A customers complaint over a disappointing birthday cake has gone global after the baker took to social media to slam the buyer’s gripe with her handiwork.
Ashleigh Freeman purchased a custom cake from Kylie Allen, the owner of Kylie Kakes Dessert Bar & Cafe in the US state of West Virginia.
After ordering the “signature” rainbow layered cake, which cost $76 ($A114) plus tax, for a special occasion – Freeman was disappointed with what she received.
Ms Freeman complained to Ms Allen, claiming it lacked the quality promised in photos, but was shocked when the shop owner took to TikTok to slam her, describing her as “one of the worst client experiences” she’s ever had, in a video that racked up almost 6 million views.
Ms Freeman clapped back by posting a photo of cake alongside the Facebook correspondence between herself and Ms Allen, blasting the cake maker as “unprofessional”.
The snap shows an off-kilter cake with some heavy-handed buttercream, uneven sprinkles and a birthday message scrawled haphazardly on top.
Their public spat quickly blew up and has since been dubbed #CakeGate by enthralled viewers.
“I was expecting it to look like a professional grade cake with even layers, clean edges and legible handwriting,” Ms Freeman told the New York Post.
“Look at it. That’s the problem.”
She also said she complained because “$84 is a lot of money to me, and I felt ripped off,” in an earlier interview with Today.
In Ms Allen’s initial viral video, she claimed the customer, Ms Freeman, reached out to order one of the shop’s six-layer rainbow cakes that are covered in multicoloured sprinkles.
The patron chose the 8-inch cake that serves 18 and goes for $75.99, plus tax.
“Upon arrival, she seemed to be really surprised that the cake was covered in sprinkles,” Ms Allen stated.
“We explained to her that all of her signature rainbow cakes are decorated this way and covered in sprinkles.”
She notes – somewhat sarcastically – that the sweet treats might vary in appearance because she doesn’t “individually place each sprinkle”.
“She then got super defensive and very rude about the price of the cake, although this is exactly how we decorate all of our rainbow cakes,” Ms Allen said.
“She even bashed us and put us on her Facebook page.”
Ms Allen, who also teaches cake-decorating classes, claimed she wasn’t sure “where the confusion was” and argued her time and efforts constitute the price, no matter if the cake came out as expected or not, calling the disgruntled customer “disrespectful”.
“It’s not disrespectful to expect quality,” Ms Freeman hit back in the text message – a sentiment echoed by social media users who chimed in on the dispute.
“I’ve bought $40 cakes that look 1000x better,” commented one user.
“I’d be so embarassed [sic] to claim that work,” another chimed in.
One speculated that she’d “dropped” the cake and “tried to salvage it because she didn’t want to bake another one”.
Under the “#CakeGate” hashtag, which has 29 million views, there are numerous clips reviewing the debacle and criticising Ms Allen.
Some have even alleged she misrepresents her products and services by using stock images or other people’s work to promote her confectionary classes.
Ms Allen ultimately addressed her critics in a new TikTok video, defending her buttercream confections.
“I have worked extremely hard to get where I am,” Ms Allen said. “You guys [who] have nothing going on with your life and yourself have so much to say about a situation that you don’t know the full backstory on.
“I would just keep your mouth shut because it’s not doing anything.”
She added it was “really hurtful, especially to a small business” when people “just jump on bandwagons”.
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But Ms Freeman doesn’t have much sympathy for the business owner.
“I feel as if she brought a lot of this on herself,” Ms Freeman told the New York Post.
“I offered to delete my personal Facebook post and response TikTok but she said she was trying to monetise the situation. She wants us all to keep talking about it.”
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