Michelle's — Restaurant in Redlands

Hello I am having difficulties with Michelle's bakery in Redlands, Ca. I ordered a 2 tier cake and confirmed the details, with the sales representative on Saturday, Oct 13th. She had me sign an NCR form that details the specifications of the cake and I also provided a photo. The sales rep took my $80 deposit. Which was half of the $160 that was quoted. The event was cancelled the very next day. I called to inform the bakery and left a message on Monday as this bakery is not open on Mondays or Sundays, however I wanted to give notice as soon as possible. I could not find any documentation in writing on the NCR form or the receipt regarding their policy about cancellations or refunds. To follow through I called on Tuesday just to verify that my voicemail was received and that the Bakery was were aware that I cancelled the order. When I reached a sales associate she stated that they were not aware and I advised I left a message gave the date and time. The sales associate stated that they could cancel the order has it had not begun but my deposit would NOT be returned. I inquired as to why I could not receive my deposit back and she stated well that is just our policy. I asked where the policy is written and she said 'well we used to hand out a sheet, but we stopped but it has always been our policy". I said well why would you stop handing out that type of information. She replied that I could speak with owner and that she will leave her a message. I never received a return call. I called on Wednesday morning 8:24a.m. and another person answered and said that she doesn't know when the owner will be in and said she would leave her a message and the owner still did not return my calls. Finally, I visited the bakery on Thursday and the sales associate said she went to retrieve the owner and the owner told her she does not have time. I insisted to speak with the owner and she was VERY RUDE. She came out and said 'what do you need?!??!! I asked why my phone calls and messages were not returned and she said that voicemail box is full and doesn't get checked. I advise her the bakery policy was never explained, received nor was it in writing on any of my documents. I never saw or signed anything that stated no refunds and store credit only. . They are refusing to return my deposit and my receipt does not reflect any language regarding cancellations, deposits or refunds. She said that one of her staff will contact me and/or send me proof of a store credit. I asked when that would be and she said the person that handles store credits only works on Mondays. And told me it would come in the mail. I asked how if you don't have my address. She looked annoyed and then curtly asked for my address. I wrote down my address as they did not have it. I still have not received my store credit. I would prefer my deposit returned. The two stars is because at least the sample cake was tasty but their business practices are very...

The following review is about our entire experience with Michelle's Bakery for our wedding at Serendipity Garden Weddings this past October.

The cake tasting experience was a huge disappointment. We communicated w/ Michelle’s bakery on multiple occasions describing what we wanted to try before our meeting since we were coming from out of state, and asked for two specific flavors - red velvet and chocolate peanut butter. When we got there, they put us into a small corner against a wall, not facing each other. A worker brought us out 6 slices of cake on a styrofoam plate with one plastic fork, and none of the flavors were the specific two we asked for. When told the worker that we had called prior to this visit to confirm the flavors that we wanted to try, she said that it wouldn’t be possible to make the peanut butter chocolate cake. I asked to speak with chef who said he could whip it up in 15-20 minutes, which delayed our experience.

We asked for red velvet and and peanut butter chocolate cupcakes. We told the worker that we did not want the white frosting that comes with the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes, but rather wanted peanut butter icing on them when we came to do the cake testing. We also said that we did not want any of the cupcakes to be cream filled. She confirmed that they would be able to do this for us. Unfortunately at the wedding the cupcakes had the white frosting on the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes and both of the types of cupcakes were cream filled.

They unfortunately got our cake design wrong, despite us sending them a picture two different times of the cake we wanted to emulate. My husband and I came to a compromise on the cake, and what I specifically wanted was the middle layer to be a naked cake with white frosting. Unfortunately the middle layer was the same pink pearlized layer as the top part of the cake, which really disappointed me.

Michelle’s bakery texted Brian two days before our wedding, for instructions for our cake design. Again the description of our cake was given and the result was still wrong. We were surprised that they were contacting us to confirm these details just two days before our big day when we felt we had been over this multiple times with them.

It was obvious throughout the whole process that there likely weren’t very good notes/any notes at all describing what we wanted for our cake/cupcakes whether it was through calling before our first appointment, talking with them again at our appointment, or afterwards through email and text as everything turned out so wrong.

On a positive note, the day of, and the day if our cake tasting, everything...

There is no question to the quality of cakes or design skills at Michelle's. These are European style cakes, so they are decadent, dense, and moist. The flavors are unique and the quality of these cakes are miles above the competition in my opinion. I've had the pleasure of tasting cakes from some of the biggest named bakeries in LA, OC, and NY in my past days working in the wedding business and to me none really have rivaled Michelle's. The "Victorian" variety of cakes and triple chocolate cake are truly superb. They are the work of a true master pastry chef and when you consider the prices there really isn't a better choice to be made. The ONLY reason I cannot give 5 stars pertains to the customer service. I've had no problems personally with Michelle's mother but it is evident that one must tread lightly around her. Michelle herself is delightful but I have witnessed the cross, rude manner of her mother directly with other clients on more than one occasion in my many visits to this bakery. I have not seen this affect the bakery's ability to meet the demands of their business so I can see why many people continue to patron Michelle's in spite of many poor customer service reviews. I will always recommend this bakery and simply warn people not to be put off by the not-so-friendly woman manning the phone and counter. However my personal opinion is that there is no room for ungracious, impolite behavior in the wedding industry. For many women it's the one and only time in their lives that they get to feel like the a super special and important person and they should be treated as such. I would not be surprised to learn that Michelle's is flourishing in spite of poor customer service because the quality of her cakes sell themselves. I do believe her business could skyrocket though with a little warmth and gratitude coming from the front of the house where mom appears to...