• A lesson in managing customer expectations

TikTok’s latest controversy dubbed #CakeGate has taken many a For You page by storm and left The Sunday Morning Brunch captivated with its many intrigues and dramatic plot twists. 

For context, the incident that incited this frosted drama all started with an American baker sharing a bad customer experience on her TikTok page following her delivery of a six-layered rainbow cake covered with sprinkles and bearing an inscription. However, the customer in question chose to fire back with her own video, slamming the baker’s product, alleging that she had been sold an overpriced, ugly rainbow cake and posting pictures of said cake to support her claims. 

The internet, as it usually does, has run with it and the ‘ugly’ rainbow cake somewhat sloppily covered in sprinkles has been ripped to shreds, with others in the industry jumping on the bandwagon and sharing their version of how a rainbow cake covered in sprinkles should look.

And that is how #CakeGate was born. Sub themes of #CakeGate has included discussing the question of retail etiquette, a business’s use of social media, and the significance of good customer relations. With all of these themes very much valid in the Sri Lankan context, particularly with the rise of home bakers and the cloud kitchens, Brunch decided to dip a finger into the world of cake. 

Is retail etiquette becoming a thing of the past? 

In Sri Lanka, if you search for a home baker to place an order for a cake or a few cupcakes, there are countless options to choose from, each with their own individual set of skills and flair. Home bakers are a growing ecosystem of passion-driven entrepreneurs who have cropped up over the past few years along with the advent of social media. Social media has allowed passionate bakers, who are often self-taught with a passion for baking, to reach an audience and an entire culture has blossomed around this, with statement cakes becoming the centre stage for many celebrations.

With an online business, however, comes certain elements that are unique to the remote nature of the transaction – the customer must rely on the communication of the baker and also on the images that are shown to them online. Unless you come to know of the business through word of mouth (which is often the case, but not as much as one would think), you are simply attracted to how pleasing it looks online. 

On such an occasion, one can argue that the primary expectation that drives customer satisfaction is what the cake ends up looking like. Which then begs the question of what a retailer is supposed to do when, as in the case of #CakeGate, the customer is simply dissatisfied with the visual outcome of the cake. 

Ishara Nouman from ‘Baker in Heels’ shared that she always maintained a policy of sharing an image of the final product prior to dispatching, to allow herself and also the customer the opportunity to make any tweaks if necessary, because the customer’s satisfaction was imperative for the sustainability of her business.  

Ishara is a home baker who first started out on Instagram and has since opened a storefront for her business, and she further noted that the quality of her product was what had allowed her to come this far. “You can’t scam a customer with a flashy video; it’s always quality before anything else,” she said.

Communication is key 

Ishara also interestingly noted that often, customers came with a reference image and it was up to the baker to communicate the realistic expectations of the end product, depending on their skills and the resources available. 

Annie Ligory from ‘Bake Station by Annie’ also shared that it was a journey when it came to communicating customer specifications and subsequently managing expectations: “We must be honest with our clients and communicate clearly to them what they will get and listen carefully about what they want. 

“I am incredibly forthcoming when it comes to this initial discussion because realistically, sometimes in this humid country certain colours are not achievable. Especially with the import restrictions in the past, certain metallic shades were not widely available and there could be certain technical requirements that I may not be able to achieve. I am honest with these specifications so that the customer is perfectly happy with what we finalise together.” 

Similarly, Imalka Mendis from ‘Bake Corner’ added: “It is very important to maintain customer expectations in any business, because it is the key to the success or the growth of a business; if you are unable to meet customer expectations, they are less likely to buy from you again and you will then struggle to retain customers, which will reduce your sales and eventually affect the growth of your business and damage the brand name and reputation. 

“People will share bad/negative feedback with their friends. An important part of maintaining customers’ expectations is that it allows you to benefit from good word of mouth recommendations which can be incredibly valuable and save you a lot in terms of investing in advertising and marketing.” 

It is absolutely imperative for brands to leave their customers completely satisfied and with no bad taste in their mouths (pun intended). “You need to provide a high-quality product, provide good value for the money, but also respond swiftly to their inquiries, solve their problems, and answer any questions. It is important to build a good working relationship with customers; this will help them feel secure and more connected with the products/brand,” she said.

Handling bad customer experiences 

Imalka also shared her thoughts on dealing with bad customer experiences, stressing that it was necessary to maintain humility in these situations, as a bad customer experience could lead to emotions running high and therefore may be a volatile situation which must be handled carefully. “If the outcome of the product I’ve done is not up to their expectations and if it actually shows that it doesn’t match what the customer wanted, I would personally apologise and make sure it won’t ever happen again. I would provide a free product and make sure they are satisfied,” she said. 

The majority of the home bakers Brunch spoke to shared similar thoughts, noting that they felt the customer was right in these scenarios, as it was an important item for the customer, so they may have a certain image in their head and it could be incredibly disappointing when those expectations were not realised. However, the home bakers also noted that this highlighted why communication was important and that customer expectations must be managed prior to entering into the agreement. 

Pawani Neligama from ‘Popo’s Bakes’ also shared that while she was yet to experience any truly disgruntled customers, managing emotions was important on such occasions: “We do not want to end up on social media with a lot of negative reviews because we upset somebody.” 

“If I encounter negative feedback, I think I would first make sure I am in the right headspace to receive criticism. As the retailer, I think I would gracefully accept and move on, considering it a learning experience,” she said. 

“The customer has made a payment and they are owed a certain experience and I think we must do our best to provide what is agreed upon so that there are no hurt feelings on either side,” she said. 

Here, it would seem that the Asian tendency of remaining non-confrontational allows the customer-retailer relationship to remain civil, unlike #CakeGate where emotions ran high, to the entertainment of the whole world. 

Overall, home bakers appear to be of the opinion that they do have a larger role to play when it comes to managing customer expectations, so as not to disappoint or mislead anyone who may be making a considerable investment in something that is often on behalf of a loved one or for a special occasion. It would be unfortunate if you as a retailer fail to deliver at such a time, leaving a core memory of disappointment and hurt which could only result in your own business suffering from the wrath of a disgruntled customer.