Customer Relations - Give it All Away

You need to give away your product. Really, give it away. While this seems counter intuitive, acts like giving away a cookie, a cupcake, or even a whole cake can do a lot to build up your customer relations, an important intangible asset in any business, but a particularly important one in the business of a retail bakery. Intangible assets are the non-physical, non-monetary assets that bring value to your business, even if you don’t see them on the ledger. Customer relations can come in many different forms. It could be a small act to make someone’s day better. It could be doing what you can to fix an issue. It can be going above and beyond to help a guest. Taking these steps may take a small bite out of your bottom line in the short-term, but the long-term benefits are well worth it. Some of the best interacts we speak of at my job, are those moments of just making someone’s day better, simply because we can. I think back to the bride I was working with on a wedding cake. She called to confirm the order a week out, then told me about the bad car accident she had been in days before, and how she may be wheelchair-bound for her wedding, but she was still trying to look for the positive. I asked her about her favorite cake we made, then included a few extra slices for her to have while getting ready. A few slices of cake cost us very little money, but she will always remember the kind gesture we made for her.

We’re all human, and mistakes happen, no matter how much experience we have, or how many or how few orders we have going out. What’s important is how you recover from these mistakes. When a customer comes with a complaint about a product, or some part of their order is wrong, this isn’t the time to argue or defend. This is the moment to try and fix the problem and recover the guest. One example I think of is the time we had the wrong size decorated cake for a guest. She came in to pick up her cake to head directly to the party, only to find her cake was the half the size she needed. Instead of arguing with her about who got the size wrong, we offered to make her additional decorated cupcakes, for no additional charge. This would mean she would have enough cake for all her guests, without having to wait for a new cake, and miss the start of her party. In the end, the guest left happy, and we were only out a few cupcakes. Those few cupcakes were well worth the good word, and repeat business from that guest. Another important element of customer relations is taking time to go above and beyond to help a guest. We never know the situation a guest may be in, so going the extra mile to accommodate them can do a lot to built guest relations. A few years back, we had a guest call, asking about placing a same day wedding cake order. Who forgets to place their wedding cake order? It turns out their original bakery messed up and never made their order. That bakery chose not to do anything to fix that situation, so they came to us. We were able to put together a 2-tierd cake in 30 minutes from our existing cakes and saved their wedding. Moments like these are how you build life-long relationships with guests and grow your business. All of these moments highlight how important a focus on guest relations can be. It can be anything from a simple slice of cake to a last-minute wedding cake that can work towards these important intangible assets. In the long run, all of these actions work towards growing the business, and the relationship we have with guests.