Short & Sweet Cupcakes changed terms of voucher, excellent resolution by wagjag

[jerrysiz]

Just wanted to post a heads up for anyone who bought this voucher, and also give recognition to a deal site for a job well done in handling a problem (we mostly post when we don't get the result we want, so here's the other side of the coin ;)).

A while back, I bought a voucher from wagjag for a dozen cupcakes from Short and Sweet Cupcakes for $14. I was intending to use this to buy cupcakes for my mom on mother's day. So, I happened to go on to Short and Sweet's website to check what flavours were available, and they had a banner on their front page stating that wagjag customers had to order at least 48 hours in advance and the voucher could not be used on mother's day weekend. Neither of these restrictions were present when the deal was sold, and are not printed on the voucher. So, I searched online, and apparently this business has been changing the terms of the voucher all over the place. I found a couple of people that said they went to the store and were not allowed to use their voucher, with the store saying they had already taken all the vouchers they were going to for that day, or someone arriving at the store in the morning to see a sign saying that the vouchers were not being accepted that day. :facepalm:

I emailed wagjag explaining this, and asking for a refund as the merchant had unilaterally changed the terms of the voucher and now I could not use it for the purpose I had bought it for. I got the standard "we have recieved your email" auto-response, but was very surprised when only a few hours later I recieved an email saying they had cancelled my voucher and would be refunding my credit card. No hassle, no questions asked.

So, anyone who still has this voucher, you should be aware of the "new" terms and that several people seem to have had trouble redeeming their voucher as promised, one way or the other. This is pretty unprofessional behaviour by Short and Sweet Cupcakes, IMO. I'm glad I happened to check the website instead of going all the way there to pick out cupcakes only to be denied and have to scramble to find another plan at the last minute.

TL;DR = Short & Sweet Cupcakes has been unilaterally changing the terms of their wagjag deal and adding new restrictions to the voucher. Wagjag dealt with this problem quickly and professionally, and I would not hesitate to buy vouchers from them again in the future.

[boston]

Same thing happened to a few people I know when they went down to use their vouchers.
They also charged tax when there is not suppose to be tax. Lastly a friend of mine said she dug up an old receipt from a prior purchase and they didn't charge tax when she paid regular price, but for the purpose of this promotion was charged an additional tax. Not good business for an establishment trying to promote themselves.

[jeff1231]

I too purchased a WagJag voucher for short & sweet (my first WJ purchase) and called ahead before making the trip just to make sure they were open/where i could find the menu for each day. They advised me that I had to call ahead to place an order which i did over the phone. Came in a few days later to pick up the cupcakes which were delicious, no fuss no muss! In regards to the tax, I have noticed in my more recent WagJag purchases that some deals include the tax while others don't so that could be why tax had to be paid. Just thought i should post my experience using my first WagJag voucher.

[jerrysiz]

So, just to update, the refund from wagjag was on my credit card within a few days as promised. Very good customer service there.


Same thing happened to a few people I know when they went down to use their vouchers.
They also charged tax when there is not suppose to be tax. Lastly a friend of mine said she dug up an old receipt from a prior purchase and they didn't charge tax when she paid regular price, but for the purpose of this promotion was charged an additional tax. Not good business for an establishment trying to promote themselves.

Yeah, it's amazing how many cupcake deals try to pull this one. There's clearly no tax on a dozen cupcakes, but they try to charge it anyways. If you ask them they usually give some BS about how it's tax on the voucher deal, but really it all comes down to the fact that they're getting squeezed by the deal companies and they're trying to make a few extra bucks from customers who don't know any better. I usually expect that with the cupcake deals, and I don't get too worked up over the two bucks or so, as even with "tax" it's usually still a good deal, but yes it is wrong, and it's just another way that Short & Sweet Cupcakes was trying to play games with this deal.


I too purchased a WagJag voucher for short & sweet (my first WJ purchase) and called ahead before making the trip just to make sure they were open/where i could find the menu for each day. They advised me that I had to call ahead to place an order which i did over the phone. Came in a few days later to pick up the cupcakes which were delicious, no fuss no muss! In regards to the tax, I have noticed in my more recent WagJag purchases that some deals include the tax while others don't so that could be why tax had to be paid. Just thought i should post my experience using my first WagJag voucher.

I'm glad it worked out for you, but the fact remains that Short & Sweet Cupcakes are not honouring the terms of the voucher. You're lucky that you happened to call ahead and you did not want the cupcakes for a few days. I would guess that most people redeeming this voucher would not call ahead, and would probably just go to the store on the same day they wanted the cupcakes to pick them out in person, as there is nothing on the voucher about ordering in advance. Also, Short & Sweet Cupcakes just deciding to add additional blackout dates (especially on days like mother's day weekend, when I would assume many people would have intended to use the voucher) is not okay.

The business is really shooting themselves in the foot here, the whole point of a voucher deal is to provide new customers with good experiences so they will return and to generate positive word of mouth for your business, so when they pull crap like this it really defeats the purpose of participating in a group deal. Everyone that bought a voucher for Short & Sweet cupcakes and gets turned away at the store, or reads about the experience of someone who did, is not going to be a future customer. There are lots of places in Toronto to get fancy cupcakes, there's no need to buy them from a business that plays these kinds of games.

[sillysimms]

So, just to update, the refund from wagjag was on my credit card within a few days as promised. Very good customer service there.



Yeah, it's amazing how many cupcake deals try to pull this one. There's clearly no tax on a dozen cupcakes, but they try to charge it anyways. If you ask them they usually give some BS about how it's tax on the voucher deal, but really it all comes down to the fact that they're getting squeezed by the deal companies and they're trying to make a few extra bucks from customers who don't know any better. I usually expect that with the cupcake deals, and I don't get too worked up over the two bucks or so, as even with "tax" it's usually still a good deal, but yes it is wrong, and it's just another way that Short & Sweet Cupcakes was trying to play games with this deal.



I'm glad it worked out for you, but the fact remains that Short & Sweet Cupcakes are not honouring the terms of the voucher. You're lucky that you happened to call ahead and you did not want the cupcakes for a few days. I would guess that most people redeeming this voucher would not call ahead, and would probably just go to the store on the same day they wanted the cupcakes to pick them out in person, as there is nothing on the voucher about ordering in advance. Also, Short & Sweet Cupcakes just deciding to add additional blackout dates (especially on days like mother's day weekend, when I would assume many people would have intended to use the voucher) is not okay.

The business is really shooting themselves in the foot here, the whole point of a voucher deal is to provide new customers with good experiences so they will return and to generate positive word of mouth for your business, so when they pull crap like this it really defeats the purpose of participating in a group deal. Everyone that bought a voucher for Short & Sweet cupcakes and gets turned away at the store, or reads about the experience of someone who did, is not going to be a future customer. There are lots of places in Toronto to get fancy cupcakes, there's no need to buy them from a business that plays these kinds of games.

This. There's no point in running a group deal if you are going to give a bad impression of your business to those that bought the voucher. Group buys are a form of advertising and it is a waste of money if you don't give a good impression to the new customers to make some of them returning customers. Those with bad experiences are more likely to share that bad experience with others.

I'd also take jeff1231's post with a grain of salt as I would with any new poster that registers and posts only once to give a good review. I avoid any business that changes the terms of a deal they agreed to. If they don't want to run the group deal, don't do it. No one is forcing them to, but don't change the terms after the fact. I'd ask for a refund too.

I'd also complain if I was asked to pay tax on something that is not taxable.

[jerrysiz]

I'd also take jeff1231's post with a grain of salt as I would with any new poster that registers and posts only once to give a good review.

Yeah, I noticed that possiblility as well, but I figured it really made no difference if he was legit or not, as what he said just served to confirm what I said in the OP. Even if it's true that he was happy with the experience, it was only because he didn't care that they changed the terms of the voucher to make him order days in advance, and he happened not to want to buy them on one of the days Short & Sweet Cupcakes just decided they wouldn't be honouring the vouchers (adding blackout dates, turning away customers, etc.). Not exactly a ringing endorsement, even if true, eh? :D