I've been a customer for several months and have purchased things directly from the bakery as well…read moreas custom orders. I truly wanted to give this local small business a chance and they continue to disappoint. Please let me share my experiences.
First, the quality and freshness of her items is inconsistent. I've purchased scones and cinnamon rolls one day and they were awesome. I've purchased the same scones and cinnamon rolls a week later and they were stale and had an odd taste. And her staff cannot help with any customer service issue. They are deer in headlights. So...just beware that you may have one great experience but that doesn't guarantee you will have another great experience -- and the staff cannot help with any issue/question you may have. And the store is very disorganized and not well thought out from a logistics perspective.
In April 2023, I custom ordered a dozen sugar cookies for my dog's 1st birthday party. Cassie did an amazing job and the cookies were great -- and I sent her a thank you note to tell her.
During the Xmas 2023 season, I custom ordered a dozen gingerbread cookies for a dessert party. Unfortunately, the quality of the cookie was poor. Cassie says she taste tests everything before it leaves the shop; well, there is no way she tasted these cookies. Everyone of my guests could not eat the cookies; they were inedible and had to be thrown away.
I wanted to give Cassie a chance, so I talked with her directly the next day via text. She prefers to do business via text rather than by phone due to her hearing disability. I very kindly and politely provided her with feedback and suggested she check her recipe. I even offered to bring in cookies I had saved so she could determine the issue from a recipe perspective; she refused my offer which I should have seen as a red flag. I didn't ask for a refund and just chalked it up to human error. Again, I wanted to support Cassie's business.
So...roll head to February 2024 when I custom ordered a dozen sugar cookies for a Galentine's Day brunch. When I picked up the cookies, I noticed the Royal Icing was cracked/mottled and the cookies had an odd taste -- not like her standard cookie which I had ordered a year prior. Cassie was too busy to talk to me and had me talk to her husband -- who was more interested in "saving" and "praying" for me than running a business.
I politely told him the issue. I even bought a cookie from the bakery and let him know the taste of my custom order was different than what was in the bakery and asked if the recipe had been changed. He told me that "he had over 8000 orders to date and he doesn't need business like mine and that I could take my business elsewhere." So....I took the high road and told him that I didn't want a refund but that I would hope he would take that money and donate it to charity. I have no idea if he did but I doubt it.
Before I left the shop that day, Cassie admitted to me that she had changed the meringue powder in her Royal Icing -- and that most likely the issue. So...even though they knew they changed a recipe and had a dis-satisfied client who was willing to work with them, they still told me to talk my business elsewhere. BTW, because I needed cookies for my party the next day, I purchased a dozen from the bakery -- and didn't ask for any discount or refund. And Cassie didn't offer one. Hmmm...another red flag.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. If you follow Cassie's Business Facebook page, she spends more time opining about her woes than baking. In fact, one day she begged folks to write positive google reviews to combat a bad review she had received. Her business acumen and professionalism is clearly lacking. I believe she is trying her best to be successful but she clearly needs some business assistance. So, I've decided to take my business elsewhere.
