AIBU to expect a refund/replacement?

[Valentinesschmalentines]

Genuine curiosity into how small businesses work. I went to a cafe with my mum and grandmother for coffee, and my grandmother wanted a cake and chose a vegan brownie. None of us are vegan but hey ho, very happy to try something new.
Grandmother took one bite and refused any more, mother tried some and same, I tried a bit thinking I wouldn’t want it to go to waste and oh my goodness it was not good. I have never known my grandmother to refuse a treat, and I’m pretty much the same, but it was not good and we left 95%.

I asked the waitress what was in it, she gave some half explanation, then I told her very politely that we didn’t find it very nice and wouldn’t have any more of it. She shrugged and walked off.

We paid, and it’s fine, not the end of the world, but I am genuinely curious if other people (especially those with experience in a similar business), is that what you’d expect if a customer didn’t like something?

YABU even!

Adding from previous post
I run a cafe , and don’t make vegan cakes , because they’re just not as good as stuff with the correct ingredients

I make dairy free cakes , gluten free cakes , but vegan just doesn’t work
Unless someone can give me a fantastic recipe that never fails

Vegan cake is rank. I can imagine vegan brownies are even worse as the amount of butter substitute is so high.

No I wouldn’t have expected a refund. Lesson learnt not to buy vegan substitutes.

YABVU. These days everyone expects a bloody refund for the least thing! You ordered it and didn't like the taste of it, but there was nothing wrong with the product. Good grief. Everyone's a chancer.

You can’t expect a refund just because something isn’t to your taste, the cafe can’t re sell it as only 5% eaten.

Just have to chalk that one up to experience and don’t order vegan brownie again.

I have worked in cafes & ime, something that 3 people found foul would be refunded. I don't know about unreasonable, but I'm surprised they didn't refund to keep your good will.

What tasted bad about it, OP? Was it too dry, not sweet, bitter, hard, what?

If you asked for something that was advertised as vegan brownie, then YABU to be surprised it tasted like shit, since real brownies are full of dairy and proper chocolate. It's like asking for a non-carbonated, non alcoholic gin and tonic with lemon substitute. That would also taste like shit.

No of course not!

I'm not a vegan but why do people think that you can't have chocolate in a vegan brownie? There are brands of dark chocolate that don't contain any milk products. They usually don't throw beetroot in there either, although I've been informed(by a non vegan that beetroot chocolate cake is very nice but I'll probably take her word for it.

I make a vegan brownie that even 8 year olds (non vegan ones) love, the trick is the right substitutions and agree with pp no avocado!
I wouldn't expect a refund because something wasn't to my taste that's only for something awful found in the food or something.

As for the OP no I wouldn't expect a refund just because I didn't like the taste of a cake unless there's very obviously something present that shouldn't be in there.

It would depend whether I didn't like it or whether it was inedible.

Surely if they have made something that is truly revolting or had gone off, a refund would be in order?

It really doesn't work like that, OP. You ordered it, didn't like it, though luck - now you know for next time vegan cake is shit.

Otherwise any chancer could go in, order something, claim it was "not very nice" and get their money back. Not a viable business model for the cafe.

If not expect a refund either. However, if I was the owner, I'd have probably offered your grandma a small token - perhaps a biscuit or something similar. (I'd probably end up bankrupt though) I've got a soft spot for older people.

I'd be exactly the same Stepup123.

www.bbc.com/food/recipes/chocolatebrownies_83803

These are delicious, and my non vegan friends literally cannot tell the difference.

there is a lovely independent coffee shop in the jewellery quarter, Birmingham that will let you have something else if you don't like one of the cakes so I think it depends on the individual business, but to expect a refund because you don't like something is BU.

I've made a vegan cake before. It was OK, but didn't taste like normal cake. It was basically oil, coconut milk, sugar, flour, pineapple and cherries.

I think it's the oil. Even if you use something very bland like vegetable oil or sunflower oil you still get that aftertaste. I used to work with a vegan who would make stuff using chia seeds or something mixed with avocado and cocoa powder and would swear blind we wouldn't be able to tell the difference from normal cake made with eggs and butter.

Oh we could.

No refunds for something not being to your taste.

I would never expect a refund or the offer of an alternative if I didn't like something. I encourage my son to try new food and if he doesn't like it we often get offered something new for free. I don't accept unless he didn't like it because it wasn't as described or was badly cooked.

Yes it was a vegan brownie they use things such as sweet potato and avocado in place of eggs and butter and no milk chocolate. It tastes different

You got what you ordered

Banana bread is nice made without egg so it’s vegan.

I agree that although a goodwill gesture would have been lovely it would be unfair to expect one.

Why the fuck would you order a vegan brownie? Brownies are made with eggs, so are all cakes, it's clearly going to taste like shit.

I’m going to disagree and say yes. If it’s truly grim they shouldn’t be selling it. I took back a cake once as it was awful and they’d forgotten to add sugar or something. They did give me something else in return as they tried it too. If it’s something that’s just not to your taste but is otherwise fine then you can’t expect a replacement though.
In this case, vegan brownies aren’t too grim normally so maybe they didn’t cook it correctly or used a random ingredient. I’ve cooked a couple of versions of vegan brownie due to egg allergies and they’ve turned out quite nice. Not full fat brownie nice but certainly edible and all eaten.

All vegan versions of desserts/cakes/biscuits are pretty shit, unless they are originally vegan anyway. I think vegans are prepared to accept that, or they have forgotten what the original tastes like. So it's probable that the brownie tasted the way that it was supposed to, it's just that you didn't like it.

There is a really excellent vegan cafe that I sometimes go to, I know they use good quality ingredients and try hard but every single cake/biscuit thing that I have tried there is vile compared to the thing it's supposed to be. But people who are actually vegan like them, I see people tucking into sweet treats with enjoyment when I'm there, so it's me and my omnivore tastebuds rather than the biscuits.

Haha sorry this reminded me of when I was a teenager and my friends mum bought a Krispie Kreme for the first time. She took one bite and spat it out. She ran back to Krispie Kreme and complained really loudly that Krispie Kreme that the word Kreme implies it would be lovely fresh cream not soap sud style shit. My god my friend was so totally mortified, especially after her smug mother then for her money back.
Sorry OP check carefully, a lot of vegan cakes are foul and full of chemicals. I don’t think you should have had a refund though.