I'm extremely disappointed with my experience at Butterfly Cakery, particularly with the customer…read moreservice I received when picking up my birthday cake.
I placed my order almost two weeks in advance for a white vintage heart cake with gold cursive writing that said "28 years golden" and gold pearl accents. I provided an inspiration photo showing exactly the style I was going for. My cake order form also specifically states "White BC vintage design as in the pic," "Gold pearls accent," and "Gold BC writing."
When they first brought the cake out, I was immediately disappointed because the cake was yellow instead of the white cake I ordered, and the gold writing was uneven and looked nothing like the inspiration photo. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the first version.
At that point, correcting the color would have required the cake to be completely redone. Because I was picking it up for my birthday celebration and didn't have time to wait for an entirely new cake, I told them I was willing to accept the yellow color, even though it was not what I originally ordered. I still wish I had received the white cake I paid for. What I did ask them to correct was the writing so that it looked more like the inspiration photo I provided.
The second attempt at the writing somehow looked even worse and extremely rushed. The lettering was thin and uneven and did not resemble the cursive lettering in my reference photo. The metallic "gold" paint also appeared brown rather than the bright gold shown in the inspiration.
What really turned this into such a terrible experience, however, was the way I was treated for simply expressing that I was unhappy with what I received.
A blonde employee came out and spoke to me in a manner that I found incredibly rude, aggressive, and confrontational. She insisted that there are only two types of gold paint used in the industry, told me that the writing was gold and not brown, and said it only looked brown because there wasn't a candle shining on it.
When I took a photo of the second attempt, she actually told me not to post that picture in my review because they were going to change it. That made absolutely no sense to me. If I had accepted the cake at that point, that was the cake they were prepared to let me walk out with. Why shouldn't I photograph what was presented to me?
She even acknowledged that they had rushed the second attempt and understood that the "28" didn't look the best. By this point, I was so overwhelmed and upset by the interaction that I went to my car and cried. Picking up my birthday cake should have been an exciting experience. Instead, I was sitting in my car crying because of how I had just been treated while simply trying to get the cake I ordered.
They redid the writing a third time, and thankfully, that version was significantly better and much closer to the inspiration photo. I accepted the cake and took it home. I appreciate that they ultimately corrected the writing, but it should not have taken three versions of the cake and such an unpleasant interaction to receive something resembling what I ordered.
To make matters worse, there was also a discrepancy with the price. My cake order form shows an itemized total of $200, but my receipt shows that I was actually charged $230. I have documentation of both amounts.
I understand that handmade cakes will not be exact replicas of inspiration photos, and mistakes can happen. Had the situation been handled kindly and professionally, I would have been much more understanding. I was already willing to compromise by accepting a yellow cake even though I specifically ordered white because I didn't have time for the entire cake to be remade.
Instead, I dealt with a cake that was not the color I ordered, multiple attempts to correct the writing, an employee who was unnecessarily confrontational when I raised legitimate concerns, and a $30 discrepancy between the documented price and what I was charged.
I've included the inspiration photo, the second attempt, the third/final attempt, my cake order form showing what I ordered and the $200 total, and my receipt showing the $230 charge so people can see everything for themselves.
The final cake was improved, but the overall experience and customer service were unacceptable. I would not return.
