My Little Cupcake

The office I work at regularly makes special orders for staff birthdays with no issues. This past Monday, I made an order to pick up Lemon Merengue cupcakes on Thursday. The young man who answered the phone informed me they need «at least 48 hours notice» and that «we will try to make them for Thursday, but may be unable to in this weather.» When I asked what head meant out of genuine curiosity, I was informed in a tone as if I should have known, that «egg whites don’t whip well in cold weather.» I was unsure what the relevance was, considering (I assume), most of the baking and prep is done inside the shop, but said that was fine and that I could pick up for Monday at noon instead if necessary. He told me that Thursday would be fine.
Later that day, with the confusion, I had forgotten which day we had scheduled pick-​up. So called back to confirm that Thursday would be okay and what time they open/​when I could pick up. I was told «Thursday, and anytime after 10 should be fine.»
Fast forward to Thursday. I walked into the shop to pick up my order around 10:45AM. (Mind you, I work in Shelburne about a 20 minute drive away, left work so I could pick up and additionally had assured my staff that I would have the cupcakes at the office for our lunch break at noon to celebrate my coworker’s birthday). When I walked in and asked for my order, the pleasant young woman at the desk informed me that my order was not ready, to which I responded calmly «I was told on the phone that I could pick up at any time after 10.»
The young man I spoke with on the phone interrupted in a condescending tone, «That was me you spoke with and we scheduled a noon pick-​up.» My response, «Right, and when I called back to confirm you told me I could pick up at any time after you open at 10.» His response in the same tone again was, «That’s not what I told you and they’re not ready, so I don’t know what to tell you.» (Shrugging his shoulders at me). At this point I left the shop unsure what I would do, since I had to go back to work and was told that my order would not be ready for over an hour.
I called back several minutes later asking for delivery, and the pleasant young woman answered informing, «yes, but there is a fee.» When I asked if the fee would be comped, because there clearly was a mix-​up, I was told that deliveries are done through a separate service and that she has no authorization to comp the fee. At this point I called back and gave them my personal card to pay the $ 18.00 fee, (mind you, these cupcakes were already $ 36.00, now making the total cupcake cost at $ 54.00).
At that time, she additionally told me that if I was okay with the regular buttercream frosting instead of the lemon merengue, that the cupcakes actually could be ready now. (At this point I was already half way back to work and unable to turn around due to time constraint). This is information that could have been given to me in the shop, preventing the issue entirely.
With tons of customer service experience and having dealt with unhappy clients numerous times myself, I understand the frustration when a customer makes you feel like you’ve done something wrong, makes you look bad, and expect compensation. With that being said, as a representative of a business, I would NEVER tell the customer that they are wrong and regardless of whether the mistake was made on my end or theirs, would apologize for the confusion, attempt to find a way to resolve the problem and if unable, would call a MANAGER for the customer. In my opinion, the customer service I received yesterday, (especially from the rude gentleman I spoke with on the phone), was very poor. At this point I thought to myself, «I am never ordering from My Little Cupcake again.»
With all of that being said, I made a phone call to the Essex location after the fact, spoke with one of the owners and calmly explained my experience. She was extremely professional and apologetic, stating that «this is supposed to be a fun experience for a celebration and I apologize that this did not wind up being a fun experience for you.» She assured me that she would certainly speak with the staff and that I would be sent a check to compensate the delivery fee. Additionally, my order was delivered (right at noon!) with a mini box of 6 extra cupcakes and an apology letter from the Burlington location.
Because of the wonderful service I received after the fact, I certainly will be returning for future orders and hope that the gentleman I was communicating with will adjust his attitude and better represent the business in the future. Customer service is EXTREMELY important in representing a business, but I do hope that in making and reading reviews, people are aware that just because one person was rude to you, does NOT mean that the entire business is corrupted !
Thank you to My Little Cupcake for the great customer service otherwise and I look forward to ordering again for our next celebration!