Photo: @kylieraeallen / TikTok
Most people are on the customer's side on this one and she stepped up to defend herself in the best way possible.
By Megan Quinn — Written on Apr 20, 2023
An online war over a rainbow sprinkle cake has taken social media by storm.
After an unhappy customer complained about a cake order she claimed was not worth the high price, the baker of the cake responded with a public video, insinuating an ongoing battle between the two.
Now, TikTok's eyes on locked on the ongoing rainbow cake battle.
It all began when Ashleigh Freeman of Princeton, West Virginia contacted a local baker, Kylie Allen, via Facebook asking her for their signature six-layer rainbow cake for her mother’s upcoming birthday. Allen is the owner of “Kylie Kakes Dessert Bar & Cafe” and the creator of the popular staple that consists of six different colored layers with vanilla buttercream between each layer and topped off with rainbow sprinkles.
Freeman ordered an 8-inch cake that serves up to 18 guests and costs $83.97 including tax. The words “Happy Birthday Trilby” were to be written in black buttercream across the top of the cake. However, upon arrival, she was not thrilled with the results. She complained in a phone call to the bakery, in private messages to Allen, and later on her own social media pages.
We're not going to lie to you, the cake doesn't exactly look like something a professional would make but the all-out war that it erupted has truly been the cherry on top of the blown-out-of-proportion ordeal!
The baker addressed the customer's negative experience with her TikTok account.
Allen recounted the experience in her own version of events in a TikTok video that has been viewed nearly 5 million times, in what she calls “one of the worst client experiences” she’s ever had since opening her store.
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“Upon arrival, she seemed to be really surprised that the cake was covered in sprinkles,” Allen says. “We explained to her that all of our signature rainbow cakes are decorated this way and covered in sprinkles.”
She claims that Freeman got “super defensive” and “very rude” regarding the price of the cake. She then publicly bashed Allen’s business on her Facebook page.
Since Freeman appeared to be most upset about the placement of the sprinkles, Allen reminded viewers that she does place each sprinkle individually onto the cake and they may look slightly different in photographs than in person.
Although Allen never mentions Freeman by name, Freeman claimed that everyone in her town would be able to connect the dots and identify her as the “rude” customer. So, she stepped up to defend herself by posting her own TikTok video with photos of the cake, arguing that it was not worth the price and noting the messy writing and uneven placement of the sprinkles.
Freeman later deleted her video, wanting to call a cease-fire, and asked Allen to take down her video as well. However, when Allen refused, she re-posted her video.
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“I’m an idiot. I didn’t want to ruin her business, tried to squash the beef and she said no,” Freeman wrote in the text overlay of her video.
She shared screenshots of messages exchanged between her and Allen regarding the cake, where Allen attempted to alleviate the problem. “If you wanted it decorated a specific way than how we do them here, that’s something that would have had to be discussed,” Allen wrote.
Freeman responded by sending back a photo of the cake in question. “Look at it. That’s the problem,” she wrote. She adds that Allen lost herself a good customer. “A disrespectful person is no good customer of mine. Have a great day ma’am,” she fired back.
However, many people on TikTok sided with Freeman, agreeing that the cake was sloppy and not worth the nearly $90 it cost.
“I've bought $40 cakes that look 1000x better,” one person commented.
“I wouldn’t pay $20 for that,” another user shared.
“Hagrid made a better cake and he sat on it,” another user hilariously pointed out, referencing the birthday cake Hagrid gifted Harry Potter in the “Harry Potter” movies.
Freeman decided to start making her own cakes to protest Allen's business.
The cake battle did not in fact end there. In what is most likely one of the prettiest moves in TikTok history, Freeman began baking and designing her own cakes, which she displays in several videos on her account. She even remade the botched birthday cake she bought from Allen.
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Ever since Allen’s original video went viral, her business has come under fire, with customers leaving her negative reviews criticizing her “overpriced cakes” and “horrible customer service.”
Despite all of the backlash, Allen told Insider that she has “thick skin” and that she is over the entire incident, which she claims has not affected her business in any way. She posted a follow-up video on her TikTok account slamming those who take the time to leave negative comments as “pointless.”
She also addresses rumors that she copies work from other bakers and declares them as false.
“Y’all try to reach so far,” Allen says. “I’ve worked extremely hard just to get where I am.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.