Hi Local Guides,
I’d like to share an experience by one of my cousins and his business, that underlines why respectful communication matters as much as the product itself.
My cousin had ordered a cake for his Sons 10th Birthday from a local bakery, who seems to have claimed to be Organic and Premium cake studio. I was also a part of the birthday celebration. No doubt the taste was good, cake was very beautifully made and was baked with Almond Flour and everyone genuinely liked it and we intended to continue buying from them. However, it came to my cousins notice, after guests complaining, a couple of concerns (non-edible decorations, pearls, used despite their claims being organic). Instead of posting this publicly, he opt to reach out directly to Baker via messaging app to share feedback privately and constructively. He clearly stated that Baker should have informed to him beforehand to remove the pearls before consuming the cake. I feel children might have accidentally consumed, not aware of it being non-edible, one gentlemen had actually got hurt while chewing, being a adult he just informed my cousin what he had felt, to which my cousin checked with other pearls and immediately removed it from the cake so no one else face the same problem.
Unfortunately, the baker chose to respond with arrogance, dismissive remarks, and even curses, here is one of the responses that my friend got from them “If you are giving simply fake feedbacks im not ready here to sit and listen it properly In my experience i have seen lot of people like you . people given lot of feedbacks in proper way either positive or negative i can take but people like you i never seen in my experience you are not asking that you use colours or what you are simply judging here that you use non edible”(sic) - rather than simply addressing the concern. What could have been a simple, professional exchange quickly turned into insults and defamation.
Only after being treated this way did my cousin felt the need to leave an honest Google review, so that others could be aware. Here’s what he had put on review “We got freshly baked cake in short time of ordering. Tasted very good and beautifully made but we had concerns — such as non-edible decorative balls. When we shared this feedback politely, instead of handling it professionally, the business responded rudely and dismissively, even insulting for giving feedback. A good product means little without respect for customers.” their public reply accused my friend of using “bad language,” “blackmailing,” and making “false judgments.” None of which was true - it was simply a case of feedback being met with hostility instead of openness. He felt it was important to leave an honest Google review. Unfortunately, instead of addressing feedback, the business chose to “shoot the messenger” as a revenge by leaving a fake 1-star Google review on my cousins store(they might have searched after checking on his profile) - despite never having visited or interacted with his business.
This shows how some businesses perceive genuine feedback as a threat instead of an opportunity to improve. As Local Guides, we all know reviews, positive or negative, are meant to help both customers and businesses — but when a business turns to arrogance, curses, and retaliation, it raises serious concerns about professionalism, trust and customer respect.
Please throw some light on - How do you think, We, as customers and Local Guides, should best react in situations like this? Should such cases simply be reported to Google, or is it better to let the reviews speak for themselves?
. You make a very valid point — and in fact, we do have pictures of the non-edible decorations. The issue here is not only about food safety, but also about the lack of disclosure. Had the seller simply informed that certain parts were non-edible and needed to be removed before serving, there would have been no issue at all.