For our very first blog post, we thought it might be fun topic to detail what happens when you order a custom cake from Royal Cake Studio! Here are just a few of the perks when you choose us as your cake artist…
Why should you invest in a custom cake?
Many people believe that custom cakes are an added expense, but when you hire a cake artist, you are investing your money into someone who truly cares about what you want and will create the perfect "center piece" for your special event. Your guests will rave about how great the cake tastes and praise all of the handmade details, for years to come! So it is important that you choose the right cake artist.
As you all know, the number one location for photographs during any special celebration is always right next to the cake! We each take turns to line up and get a quick pic with the cake or squeeze in for a group shot. You may even be like me, and reminisce on childhood birthday parties and remember how cool your birthday cake was. Cake designs may have evolved over the years, but the basic principle remains the same. Our job as cake artists is to amaze, delight and create happy memories for years to come!
For this reason, during your cake consultation we take the time to understand what is important to you and discuss what elements you want to include in your cake design. This helps Royal Cake Studio to design the cake of your dreams and have a timeless photo to give your special event that wow-factor!
At Royal Cake Studio we strive to give our customers the same level of service that we like to receive. A business that helps its customers in a friendly manner and builds a good relationship is a business that we ALL return back too and recommend to our family and friends. By providing great service to our customers, it sets our small business apart from the others of its kind. We hear this time and again when we receive feedback from our awesome customers, that "We have great customer service!"
1. First Point of contact
When you first contact us either by phone, email or Facebook, you will receive a reply within a few hours. If you make contact outside our normal business hours, you will receive an ‘out of office’ response and we will contact you the following day.
We will ask you to provide the following information - The date of your event, the number of people you want to serve and the design or theme you have in mind. This information helps us to establish if we have availability to create your custom cake, what size of cake you will require and any design elements that you want to include to design your dream cake.
2. Estimates
When we have the details you provided, we email you an estimate with a detailed description of the cake design that has been discussed during your initial consultation. This estimate contains details such as price, sales tax, pick-up or delivery location and the date and time.
3. Follow-up
Once you receive the estimate via email, we send out a friendly reminder. We understand that life gets busy and we can all forget to ‘book’ or ‘place an order’. A friendly reminder helps to jog the memory and ensures that your cake gets booked in before our calendar fills up. If you are unsure about the estimate provided or have other pricing and design needs, we can work with you and let you know what can be done within your budget, and adjust the estimate to suit.
4. Securing your date and Invoice
When you're ready to proceed with your order from Royal Cake Studio, we will email you an invoice; cake contract and a credit card authorization form (if you opt to pay via credit card). This invoice contains all the details from the previous estimate and also includes the breakdown for the 50% non-refundable retainer to secure your date and the date for final payment to be paid by. Issuing an invoice has always been appreciated by our customers as they know that we operate a legitimate business.
5. Reminder
Each week, we look at the list of people who have retainer's due. We then send out a friendly reminder email, with the invoice attached, letting our customers know that, ‘Hey – if you want to secure your order, please be sure to pay your retainer’.
6. After you have paid your retainer
When your retainer is received, we apply it to your invoice, update the amount owing, and send you a confirmation of payment via email. This is so that your mind can rest easy that we have received, and acknowledged your payment. We also let you know when our next contact will be, and that we welcome any queries at any time.
7. The day prior to pick-up or delivery
When you proceed with your order, we will ask for your phone number. We often only ever need to use it once and this is the day prior to your pickup. We send out a text message, reminding our customers of the address and the times that we agreed upon. It’s always handy to have this, as we don’t always have access to emails on the go.
8. The day of pick-up or delivery
Royal Cake Studio understands that you have your hands full with your special event. We want to make this as easy as possible on you. We offer to carry the custom cake out to the car and place it in a safe spot for transportation. We also provide a cake cutting guide, cake ingredients list (for allergen information) and cake care instructions to ensure your cake remains at its best for your special event. If you opt for delivery, we are happy to set up your custom cake at the event location and ensure you are happy with the overall design before we leave. We also carry a repair kit in case of any issues and can repair any minor damages that may have occurred during transport.
9. A few days later
Reading the above, you can tell that our customers are very important to us! We take pride in our product that you have ordered, paid for and devoured on your special occasion. So each Monday / Tuesday, we send out a follow up for the prior week’s orders. This gives you the opportunity to give any feedback on both your custom cake and customer service that you received. It’s always great to hear feedback and any areas where you feel we may need to improve.
We also include a few pictures of your completed cake for your records and ask if you would be willing to leave a review. Your lovely reviews help our small business to grow and also lets other potential customers know how much you enjoyed your custom cake.
10. So there we have it, folks!
Not only do you receive a quality looking product when you order a custom cake from Royal Cake Studio, it will make your taste buds smile! – for your investment, you also get all of the above completely free of charge.
Kinda… pretty… awesome…
If you would like to inquire about your next occasion, simply CLICK HERE