Rude customers are a rite of passage for most customer service employees, but one small business owner turned the tables on an unruly patron after a disrespectful encounter went viral on social media.
Cassie Tingley owns Love and Flour, a cake shop located in Fountain, Colorado. Tingley became a self-taught baker eight years ago and prides herself on her innovative use of ingredients to create unique designs for her customers.
In March, Tingley found herself thrust into the national spotlight after a video that she posted to TikTok went viral. In the clip, Tingley can be heard speaking with a potential customer, but the conversation quickly turns sour after the buyer begins to make unreasonable demands for her cake order.
"I need a cake for 120 [people] for tomorrow," the woman, who remains unidentified, can be heard saying. "I need to have this done, it needs to be taken care of."
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Cassie Tingley records herself as she stands up to a rude customer. The video was then posted to TikTok and amassed over 15 million views. (Cassie Tingley/@thugmomog)
The video, which Tingley began recording after the conversation turned hostile and has been viewed over 15 million times on the platform, continues as Tingley calmly tells the caller that she is unable to deliver a custom cake within the 12-hour timeframe.
"It’s not going to happen with me, but there are other bakers around the city that can help you, maybe," Tingley says to the woman.
Tingley explained to Fox News Digital that it would take multiple days for her team to deliver a cake with the customer’s specifications and she requires advanced bookings for custom orders, making the request infeasible. For instance, the woman was requesting fresh red roses for the cake, which would require Tingley to outsource to a local florist - something that could not be achieved by the next morning.
A custom design featuring a three-tiered cake created by Cassie Tingley’s small business, Love and Flour, located in Fountain, Colorado. Tingley has been decorating cakes for eight years. (Cassie Tingley)
The conversation quickly goes south after the potential customer resorts to name-calling.
"I mean, b**** Walmart could pull this off," the woman can be heard saying over the phone.
The woman then doubles down on her comment as Tingley confirms the foul language.
"You know what, the only b**** is you," Tingley says to the woman as she proceeds to stand up for herself and her employees, mentioning how the woman is calling late at night and has unrealistic demands for a cake that she would need by the next day.
The conversation promptly ends, but not before the caller can get a final word in, lambasting Tingley for her tone.
A custom cake design created by Cassie Tingley’s small business, Love and Flour, located in Fountain, Colorado. Tingley has been decorating cakes for eight years. (Cassie Tingley)
The uptick in rude customers has required Tingley to change her methods as a small business owner. After countless run-ins with disrespectful patrons, Tingley has turned to recording incidents as a way to protect herself and her staff.
"I've had to jump in and start changing my game plan because I absolutely cannot be a doormat for people and I won't be," Tingley told Fox News Digital. "I can't allow cancel culture to try to take me down. I will film everything and post things that I feel are crossing the line in order to not only protect myself, but my staff, because I don't like them being talked to in this way either."
I can't allow cancel culture to try to take me down.
One week later, Tingley posted a follow-up video of the woman calling to apologize for her behavior.
"Well, I know you’re not going to take that video down, so I apologize if I came off as entitled or rude, like people stated I did," the woman can be heard saying in the clip.
Tingley attempts to resolve the issue, explaining that she was unable to deliver the product within the amount of time given. The conversation ultimately leads to an abrupt ending after the caller hangs up on Tingley.
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Cassie Tingley poses with a mixing bowl as she bakes a cake for her small business, Love and Flour. Tingley began baking eight years ago and specializes in custom cakes with unique designs. (Cassie Tingley)
The original video has drawn emotional reactions from viewers on the platform, as people take to the comments to share their horror stories as customer service workers.
"We gotta normalize businesses sticking up for themselves," one user commented. "Some customers are just unhinged."
"That scratched an itch for me, I have always wanted to talk to rude customers that way," another comment read.
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Tingley was touched by the positive reactions from viewers and her business has seen an uptick in visitors seeking to place orders to stand in solidarity with the shop.
"When I saw the overwhelming amount of support and what other people [are going] through, or how they're spoken to and how long they’ve worked in the industry - whether it was in call centers, hospital staff, bartenders, waitresses, anyone," Tingley told Fox News Digital. "It felt like thousands of comments."
A custom cupcake design created by Cassie Tingley’s small business, Love and Flour. Tingley went viral on TikTok after posting her response to a disrespectful customer. (Cassie Tingley)
Tingley stresses that managers should focus on protecting their employees, but ultimately the responsibility falls on the customer to simply be kind.
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"Treat people with kindness unless they direct you or treat you otherwise, you never know what somebody is going through, as cliche as that sounds," Tingley said. "I feel kindness is the best and easiest option - it's free and it's easy to do."
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