Cook Specialty

This customer did come into the store and attempt to return the product in question. In the store it is posted at each register and on the receipts that there is no return on food or paper products. The customer did not have a receipt. Since the customer did not have a receipt
we looked up the sales history in our accounting software the last time this product was sold was July 20. So it was not only or weeks since the customer had purchased but over 1/weeks. We sold of this product the first two weeks in July at this location and more at our other location and have not had one complaint. We never received a phone call stating she had a problem with the product. When the customer brought the product back over half of the product had been used. The Manager did try the product there was nothing wrong with the product it smelled and tasted normal. So we are not sure if the customer has just never used or tried Quins before. This product has a two year shelf life and the manufacture date was April so this is a fresh product. If the customers kids did not like them, the customer themselves tried them and say they smelled and tasted rancid why a couple of days later would you try to serve them to another group of people again. We are sorry the customer was not happy and did not like the Quins. Thank You

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] 1 - We did not return the quins right away or call because we live in Michigan and have stopped at Cook’s several times on our way to visit our son & family in Appleton, WI.  This was our next trip to Wisconsin. 2 - We did notice the sign about not returning food products when we returned but felt that would apply to products that had nothingwrong.  We have never encountered a business that would not take back a defective product.3 - We had not had quins before, but assumed that they would be edible since they are used to decorate cakes, cupcakes, ice cream and other food products.  Sounds like this is not the case.  Now we know that we should not buy quins again to put on anything which will be eaten.4 – When the kids did not like the quins we thought maybe it was just something different that kids did not especially like so we servedthem again.  But we then knew something had to be wrong when adults would spit them out as well.5 – I know the manager said she tasted nothing wrong – she tasted 1 small quin.  But I also know our guests (kids and adults both) did taste something wrong and they tasted bad.6 – Obviously the manager is not familiar with the product because there was much more than half of the product remaining – we had notused very much at all.But we see that the company has no intention of standing by their product or in customer satisfaction.  So, we will just give up with this complaint.  The complaint is unresolved for us but we see no use in pursuing it further; it wouldn’t do any good anyway.  The company gets to keep the $4.25 from the sale of this product but now have lost all our future business.  They have a large selection and variety ofproducts in the store but I know there are several places online from which to get all our needed cake decorating supplies. (Actually, that’s how we originally found out about Cooks).

The consumer [redacted] is not taking any responsibility of his own. 1 - He did not return or call because they live in Michigan I do not understand why they could not call?  When they came into the store they had no receipt and in the complaint they stated it was only a few weeks when it had been months?  So it was a lie when they tried to return them.  Why could they not just be honest. 2 - There is nothing wrong with the product it is not defective in anyway 3 - The quins are an edible product 4 - Not sure why you did not like them every one had different tastes. 5 - Yes the manager tasted them, we also tasted the exact same product - same lot number and they are fine there is nothing wrong with them.  No other complaints or returns on the exact same product with exact same lot number. 6 - The manager is familiar with the product she has been with us for over 8 years, she is also familiar with the amount of quins in each container. We as a company stand behind our product.  It is not only the business's that need to follow through but also the customer.  The signs are posted as well as on the customers receipt regarding the return of paper and food products.  The Kroons said it had been a few weeks when they had bought them when it had been over a month.  They had no receipt when they came in too return the product.  If they would like a store credit of $4.25 I will need their address and I will put in a credit for next time they come in the store and they will need to show ID at the register to get there in-store credit. If the customer would have just came in and told the truth that they had purchased them back in July and they did not like the flavor the manager would have had no problem but when the customer tells a lie and says its only been a few weeks and is insisting the product is bad when its not is a whole different story.  We have accounting software and product tracking of sales for a reason to know when the product is brought in, when the product is sold as well as return on the products.  When a complaint comes in and says its a bad product we track the product and go through the entire process to make sure what we have on our shelves is quality product. When the customer states the business gets to keep the $4.25.  A customer does not know the expense we went through to determine if this was a bad product or not and when all the information comes back with the product is fine, there has been no other complaints, and no other returns this is obviously just a customer who has never had the product before and just did not care for it.  As a consumer myself I would not go to a grocery store and by a food product to try that I have never had before and take it back because I decided I don't like the flavor.  And customers wonder why food prices and prices of product go up. Thank You[redacted]

Review: We live in West Michigan and our son & family live in Neenah, WI. My wife makes and decorates cakes and we don’t have a cake decorating supply store anywhere near us. A couple years ago we found Cook’s Specialty while searching online. We realized that we pass very close to the store when coming to visit in Wisconsin, so we began stopping on our way.

We had a problem with a purchase a couple weeks ago and the manager or owner we talked to today would do absolutely nothing to rectify the problem. The product purchased was a container of ice cream cone shaped “quins,” price approximately $4.25. My wife loved the idea and used them a couple days later as an ice cream topping at a family get together. The kids didn’t like them and said they tasted bad and spit them out. We tried them as well and they had a spoiled, rancid taste and smell to them. A couple days later we again served them over ice cream to a group of adults. The results were the same with people saying how bad they tasted.

On our next trip to Wisconsin (today) we stopped at Cook’s to return these bad tasting quins. The cashier referred us to a lady who was the manager or owner. She said she would do nothing, she said food cannot be returned. I know this is incorrect because we ourselves have returned food which is bad or spoiled for replacement or credit. She also said we didn’t have a receipt, which we didn’t since it was 2 or 3 weeks ago on our previous trip. She tried tasting one of the tiny quins and said it tasted okay. She said there was nothing she could – or would – do for us. We felt something else should have been done. We would have taken a store credit or a replacement, but absolutely nothing was done.

As we and our guests found out, these quins tasted like they were old, even though we had just purchased them. They were on the regular shelf in the store, not in a clearance or outdated section – and there were still more on the shelf today. Hopefully no one else will purchase those and possibly get ill from them.

To us, this is not a good business practice. We ended up buying about $50.00 worth of products because we needed them for next week. But that will be our last purchase from this store. We will find another store or do our ordering online from now on. They will loose a lot more business from this $4.25 mistake.Desired Settlement: A refund of the amount paid for the product or an exchange for a GOOD tasting product.

Business

Response:

This customer did come into the store and attempt to return the product in question.