Dreamworld Cakes Patisserie — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

I bought afternoon tea vouchers as a gift for my Mum for Mother’s Day in March. I’d tried to book the voucher via email in April but the cafe was closed for two weeks because of holiday. I suggested another date and after chasing a response was asked to call instead of email. For various reasons I didn’t get around to calling and completely forgot about the voucher. Fast forward to November and I remembered that we still had the afternoon tea vouchers. I’d always assumed it would have a year expiry date, which is pretty standard, but when I looked at the voucher it only had six months. Again I didn’t really see this as a problem, since I’d given money to Dreamworld Cakes, I assumed they would honour the voucher regardless. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I emailed and asked if they would extend the voucher and allow me to book a date for the next few weeks. I’ve done this before with different organisations and no one has ever had a problem extending a voucher. I received a response from Bernadett telling me they would only extend the voucher by 5 weeks, which covered the cafe being closed over the summer, otherwise they wouldn’t help me. My voucher expired at the end of August so 5 weeks didn’t help. I sent the following:

Ok. Really disappointed with this and definitely a lesson learned. I wont be coming to your cafe again and I will also advise others to avoid purchasing vouchers from you. Enjoy the £37 donation I’ve made to your business.

I then received the following response:

I think your email is a little bit rude but I hope it made you feel better! I don’t think it needs to speak to another person or business with this manner under any circumstances! We extended your voucher with an extra 5 weeks, I’m sorry if that didn’t satisfy you.

Wishing you all the best!

Not very professional, so I responded:

I don’t agree that my email is rude at all and it certainly didn’t make me feel “better” since I’m still £37 out of pocket. What’s astounding is that you think as a small business the response is appropriate. We’ve paid for a service that we haven’t got and I’m perfectly entitled to relay my frustration without being called rude. I’ve given you the opportunity to do the right thing and instead you’ve chosen a) not to and b) make the situation so much worse with your response. Hardly great customer service!!

Wishing you all the best too!

To which I received yet another response:

I offered you 5 weeks extension!! I don’t see what else you want me to do..? Basically you don’t get what you want so you are just calling me “bad customer service”!

So I should just sit here listening everything you have to say to me and just silently agree in the name of “ I’m a business”. I’m not allowed to be offended by your respond despite I was kind enough to give you more time to use your voucher! Unbelievable 🤦🏼‍♀️

The upshot is that you should not purchase vouchers from Dreamworld Cakes. They only last six months, there is no extension, they are only open a few days a week and they have large periods of being closed.

Also ,as highlighted in the above messages, their customer service...

A cosy, classy afternoon tea which is an adventure for the senses.

Dreamworld Cakes Patisserie is a jewel in the gastronomic crown which is the Ouseburn. The afternoon tea is delicate, dynamic, and delicious.

Start with tickety-boo tasty finger sandwiches. Threats of spice from the mustard with ham and the chilli jam with cheese kick start this journey. Excellent homemade scones split in the hand, giving a warm embrace to cream and jam and becoming a culinary cuddle. This sets the tone nicely for the signature cakes.

Each one wouldn't look out of place at a jeweller or a really cool Etsy shop - they sparkle with style and personality. The caramel macaron is a great conversation between salty sweet caramel and strawberry macaron. Then the zing of the raspberry choux. Followed by the absolute indulgence of the chocolate and pistachio fondant, you're ready for the signature Hungarian cheesecake. Perfect pastry, a creamy base and the reverb of zesty apricot balancing out the sweet, delicate kisses of meringue on top.

And we have to say a word about the excellent staff who make this voyage of discovery so special. They're friendly, welcoming, and ready to share their passion for the excellent food on show.

We can't wait for our next trip with these...

When my daughter told me she had bought a voucher from Dreamworld Cakes to go for afternoon tea, I was thrilled. It was a Mother's Day gift. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, which included ill health and the business being closed for several weeks, we were unable to go immediately. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when my daughter told me that the voucher was no longer valid and that no amount of persuasion on her part could get the owner to change her mind. The fact that a 5 week closure contributed to the delay had apparently been taken into account and had been added to the cut off date. I was extremely disappointed but also amazed that a small business dependent on customer's good will could be so inflexible. There was no offer to refund money or even to request more to cover the delay. Instead they pocketed my daughter's money and she and I ended up with nothing, just a nasty taste...