Specialty Cakes: An Online Booming Trend

Ten years ago if you had told me I could order my dog a cake for his birthday online and have it customized to have an edible picture placed upon it, I probably would have thought you had gone crazy. I mean, which baker would be sane enough to offer dog food cakes in his menu. And that too having an actual picture on it!

In 2006 we received our answer! Kristi Andrews combined her passion for baking and adoration of dogs and resulted in The Barkery; an all- natural gourmet bakery and spa for dogs! As time progressed, Kristi found that her online shopping clients were increasing and demand for cakes was on the rise. She decided to amp her online shopping portal and turn to social media, Facebook, to market her products. Her online booming success is all due to flawless customer care and service.

Social media is playing a major role in the expansion of all the upcoming bakeries also being referred to as cakeries:  Facebook and Twitter being the main modes of marketing and customer feedback.  Clients are now given a medium to share their experiences; both good and bad. The negative feedback allows the bakeries to reflect on their doings and bridge the gaps between them and their unsatisfied customers.

Dexter P from San Diego, CA states: “Glendale, CA may be the best place to go since they were nicer.  Don't get me wrong, I love Portos.  The only problem I had was rude customer service at Downey CA.

After a long drive from San Diego, we were looking forward to stop by at Downey Portos to have our Hawaii friend try it out. We were in line, and we stepped forward as we were next to order.  The girl who helped us named Gabriela, didn't gaze to have an eye contact with us as we were right in front of her, yet asked the lady behind us for her order.  Well, we had no choice but to put an end to her rude behavior. This girl argued the whole time saying there's a sign there and she just refuse to budge and argue her way out of it. There were  no apologies.

Needless to say, as great as the food, I don't know if customer service is something they need training on.  Heck, McDonalds provides better service. No matter how great the food is, customer service always becomes the memorable experience. “

Portos Bakery and Café responded with: “ Mr. Dexter we are extremely sorry for the problem you faced at our café. We apologize any inconvenience our staff might have caused and to make up for the poor way you were dealt with we would like to offer you a free meal on the house. You are welcome to claim your free meal at any time. We look forward to seeing you.”

Some bakeries have decided to take their online customer care to a whole new level. Collin Street Bakery in Texas, USA, offers his customers a great deal of customer care services. From having a UAN number to a separate line for PR and Corporate Sales, the bakery has started to offer live chat services to their clients. This allows Collin’s clientele to inquire about bookings and prices from all over the world and be able to discuss the details of their cakes with the bakery all in real time.

In conclusion, bakeries offering online services are flourishing with the help of good customer service. Needless to say, having live chat incorporated into the mix is not only proving to enhance the business performance but also customer satisfaction.  Online bakeries should make owning a live chat tool on their websites essential in order to maximize the number of satisfied clients and a booming online bakery shop.