The Flying Cupcake — Restaurant in Carmel

Unfortunately we had a pretty awful experience. So much so that I am going out of my way to leave my first review. I was with a group of moms and their kids. We were there to take pictures of our kids. We are not professional photographers. We were told weeks prior that we were fine to come and take pictures as long as we purchased cupcakes. We all purchased at least one and even left tips. We were treated very rudely by Lindsey who at first told us her name was Betsy. We were never told we could not shoot there. Our cupcakes and clothes were thrown away. My camera is broken. I was hoping to resolve the issue amicably, but have only been told that we are to blame. There are no signs stating photography is unauthorized. No signs saying we need to call ahead. A really fun day turned into a disaster over something that was so easily avoidable. The cupcakes are good, but the service was inexcusable.

In response to the owners accusations:

-I'm baffeled. I am floored. The only thing that is true is yes, we did have items sitting around the restaurant. This is true. We all had coats, purses, and various items for our children. We are moms. We would have gladly consolidated or rearranged our things had we been asked. There were very few people who came in while we were there. There was a section of table to the right of the store that was completely unused. We all came there under the impression that we were allowed to be. We did call. Let's say there was a mix up somewhere. We really wish we would have been told "I'm so sorry we can not accomidate you today. We were unaware there would be a group coming." We would have completely understood the mix up and left. One small boy ran back behind the counter one time and his mom immediately grabbed him. The spot he ran into had a gate that was able to close. You guys had it open for whatever reason. We are upset that we were never asked anything. We were only treated horribly. We would have glady obliged any requests. We talked to several customers that day who were absolutely tickled to see the kids. Our kids never ever ran in the parking lot. The moms were taking pictures in the parking lot while our children were against the brick wall. No cars tried to come through at this time. Had they tried we would have gladly moved. Had anyone from any business come out and asked that we not shoot there we would have obliged. I am speaking for myself in saying that I am not a professional photographer. I did have a camera. My camera is now broken. I was never asked about a release form while we there. There were no signs saying that a release form was necessary. No signs saying to call ahead if we were doing a shoot. No signs stating we need to call ahead for xx amount of people. Even though we had called. Our clothes and cupcakes were thrown away. My camera is broken. Please think about communicating with your customers better. That is all it would have taken. We only left one star reviews after we tried to reach a resolve. Instead we were blamed for everything. Betsy (Lindsay) never once cried while we were there. I however did because my camera was broken. We did not want to make anyone cry. We simply asked why our stuff was thrown away. We tried to understand. She was incredibly rude to us when we asked. Of course we were frustrated and still are. Honestly, leaving a review is the only way we have of defending ourselves. The only way we can make a point that this was...

I understand that at this point, the owner is trying to CYA and painting a group of moms and children in a bad light seems to be all she has left. However, things that have yet to be addressed, why an employee would throw away other's belongings or toss a camera to the side, show her priorities. At this point, just look throught what's been left. Do we really think "John Smith" came in and enjoyed a free cupcake Sunday? No.

Yes, the owner said she was donating all proceeds from the group to Girls Inc., which is amazing! I would have just left it at that and remained wishing her well, but the only person's story to change is hers throughout all of this. Truth remains: Betsy (or whatever her name truly is) was extremely rude from the getgo. I was personally asked by her in a rude tone "are you here with the group for today?" and received an eye roll when I said I was. I personally spent almost $15 on cupcakes, juice, and a pez dispenser for 1 child. Not once did anyone mention that the group was not actually scheduled nor told anything was missing until after everyone had spent money and left (1 hour and 45 minutes later, not 3 as she suggests). I do believe they probably have a very well oiled machine when it comes to bookings, however there are screenshots of the duration of January 19th call made to The Flying Cupcake to inform them of the group coming. Whether the employee who answered on the 19th didn't follow protocol or was confused is unknown, but to make it the customers fault when they did in fact call is absurd. Yet, if anyone hadconfronted a single person in the group, the group could of and would have easily supported any of the other numerous small shops in the Indy area.

Meanwhile, she's continued attacking moms on their personal social media pages as well as small business pages. If you were to look at photos taken that day, you would see a neat and tidy area. Also, there was a very large, very open table to the side, 100% child free the entire duration that not a single person tried to sit at 1 time.

I'm sure the exact same copy and pasted response will be found below this review about how the facts I've stated are false, how "unruly" the children were and how they caused all of this damage, which is simply untrue. The owner has now gone to great lengths to turn this mole hill into a mountain and it shows what the reviews are saying, how unprofessional she can be.

As a small business in our community, I do still wish her success and I hope she finds this as a learning experience. Maybe better training for the employees will be in place. However, attacking small children who were nothing but respectful is not the way...

In regards to the employees, NOT the cupcakes...

I've been going to this Carmel location for quite some time and have always had a good experience. Today though, completely different. I met about 8 other mothers and 10 kids for a photo shoot, which I specifically called and asked about two weeks ago and was advised to go ahead and come in and as long as we all bought a cupcake, would be ok... well, we all know kiddos can be unpredicatable, yes, some were getting upset, walking around and all kids are kids. We all bought 2+ cupcakes and cards and knickknacks. Lindsay, the employee was a TOTAL jerk! Not one smile, not one good interaction with any of us. The front of the building is a huge wall of windows and you can see what's going on outside from inside. Well, when some of us we're outside taking a group photo, Lindsay, who told us her name was Betsy, took it upon herself to throw away all of our uneaten cupcakes, some of OUR CLOTHES, and damaged one of the mom's cameras by most likely just tossing it on a different table! We later found out through speaking to the owner that Lindsay or Betsy or whatever her name is, told the owner there were over 40 people there totally overtaking the shop, not purchasing anything, blocking the door so other people couldn't enter. What!? If anything, customers were loving seeing our kiddos running around and interacting with them. Lindsay/Betsy also told us she had been sending her boss videos of us being there... isn't it illegal to film people and KIDS and share it without our knowledge and consent? I'm confused. I've been to the Carmel location as well as Downtown and Castleton plenty of times, going out of my way for the red velvet cupcake... it no more. I totally understand Lindsay/Betsy may have been overwhelmed, maybe no one told her this was happening today, but to take out her frustration on us, the customer is totally wrong. Her eye rolling and sniffling needs to stop. The owner should fire her, I wouldn't want her representing my business!

Additional: Now we moms who were involved in the photoshoot are seeing the same copy and pasted reply to her CUSTOMERS...that's awesome. Also, we're seeing SEVERAL 5 star reviews complimenting the staff now that they're getting 1 star reviews. These 5 star reviews are from HER! The owner and husband, as well as an obvious fake account under "John Smith" have left 5 star reviews as well as I'm assuming workers and friends of the owners to try to counteract our 1 star reviews. Hi, we know your name, are communicating together, and clearly know it's you, the owner, rating your own business and trying to pass it off like it's a customer. Conflict...