Photo credit: Nasty Hobbit

We messed up yesterday. We’re sorry, and we’ve learned a lot from it.

The situation:
We had a delivery of cupcakes that was to go out and be in the hands of our client by 10 a.m. With custom Quippies. For a birthday party.

What happened:
The cupcakes didn’t get delivered by 10.

At about 10:08 a.m., the client called and said, “Uh, hi. Where are our cupcakes?”

Panic ensued in the Foiled Cupcakes office.

Why it happened:
It doesn’t matter why it happened. The client didn’t get their cupcakes on time. No excuses. It was totally our bad and due to miscommunication on our end internally.

Another layer of blah:
The Quippies were not like the client wanted. Instead of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE!” on one Quippie, and “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!” on another Quippie, a single Quippie said “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!”

What the client said via e-mail shortly after the havoc:
“… Sorry, guys, but I don’t think that we’ll be able to use you going forward. There is too much competition out there, and this order was mangled, start to finish.”

EPIC FAIL.

What we have done to fix it:
We will double and triple confirm all delivery times with our drivers to make sure there is no gap in communication or confusion.

We will discontinue our relationships with drivers who don’t prioritize the delivery of your cupcakes in a timely manner.

We will get Custom Quippie proofs from our designer, forward them to you, and get e-mail approval before printing. We will correct/perfect the Quippies until you are satisfied with the customization.

We have sent a request into our web developer to get another form field into the Custom Quippies section; we want to get all details possible to make sure we get your Quippies just right.

We can’t promise for sure, but we’re hoping that these measures will help us serve you better.

Lessons reinforced:
If we’re not on time, we can really mess up our valuable clients’ plans.
We really, really value our clients. Losing a client is literally heart-wrenching.
We recognize that people are relying on us to bring them shiny happy goodness, and if we can’t deliver, then people won’t order from us.

We messed up. We’re sorry. We’ll learn from this, and we’ll be better.

Promise.

How many #MANCAKE submissions did we get? A lot.

How many #MANCAKE submissions did we get that rhymed? This one:

And thanks to @amyeb25, we now have our first official #MANCAKE winner!

Here’s what Amy and Dan get:

A brand new cupcake on our menu named “The Dan” (or we’ll let them pick something else if they choose)
Two dozen cupcakes delivered to Dan and Amy
And look for Dan to be featured on our home page and blog in the next couple of weeks!

Congratulations, Dan! And Amy, thanks for your submission!

We keep growing, so we’ll keep hiring Cupcakeologists. Yes, we will.

Current pastry students encouraged to apply.

Who we are:
Foiled Cupcakes is Chicago’s most buzzed about cupcake delivery service. Since the launch of our website in July 2009, we’ve surpassed our revenue goals by more than 600 percent and have also served more than a hundred Fortune 500 companies in Chicago alone.

You can read more about us here.

What we’re offering:
A PT job / ground-up opportunity with a year-old cupcake bakery in Chicago
A chance to apply production, operations, supply chain, and business/management principles to real life
Exposure via the press and media
A reasonable amount of flexibility with a down-to-earth boss who’s willing to work WITH you as long as you’re willing to follow through on your commitments
Growth opportunities with a growing company

Requirements:
Food Sanitation Certificate (must have valid City of Chicago certificate)
High School Diploma (GED Acceptable)
Ability to follow recipes in English, along with solid conversion and math skills
High level piping and garnishing skills
Ability to maintain an organized, efficient, and clean work environment and to work quickly
Good communication skills and reliability to follow through on orders
Evening availability (4-6 p.m.) three to four days per week for 2-4 hours per shift
Be available to start immediately

Preferred:
Experience in large production baking
Inventory management experience

Job responsibilities:
Bake, pipe, and package cupcakes in a high production commercial kitchen in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood
Communicate daily with the owner to ensure smooth operations
Work in tandem and take direction from Head Cupcakeologist, while also working together to find ways to improve operations

How to apply:
Please email your cover letter, resume with contact information, salary requirements, and references to
Foiled Inc., Attention: Mari
Email: hey@foiledcupcakes.com (preferred), or fax: 630.848.9140
The subject of your correspondence should read: “LET’S BAKE CUPCAKES!”

No phone calls, please.

The Great American Bake Sale in Chicago will be held this Saturday, April 17th. Our friend Maris is putting it all together, and it sounds super yummy!

Check out In Good Taste and the Great American Bake Sale to learn more. And go eat carbs to help out a great cause!

My flight was delayed on my way back from #SESNY. And I was bored. So I decided to give out a free dozen cupcakes to the person with the worst travel story.

Problem is, we got, like, 40 kajillion responses. I did my best to narrow them down, but now I’m too stressed/entertained/indecisive to pick a winner. So I’m delegating that decision out to you.

Please vote for your favorite (just submit a comment with A, B, C, or D) and that person will win FREE CUPCAKES, delivered to their Chicagoland office next week.

We’ll keep voting open through Tuesday, 3/30/10 until 12:00 noon, Central time.

A - @ShannaQuinn:

My suitcase was damaged. I had personal items strung out on the claim conveyor belt which I had to scoop up as they went by.

B - @jfhoff:

seeing two shoving matches break out as people boarded the 7:06 am train from Naperville to Chicago. Relax, people!

C - @debbieupper:

Not airplane-related, but once got barricaded into a state park in India, held up for moolah. #CUPCAKES

D - @Phampants:

worse was when i lost my debit card while backpacking europe. i had to survive 15 days w/ 350 euros & 60 pounds

Get voting! The one with the most votes wins!

The fine print resides here.

[By the way, I almost picked this one:

@antrants: SYD to LAX, pilot had to re-route half way, crashed, got lost on an island, had to time travel with some dude to get back.

But come on. That's so been done before. ]

What’s this Chicago Soup thing all about and how did Foiled Cupcakes get involved? Read about it here.

It’s been almost a week since Chicago Soup and Teen Living Programs celebrated their $100K social media win from Chase bank and we’re still reeling in the craziness of it all. So much food and so many congratulations! What a great effort and campaign.

See pictures on Chicago Soup’s Facebook page. And please become a fan while you’re at it. Because then you’ll be the first to know about ways you can make an impact in your local community without much money, effort, or time.

On a personal note, thankyouthankyouthankyou to the following individuals who have donated their time, talents, and efforts to making Chicago Soup a reality (I’m estimating that over 500 hours have been donated to Chicago Soup):

Geoff - my new bao friend who has a bunch of fancy titles at Wow Bao/LEYE and apparently every single connection in the world

Nia - the easiest person ever to work with on a project and high-up gal at Teen Living Programs

Christine - the loveliest PR person I’ve ever had the pleasure of collaborating with at JP Morgan Chase Bank

Patrick - brilliant designer, project managing fiend and co-founder of C2 Creative Consulting

Derek - community strategist, new Canadian, and co-founder of Foodtree

Tim - video guy who can whip together great pieces and founder of Beyond the Pedway

It was great collaborating with such a talented team to make this all come together so nicely. So thank you from the very bottom of our mixing bowl.

So, we’re hiring again - this time for Pastry Chefs. We like to call them Cupcakeologists.

Current pastry students encouraged to apply.

Who we are:
Foiled Cupcakes is Chicago’s most buzzed about cupcake delivery service. Since the launch of our website in July 2009, we’ve surpassed our revenue goals by more than 400 percent and have also serviced more than a hundred Fortune 500 companies in Chicago alone. Read more about us here.

What we’re offering:
-A PT job / ground-up opportunity with a year-old cupcake bakery in Chicago
-A chance to apply production, supply chain, and business/management principles to real life
-Exposure via the press and media
-A reasonable amount of flexibility with a down-to-earth boss who’s willing to work WITH you as long as you’re willing to follow through on your commitments
-Growth opportunities with a growing company

Requirements:
-Food Sanitation Certificate (must have valid City of Chicago certificate)
-High School Diploma (GED Acceptable)
-Ability to follow recipes in English
-High level piping and garnishing skills
-Ability to maintain an organized, efficient, and clean work environment
-Good communication skills and reliability to follow through on orders
-Solid conversion and math skills

Preferred:
-Experience in large production baking
-Available evening schedule (5 p.m.) at least three days per week for 3-4 hours per shift
-Inventory management experience

Job responsibilities:
-Bake, pipe, and package in a high production commercial kitchen in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood
-Communicate daily with the owner to ensure smooth operations
-Must be able to work unsupervised

How to apply:
Please send your cover letter, resume with contact information, and references by SATURDAY, 2/20/10, to
Foiled Inc., Attention: Mari
Email: info@foiledcupcakes.com (preferred), or fax: 630.848.9140

The subject of your correspondence should read “I’M RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED ABOUT BAKING CUPCAKES!”

No phone calls, please.

I just took a look at our Twitter page and had no idea we were over 5,000 followers. Wow!

So in honor of each of the 5,014 followers we have on Twitter (to whom we owe every piece of our growth and success), I’m going to do the unthinkable:

I’m going to run.

One meter for every one of you. 5,014 meters. A 5K + an additional 14 meters to the water fountain.

If you know me at all, you know I’d rather sing karaoke in front of thousands, kiss a snake, eat stinky cheese, talk to a complete stranger, or listen to country than run. Even like 10 feet. I hate running.

But thanks to everyone who’s supported us to this point, and faithful runners who inspire me like Chanthana, Kate, Jacqueline, Sue, Tim, Carla, Paige, and Heather, I’m dedicating my first real 5k to all of you who have been the true backbone of our business for the past eight months.

And from the bottom of our mixing bowls, we at the Foiled Cupcakes team all thank you.

Now I just need to find a race. Any suggestions?

- Mari

P.S. A special thanks to Fleet Feet for getting me all set up with new shoes for my first run. (How did they know that I’d do pretty much anything to have an excuse to buy new shoes?)

We’re hiring! Again!

You:
Are 18+ and are legally able to work in the United States.
Have a clean driving record, a reliable car with current insurance and air conditioning.
Are okay being on-call in the mornings for 1-3 hour shifts between 8-12 noon, Monday through Saturday.
Can pick up cupcakes from our kitchen location in Chicago and deliver them to the north suburbs.
Believe that customer service is absolutely ESSENTIAL and aren’t afraid to be overly servicey.
Know the City of Chicago and the north suburbs or can use a handy dandy GPS.
Have a cell phone and aren’t afraid to use it to communicate with our customers and office staff. (Hands-free, of COURSE. Duh.)
Think that an average wage range of $10-25/hour+ is A-OK.

We:
Are learning every single day. We’re brand new, growing faster that we anticipated, and we love it.
Love people who are fun and can have fun, and don’t take life too seriously, but really, REALLY put the customer FIRST.
Expect that everyone will follow through on their own responsibilities.
Let you know the night before of any deliveries that need to be made.
Have a lot of exciting partnerships, deals, press, and media exposure coming up.
Are expanding to Chicago’s North Shore (Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Skokie) and need a delivery person to join our team ASAP.

Interested in working with us? Send your cover letter AND resume by Wednesday (that’s TOMORROW!) to Mari:

Email: info@foiledcupcakes.com
Subject: I won’t eat the cupcakes while I’m driving them around. I SWEAR.

If we’d like to meet with you, we’ll call you in the next 36 hours. We’re going to be interviewing on Thursday morning between 9-12 noon in Chicago. (That’s in TWO DAYS). We’ll need you to be ready to start this week. Yeah, that’s soon. But if you want it, well… that’s how it works.

No phone calls, please! We want to make sure we continue to service our phone customers exactly the way they deserve. Thanks, everyone, for your continued support of our growing business. WE APPRECIATE YOU! xo - Mari

I’m literally floored. In just a matter of 30 minutes and a handful of tweets, we were able to collectively donate $500 to the Red Cross Haiti relief effort today. Thank you to the following individuals who donated (and will be receiving 2 Dozen of our Favorites cupcakes as a result):

@mattchevy
@tommychoi
@johnpneedham
@mojoguzzi
@CityGirl912
And a special thank you to @rickmurray for thinking of, donating to, and participating in this fantastic idea.

By the way, even if you didn’t get free cupcakes out of donating, it’s still always a good thing to do.

I’m always amazed at what a group of totally unrelated people can do together to make a difference. You guys all freaking rock. I’m so verklempt.

- Mari