Our First 2 Star Review!

 


Cake Cores layer cakes in a jar
Cake Cores Buffet
So we were considering dropping one of these Cake Cores concoctions pictured from the menu. 😣 It hadn't been selling well, and we were worried that maybe one of the ingredients it contained was just a bit too exotic that perhaps Connoisseurs weren't enjoying it.

On top of the poor sales of that concoction, we also got our first EVER 2 ⭐⭐ star review on our DoorDash Ghost Kitchen when a customer ordered this concoction, along with one of our best sellers. They didn't leave any comment with their feedback 😧 so we were trying to figure out where we went wrong?! It had to be that concoction we thought!

So we had two options, drop it from the menu or remake it and try again. I considered reworking the recipe, because though it is an acquired taste, I really felt that this needed to exist, and it could be better!  So I planned on pulling it from the menu temporarily and  tweaking some of the ratios. We were convinced there was something about the taste, or texture, or both that was not working for the mainstream palate. But then something happened...

The first day I began research to redo it we got an order for this Cake Cores concoction only!  Hmm, I got nervous. Was someone going to try this and then we get another negative review?! Well it was too late to pull it from the menu. The order was in, so we had to deliver. 

The day after that we had a couple request a tasting for their wedding, and lo and behold, they chose this concoction as one of their choices. Yikess!!!! Ah well! I hadn't acted fast enough to remove this concoction on all menus, so it would be my own fault if we didn't get the booking. The order was in, so we had to deliver. In the meantime, I got to work redoing the recipe, and hoping no one else ordered that flavor. As it turned out, it was going to be more difficult to remove it from the menu everywhere, especially when we planned to have a new version available soon and would have to put it back on again.

Two days later, the same person that ordered on the first day that I embarked on the rework, reordered the same concoction, ONLY!! With the new recipe still not ready yet, what could we do?! The order was in, so we had to deliver. This person continued to order this same concoction every 2 days for 2 weeks straight!! They didn't leave any reviews, but the fact that they chose the size up the 2nd and 3rd time they ordered, was feedback enough! (BTW if you are this person reading this, thank you, thank you!!) "Hmm okay! So someone else likes it!" I thought. We're not crazy! 

A week into the rework, the couple had already received their tasting and were responding. I held my breath as I opened the email, bracing for bad news. The first line read: "[My fiancé] and I loved the cakes!" 😅  Wheeeeeewwwwww, I finally exhaled!  But I couldn't believe what I read next. Out of the 4 concoctions that they chose for their tasting, they listed their top choice as, none other than this concoction that had been giving me heart palpitations since that unexplained 2 star review!!! "WHAAAAAAAT!!!" I fell off my seat! (Yes, literally!) "Now, I know  for sure we're not crazy!" was my next thought.  Three random strangers were now adding their opinion to ours on this concoction, literally days apart and unsolicited, during a time where I was frantically working on editing this recipe.

But that's not all! For the next week this same Cake Cores concoction was our top seller!! Almost every order from the Ghost Kitchen included it! The universe literally conspired to keep it on the menu. I had finally finished my experimenting to improve it, and wondered if I should have even made a change?! 

I decided yes, because I loved it even more, and for all the people that tried the old version I think they would appreciate the update too! Moreover, this situation provided some really helpful reminders for me, that I think is important for all entrepreneurs, creatives, and anyone really:

1. Follow your gut! When you're trying something different from anything you've seen/ out of the ordinary or norm, you have to follow your first instinct. "Fail fast" is one of my mottos, the  only way to figure out if something works is to try it, put it out there, be open for feedback, bad and good! Yes, and good, because it's so easy to anticipate the worst!! I knew this concoction was pretty good. We all internally agreed, plus we had some Connoisseurs try it and they liked it too. But I let the lack of sales, and the single 2 star review make me second guess what I knew to be true.

2. Everything is not for everyone, and that's okay! Some people are just not going to like your stuff. It is what it is. But there may be a few people who do! I have to say after that one person ordered every two days for 2 weeks straight, I felt the need to ensure that this concoction was in stock just for her, and I can't wait to make it for that couples' wedding too!!

3. Keep moving forward, but be patient! "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." said Theodore Roosevelt.  Though looking back I could have just done nothing, and definitely not assume the reason for the 2 stars was this particular concoction. My goal is to make things that people will enjoy. I got to work quickly, to avoid another negative review. However, if I had just stuck it out, I would have seen that this concoction was just waiting for the right time to shine. Still happy I worked to improve it though!

Last but not least, 
4. Low star reviews/ ratings, with no comments is really no feedback! If I had to write a book on how to be a hater, step one would be: Leaving a low score review with no details. 😂  Yes, I said hater, hear me out! Leaving a review is an act of kindness and service, not only to the business, but to other potential customers. Very few people take the time to leave reviews these days, something like 5 - 10% (Source). If you leave any review less than 5, and especially less than 4, can you please let us know what went wrong? Future customers want to know, and so do the business owners, so they can improve where possible. 

Isn't the reason for providing feedback, to help others understand what to expect, and let the business know how they did? If there is no context, then can a comment-less review really be considered feedback?
Maybe this person gave the order a 2 because it arrived cold, and they like their cake at room temp? Who knows?! Leaving a low star review is only worth the comment that goes along with it to provide context. So really that comment-less 2 star review = no feedback, and can't logically be acted upon, by the business, or by other customers to help them make a purchasing decision. So now do you see how I extrapolated to hater? LOL😂

Okay, off my soapbox now. If you've read this far, thanks so much for reading my ramblings! If you're wondering what that concoction was, I invite you to take a look at the Cake Cores in the image to the right, and make your guess in the comments below! I'll update this post in a few days with the big reveal! 😁

-Nadia


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