My sister and I have been a loyal customer of That's The Cake in Arlington for over 15 years, and…read moreafter this experience, I can honestly say I will never order from them again.
Before my sister placed an order, she called the bakery to explain the exact color she wanted. She was instructed to place my order online, select "gray," and then call back with the specific shade so it could be noted on the order. She followed their instructions exactly and specifically requested charcoal gray. She even told them the cake is on the website and told them where it was on the website. She wanted it designed exactly how it was on the website as well.
When she arrived today, 7/14/26, to pick up the cake, she was completely shocked. Instead of charcoal gray, the cake was green. Not a darker gray. Not "slightly off." Green. I've attached photos of what we ordered versus what we received because the difference speaks for itself.
She had spent over $100 on this cake, and it was for a special occasion. At that point, she didn't have time to wait for it to be re-frosted as the cashier mentioned it would take awhile, so she was forced to take a cake that looked nothing like what we ordered.
What made this experience even worse was the way management handled it. The cashier could clearly see how upset my sister was and at least showed compassion. The manager, however, showed no empathy, no accountability, and no concern for the inconvenience his bakery caused.
After she left, my sister called me (Candice) completely frustrated - so I called to speak with the manager. Instead of taking responsibility, he claimed there was "no way to verify" that my sister had called to specify the color--even though she was simply following the instructions his bakery gave her. He didn't try to resolve the issue by saying "I'll talk to my staff to see what happened". He COMPLETELY dismissed all accountability of HIS bakery negligence to notate our order of the specific color. Then he went a step further and told me that he personally offered to re-frost the cake himself and that my sister refused. I called and asked my sister if this was true and she said NO. So he blatantly lied to my face. She said the manager spoke only a couple of words to her while she was in the store and never once offered to personally fix the cake. Hearing that he fabricated that conversation was more upsetting than the cake itself.
To add insult to injury, the only resolution offered was $20-$25 back on a cake that cost over $100 and was not what I ordered. Even the design/decoration was completely wrong.
Businesses make mistakes. We can forgive mistakes. What I cannot overlook is dishonesty, lack of accountability, and poor customer service. If the manager had simply apologized, owned the mistake, and made a genuine effort to make it right, this review probably wouldn't exist. Instead, we were left with the wrong cake, an inadequate refund offer, and a manager who chose to deny responsibility and misrepresent what happened.
After 15 years of supporting this bakery, this experience has permanently changed our opinion of the business. The cake color was disappointing. The customer service was unacceptable. I will not be returning, and unfortunately, I cannot recommend That's The Cake to others.
Still waiting on that disrespectful so called refund of $25 as well.
