Money Moral Dilemma: My daughter delivered a wedding cake an hour late - should she fully refund?

Marty55

When was the wedding/ceremony taking place or had it taken place? If taken place a simple " just replace the cost of the ingredients" could be a compromise. If it hadn't taken place, then the offer of compensation wasn't a bad  one - as the only impact was stress.

Ringo90

I really don't get the OP nor some comments... so you're admitting the mistake was entirely your daughter's, but your ridiculous discount is deemed as "goodwill" because they still accepted the cake despite it being delivered late? Do you even know what a wedding is and why every business charges so much more when they hear the magic word? Because it's supposed to be a single event in a lifetime, one to remember forever. Of course she still accepted the cake! Are you saying that because of your daughter's mistake she should have been left without the ordered cake for her wedding? If you show up late for an appointment (dentist, hair salon, whatever), don't you expect to lose a deposit (usually between 50 and 100% the price of the service)?

And if your daughter still had the time to bake an entire wedding cake and get it delivered, I assume the bride checked with you hours in advance of the agreed time. What would have happened if she didn't? She would have got no cake and you would have not only lost the money, but probably ruined your business forever.

Seriously... refund the full amount (minus the ingredients' cost if anything) and call yourself lucky it didn't go worse.

Ringo90

mikecolonoscopypilot404 said:

Is it the Bride or her father wanting the refund? What does the receipt say? can she claim elsewhere ? Does anyone actually like wedding cake? £450 for a cake  seems very excessive so how expensive was the wedding? is your husband aware what a money fixated bride he's married?  loads of reasons why this marriage is doomed before it starts but if the contract is for a cake at 6 pm and it was not delivered at 6 pm she should have turned it away or struck a better deal at the time.

It is not excessive, it is actually an average to low price. Look it up on the internet. Also, remember it can actually cost anything depending on complexity of the design and size.

Grumpy_chap

Was this delivery of the Wedding Cake direct to the Wedding right during the event (6 pm would be after the ceremony has begun)?
OR was this delivery of the Wedding Cake to a destination the day before the Wedding?
It makes a big difference to the significance of the hour's delay?

What do the T's & C's say about time?

primrose_penguin

Like some others say not enough details, what time was the reception, did the cake arriving 1 hour late spoil the wedding i.e. too late for the cake cutting, which is usually at the end of the meal? I think your daughter should apologise and give a 50% reduction not 100%, as obviously the bride and groom kept the cake and it was cut and given out etc. If she had refused the cake when you delivered it or it had not been delivered at all then yes she should get 100% back but this did not happen. I am surprised the venue did not get in touch with your daughter earlier to ask where it was, but perhaps it was not their responsibility. You cannot get away from the fact that your daughter made a timing error and for the sake of her business she needs to put it right and in future make sure it doesn't happen again. However things rarely run to time in weddings and receptions start later than the booked time due to photographs etc. I think your daughters customer is trying it on to see how much she can get back, which is a bit naughty. 

jollydee

I think £100 is a decent refund. It's not clear if the cake had to be delivered the evening before the wedding? If so what's the big issue. £450 is a normal charge for a wedding cake, I used to make some and that was 20 years ago and the charge was that price back then and I really don't think people realise the work that has to be put in to the detailed flowers that are all handmade and not by a machine! I can't see any contract if a home-baker but let her crack on with a small claim!

HotDog2020

Yes she should refund the customer for adding stress to an already stressful day as well as all the reasons mentioned here, and if she wants to stay in business and not have her name in mud also, as word of mouth tends to get round. Your daughter needs to up her game, a mistake is a mistake, a refund is due.

MeteredOut

HotDog2020 said:

Yes she should refund the customer for adding stress to an already stressful day as well as all the reasons mentioned here, and if she wants to stay in business and not have her name in mud also, as word of mouth tends to get round. Your daughter needs to up her game, a mistake is a mistake, a refund is due.

No-one knows if it added stress to a stressful day. No-one knows if the cake was delivered on the wedding day or the day before. No-one can realistically give an real meanigful answer given the lack of info in the original post.

honestcove

If a train journey is 60 mins late you get 100% refund and that’s even when the train company hasn’t been forgetful or otherwise careless.
However, I wouldn’t have offered a “goodwill” part-refund. If you truly think you’ve caused them real difficulties, refund all. If you don’t then give nothing. The only clear fact is that you were late and so you might get fairly dissed in social media whether you cough-up or not. You are clearly business savy enough to get full payment up front and so you are probably business savy enough to know that you shouldn’t pay money back lightly. It’s not as if you are going to sell them another cake whatever you do.

General_Tactifer

The contributors suggesting that a full refund is applicable because the baker "broke the contract" are missing a key point - the customers accepted the cake.  The customers could have rejected the late delivery or negotiated for a discount at the time, but the amended contract (late delivery) has been fulfilled and so there is no "breach of contract" as such.  However, the exact terms of the contract will be important (whether a delivery time has been specified and "of the essence" and what has been agreed regarding late delivery) and, in any case, the baker has to consider reputational damage if they leave the customer feeling badly treated.  Negotiation is necessary to try to ensure both parties can walk away feeling justice has been done.  A full refund seems to be too much to ask, though might be justified IF the late delivery had serious consequences.  More context is needed than that given!