Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Great Cake Debacle

MISS ME?! Well hopefully I've fixed the issue with my internet that's been affecting Google & Blogger, and I should be able to blog more frequently and you'll have to deal with me more! But anyway, I couldn't have come back at a better time, because I have a great story to tell you...

This past weekend was my best friend, Liz's, baby shower.  Now as y'all know, I'm not huge on kids, babies and all that jazz. But for some reason I'm super excited for this one.  I was especially excited because she chose to not reveal the sex of the baby until the day of the shower.  Now if you're in the "know" of current trends, then you know that there's a new one going around where the sex of the baby is revealed when the parents cut the cake.  See, if it's a girl the inside of the cake would be pink and if its a boy, blue.  So not only is it a surprise to the parents, but also their guests, who would be able to experience this joy with them.  So when Liz found out she was pregnant, she told her family that if the were to throw her a shower, this is what she'd like.  Cute idea right?  Well not when the baker is an IDIOT! Let me explain.

Her sister-in-law, Nana, was given a sealed envelope that was given to the happy parents by the doctor.  They didn't even open it!  They instructed Nana give it to the baker, never opening it herself, and only he/she would know what the sex was.  So after searching, she finally found a bakery that she knew had good tasting and looking cakes and who seemed to take pride in their work; Gino's Pastry Shop in the Bronx. After speaking to the baker and explaining what she wanted, she handed him the sealed envelope and left it his "capabale" hands.  So the day of the "big reveal" was finally here.  After greeting their guests,opening presents and everyone questioning and insisting over and over that they cut the cake, Liz and her husband decided it was time.  We all surrounded the cake as if the actual baby, not a color, was about to appear from this thing. I'm serious. Forget the Rapture, you would think Jesus himself was popping out of that cake and blessing us up into the gates of heaven, the way we looked.  So here go the happy parents to be, cutting that first slice together...

The cut to reveal what they're having!

BUT THEN...

Is it in there?...

They continued to cut and serve pieces of cake, all the while wondering if the next cut would make the big revelation.  It became obvious to all of us that that wouldn't happen. But can you blame the excited parents for thinking there might still be a chance that maybe half the cake or maybe the next tier would hide the answer?

Obviously, it did not.
At one point, they noticed writing on the panel that held the first tier.  Thinking the G they saw, stood for Girl, they tore into it more. It said...Gino!...  So of course a few people were upset, especially her sister-in-law.  So immediately Nana went outside to call the bakery.  At first there was no answer, but later she and the baker, named Jerome, began text messaging each other.  She proceeded to tell him that they had screwed up and what she ordered was NOT what she received.  He told her that he wasn't sure what had happened and she responded to him that he did not pay attention to this order as he said he would.  The instructions she gave him were very specific and where explained in person and over the phone. I mean that was the main purpose for ordering the cake; essentially they could have done it themselves, but wanted the talented hands of a professional.  He then, very arrogantly, told her that he could not talk as he was actually in the middle of being presented a prestigious award for his work and could be caught on NEWS12.  OK, are you freaking kidding me here?!  I had to see the message in which he said this, because clearly she was seeing things. But no, she wasn't, and he really did say this.  I swear, in the words of Mob Wife Drita (VH1's Mob Wives), I wanted to find this mans bakery and drive a car through it!  What professional, who takes pride in his work, would tell a customer something like this?  The audacity of him to cut her off because he's receiving some award, that I'm sure no one gives a damn about.  And to say it's for his work?  Are you sure about that?  Well I guess its obviously that award had nothing to do with customer service, because he failed miserably at that too.

Jerome, though he offered such a touching apology via text message (and if you can't read through that sarcasm, you haven't been following me long enough) ruined a very special moment for the parents and their family.  With good reason, she insisted on getting her money back and he finally agreed. However, not before he offered the following: 1. The reason they did not dye the cake was because his assistant had ordered the wrong dye. 2. He worked very hard on the outside of the cake...... OK, so now that you've read those two points over about 5 times, I'm assuming you all have the same question we did. So even though he knew he hadn't dyed the cake, he never bothered to 1. Call ahead of time to see if they even still wanted the cake since it wasn't what they originally ordered. 2. Or tell her when she picked up the cake that the main component of the cake, was missing!!!  This man and this bakery are a complete joke!  At least if Nana had been given the heads up from the bakery, she could've made a decision on whether to take it or not.  I'm sure they could've made other arrangements in regards to revealing the sex, and more than likely would've still paid for the cake. But they weren't given that option.  Did Gino's Pastry Shop really think that no one would notice the inside was just yellow and not blue or pink?  Again, the entire point of having this cake done by a bakery, was because they have experience with these types of orders and would of course be stocked with baking essentials!  Don't tell me that they don't make red velvet cupcakes there or that they don't do other types of cakes that would involve using dyes.  And the icing on the cake (pardon the pun) is when Nana went to pick up the refund, they just put it on the counter, not saying a word to her and walked away.  Thats right, they never offered her an in person explanation or apology. Yes, because that's how you keep them coming back and show you value your customers.  The nerve!  

Can you imagine going through something like this?  Having a beautiful day ruined and not even offered some type of explanation.  Writing this now, I'm still in shock and pissed off, and it wasn't even my event!  My main point of writing this blog, is to warn everyone of this bakery and in general all places where you go expecting to get a job done; whether it be a cleaners, salons, car shops, etc. I'm not saying to never buy at this bakery again, though the thought crossed my mind... OK, so to my friends, never go there again, OK? Agreed? Good. :).... You really have to be careful who you trust to do things for you, even if you are paying for it; apparently payment for a job means nothing!  I mean essentially the work done on the outside of the cake was really nice; I loved the little bees. HOWEVER when someone is paid for a specific job, you expect that said job to be done to the best of their ability.  And if it isn't done in that manner or an issue arises, then you expect to be told about it and offered a solution, and not after the fact!  Obviously Gino's Pastry Shop (and I hate repeating there name, but its' more so you know who messed up this event) & Jerome do not feel that way.  So should you decide to go to this bakery, make sure before you leave, you've gotten what you paid for! 

Happy Blogging All!

5 comments:

  1. WOW! that's ridiculous!!!! Did they get they're envelope back?! do they know the sex of the baby? this is craziness!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Extremely ridiculous. And no they didn't get the envelope back. LOL. But it's ok, because she went to the doctor the other day and got confirmation. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW!! I've been meaning to ask you about what happened!! That is just insane that they would do something like that and not say anything!! Did they really thing you would not find out they screwed up?? HELLO!!! What a great idea and only to be screwed up by retards! Well i'm sure everything else went ok and glad to know that they now know =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. very disheartening when your expectations get built up and something like that happens then to be treated in such a rude manner. so glad I can make my own cakes :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gino would be fucking gyno after i ripped his man parts off if he did that to me! This was such a good idea too... i might steal it... but i would have to skip the surprise via cake... i would be paranoid this might happen to me... i was gonna tell my husband but him not tell me but that wouldnt work...he's a surprise killer

    ReplyDelete