Did I not conduct business as I should have?

I have my own little business of making gourmet treats. My specialty is cheesecake. Of course last week I was really busy with orders because of the holidays.

I have recently sold my car but even before then I would never drive to deliver my treats because the responsibility was to arrange pick-up with my customer when the order was placed. This would also inflate my prices a little bit. I will take order here at my job and bring it in with me the next day because Chicago is geographically huge and someone that lives far south is not going to want to drive to me when I live far north. It just wouldn't be worth it so in this case I have no problem bringing in my orders.

A co-worker ordered a cheesecake from me and I already had 2 that I would be taking on the train with me Wednesday morning. It was a very hard commute because these cakes are heavy. This co-worker though lives not too far from me and we had agreed that she would give me a ride home and pick the cheesecake up then. We don't live too far from each other. She wrote me out a check for this at work also.

They let us go early on Wednesday and let me just say that I also had a 3 hour trip ahead of me to join my family for the festivities. I waited for my friend to get done talking to her boss and even though they let us go at 3, I waited till about 4 and just told her that on her way home if she could just pick up the cake which would hardly be out of her way. I wanted to get home because my kids were waiting for me and we wanted to get on the road and I also had a few things I wanted to do before I we took off. I explained to my daughter that the woman hadn't stopped by to get the cake. I waited till about 5:30 and still no word from her. Finally I called her up and she said that on the way home her husband told her that there was a leak and that he wanted her home to help clean up. Keep in mind that she only lives about 2 miles from me and in Chicago that is nothing. It would have been 10 minutes out of her way to pick up this cake.

My kids by this time were downstairs so I called the person and told her that I would leave the cake with my next door neighbor who is a very nice older lady. I could tell she was bothered by this but I felt what was the difference in her coming and getting it from me vs. my neighbor? I took the cake to the neighbor and we got on the road to leave. I called my neighbor to see if it had been picked up but I must have keyed her number in wrong on my cell. She did though call me later and left a message saying that the cake was still there.

Needless to say, the cake was never picked up. On top of that, my neighbor did not know that it needed to be refrigerated so the cake was no good. A white chocolate cheesecake wasted.

This morning when I went to my co-worker and asked what happened she was really nasty and said that she was put off by having to get the cake from my neighbor and that she was busy. I at that point in time did not see anymore discussion so I said "sorry" and walked out. I also still had her check and I gave that back to her.

With all that had gone down, did I not do right by my business by not dropping off the cake myself? I lost $25 here and it's horrible having to throw out a whole cheesecake. If there was an agreement on how the cake would be picked up, should I have been more responsible in going out of my way to make sure that she got this cake?

Your responses are very much appreciated.

i hate to say it, but your co worker sounds like an arrogant selfish b*tch.
you did NOTHING wrong! she was well aware of your plans. no more cheesecake for her!!!

Not at all. You did everything you could have done.
The customer was made aware of the arrangements, she knew she had to pick up the cake, and you even notified her when you had to leave it with your neighbour.
As far as I can see, the customer was being as awkward as possible. She didn't even contact you to say she wasn't going to pick it up.
No, you did nothing wrong at all.

1st, that sure sounds like a hassle over a cheesecake, for both parties involved, and your minimal profit for all the work and stress.
BUT, along the lines of the 1st answerer, I'd get a non-refundable deposit, say $10 of the $25.

What you might do in the future is get a non refundable pay up front. If they don't get the cake then you don't get the final payment but at least they will try to get it not to loose the first payment.

You should have brought the BAD cheesecake to work with you & delivered it to her there, smiled sweetly & said Happy Holidays, thanks for ruining mine!! Her being a co-worker & obviously knowing your car situation & that you had plans to get to should be MUCH more understanding! In other words, she sounds like a REAL B*TCH!!! (((hugs)))

As you know, I run my own business, and I think that you did everything humanly possible in the circumstances. Maybe you are just too nice and that's why she thinks she can walk all over you ?
The deposit idea is a good one, and I agree with Catz too.

I have very strict guidlines for payments and delivery/collection and I find that the more people pay, the more they appreciate what they are getting. Maybe you need to be less helpful and put your prices up. Not as silly as it sounds, people are strange.

if she don't appreciate the effort that goes into a true fro cheesecake she doesn't deserve the thing period.
what's there to say that some customers/people are like that
as a salesperson I deal with this kind of situation every day
I mean if you can't honor an agreement that you make at least have the common decency to tell you know
Just think of it like that
people like that don't deserve your business
that's how I get along

I agree with catz. The lady sounds like a real b*tch....one that I would never do business with again. She was the one who had a change in plans at the last minute. It was the night before thanksgiving she couldn't have possibly though that you would wait around for her. She was rude and inconsiderate of your time. If she really wanted the cake she should have come to get it when she said she would. I'm also wondering why your neighbor didn't know to put a cheese cake in the fridge.

She wasn't bothered with picking it up from the neighbor, she was just being a selfish woman who only thought about herself. You poor thing! I am sorry for the way people behave to other people. I would never let her order another cheesecake EVER EVER! You are to professional to deal with people like that and I'll leave it at that.

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