not to turn up so we can see the cake and someone else gets to benefit?

Don't let her try to negotiate a discount. If she so much as opens her mouth, wonder out loud how much you are going to charge her for the extra stuff you had to do.

Well done for sticking to your guns about collection!

For the sale of your business I would just suck it up in this instance and use it as a lesson learnt.

In future request clear specification, deposit etc.

Bloody infuriating I know but hopefully a one off

Yay! I want her not to turn up now and you can do the Facebook thing (posting a link here guarantees you at least a couple of hundred viper 'likes' I reckon!)

Can't wait to log in later - can we have a picture either way please 👍🏻

Amazing! Hope you get paid

The minute she said she was horrified, is the minute I would have said its over.

I'm surprised you do this for a living yet don't take deposits. I take a 50% deposit to confirm the booking, it's not booked until I receive that.

And this is why sending photos is a bad idea, I never do that, they always look better in real life and if someone asks for a photo they usually do want to nitpick and request changes.

placemarking

Once it's been collected or not, you could namechange and start another thread with the title, 'Look at the cake I made!'

That way we'd all get to see the cake, but you wouldn't get into any bother if she gets to see the thread.

Place marking x

Good that she is collecting. Don't let her not pay the full price you quoted.

Good luck 🍀