Cake shop customer loses $215 worth of credits after they expired: 'Quite a heartache, I'm not that rich'

It is no small amount.

A cake shop customer is upset she lost $215 worth of credits after learning they had expired.

Stomper Esther said losing the amount was a "heartache" as she was not "that rich".

It all started in April when she ordered a cake from Creme Maison Bakery in Tai Seng and made an error with the delivery date.

"I couldn’t change the delivery date for my boyfriend's birthday because they were packed," Esther told Stomp.

Instead of getting a refund from the bakery, she received $610 worth of credits and used some of the credits for her birthday.

"My cake was only $145 and I needed to search their website to see what I could order more but still have a balance of $215."

To use up the balance, on Oct 14, the Stomper decided to pre-order a cake for April next year.

"I asked for recommendations for customised cake designs. The WhatsApp admin gave me a few designs," said Esther, who shared screenshots of the messages.

On Oct 15, she had yet to decide between two cake designs but informed the bakery: "This order is confirmed."

The next morning, the Stomper received a message to which she reacted with a "Woah".

"They suddenly texted me that my credits had expired," she said.

"Yes, my credit was expired on Oct 10. I didn’t see any mention or reminder. I was super busy and missed messages.

"I asked for help to get my $215 credit back. It’s my hard-earned money. Haiya, it’s quite a heartache to lose the $215. I’m not that rich. Even you would fight for it.

"They used policies and followed the terms and conditions, even though it was just six days after the expiry date... my credit is gone just like that."

Esther added, regarding the bakery: "Your customer service sucks to the max.

"If you want to keep customers and make them happy, do your best, but sadly, you are not."

In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson for Creme Maison Bakery said: "From what we are made aware of, Esther made a cake purchase from our bakery back in early 2023. Upon ordering, she realised the cake order was placed for the wrong date.

"As a gesture of goodwill, our team offered to retain the paid amount as credit for an extended period of six months, compared to our standard three-month credit expiration for other customers.

"Earlier this month, Esther reached out to us to utilise her credits for various items for a celebration on Oct 17. We accommodated her request and processed the order. Subsequently, we informed her that there was a remaining balance of $217.

"Since the credits were approaching their expiration, our sales representative and Esther engaged in discussions about potential cake designs for an order in 2024. We were prepared to honour the use of her credits for future cake orders, even though they were to be placed a year in advance.

"Our sales representative then reminded her that the cake order needed to be finalised during the same week so that she would be able to utilise the credits on the ordering system. This was to ensure that we could adhere to the credit extension, and unfortunately, we did not receive confirmation regarding the design.

"Regrettably, our sales representative informed Esther that she couldn't assist further, as the credits had expired. She was not able to bypass the system since credits are recorded in the system. Esther then requested for our sales representative to compensate or pay on her behalf, which left our sales representative in a helpless and powerless position.

"We want to emphasise that our intention as a business, operating for nearly a decade, has never been to unfairly withhold cake credits from our valued customers. Our customers have always been at the core of our business, and we strive to create cakes for every special occasion. Our commitment to prioritising them remains unwavering.

If we had intended to confiscate her credits, we would not have encouraged her to proceed with her orders for Oct 17 initially.

"We acknowledge that our sales representative could have handled the situation better by escalating it to management to explore alternative resolutions. While we understand the importance of flexibility in policies, these policies are also established to maintain integrity and fairness for all our customers. 

"In this particular situation, we would like to reach out to the customer to gain a better understanding of the challenges she encountered during the ordering process and any unforeseen circumstances that led to the delay in credit utilisation. If valid reasons are presented, we are more than willing to extend further accommodations."