I care because I sign my name...

I got a phone call on a Sunday morning at 9 AM. It was a Mom who had ordered 2 dozen cupcakes from a local bakery for her daughter's birthday party at 1 PM. She had just gotten a call from them that her order had been overlooked, and there was no baker on site to do the cupcakes. Sorry, they would not be able to provide any cupcakes.

She 'd had my cake at a friend's house, so she called to get my name. I usually don't work on Sunday, but I got out my pans, baked like mad, and delivered 2 dozen cupcakes with fondant butterflies at 12:45 PM, just in time. It wasn't that hard, 12 white iced with pink putterflies, 12 pink iced with white butterflies. Still, you'd have thought I'd performed a miracle. Happy endings for all.

As I was cleaning up afterwards, I thought about how that bakery had left her high and dry. The order being overlooked could happen to anyone, humans make mistakes. It was their response that was shocking. If I had messed up like this, my first response would have been to fire up the oven immediately and knock out some cupcakes. But, their baker had gone home. Most large bakeries have only 1 or 2 bakers, no one else is qualified.

OK, so I know they have a case filled with cupcakes. Why not just grab some and decorate them?

Well, the decorator wasn't there either. Or maybe they didn't want to empty their case early in the day more then they wanted to fill this order.

So, why not go and buy cupcakes at another bakery? I would, rather than strand a customer. I would give her SOMETHING to serve, and at no charge. That seems so obviously the thing to do. Why didn't they do that?

Because the person on the phone saying the order would not be filled is anonymous, as is the baker, the decorator, and the person on the register. Their names are not on the line, and so they don't really care if the customer is happy or not. It's not their reputation, it's the bakeries. They get paid the same for doing a poor job as a good job.

I am sure if the owner had been present, they would not have left the customer hanging. Because their name is over the door.

With a boutique bakery like Enchanted Cakes, the baker/decorator/owner cares because my reputuation and name are on the line with every single item that I deliver. So it has to be perfect, fresh, and on time. I am 100% responsible for everything. I make sure I can be proud of my work.

So, I got a happy new customer, and they lost a customer. Actually, I got several new customers, as the whole story was told to lots of people. As she gave them my card!