I do not know WTF is going on in my original post about Dimples Cupcakes and the CEO calling me diabolical. It’s still up if you want to take a look at it here. You can go there to read the email exchange between us, including the full email he sent me that included this lovely bit:
I would respectfully request you reconsider your actions and remove your posting or I will immediately response to your blog posting and fully disclose the full scope of this situation including your name and contact information along with any and all organizations whom you may represent.
You can also find a link to the original post I made on TheBump.com where I said this:
Not so happy with this company
I’ve been looking forward to Dimples Cupcakes opening in Willow Bend for a while now. When Liz and I started planning our MNO fundraiser I contacted them to see if they would donate a door prize and maybe some goody bag stuffers. Obviously, it would benefit us, but it would also be a great way for them to get their info out there to a set of consumers in their target market.
The man I have dealt with from the beginning started out telling me it “shouldn’t be problem!” and that he just had to confirm some stuff. I sent him the info over a month ago, have followed up various times only to get the “I’ve been busy, still need to check” line from him. And each time he got increasingly more rude on the phone to me. Finally, I called today to see if he could finally confirm everything for this weekend and he was terribly rude. He went on and on about how they give so much and are so busy and acted as if he hadn’t even really considered our proposal at all.
Listen, I’m not mad about being told no. That’s understandable. What I am mad about was his attitude and that he wasted my time.
Don’t think I’ll be lining up for any of their cupcakes any time soon. Oh well.
/vent
What I am posting below is the account of my phone conversation with Dimples Cupcakes CEO Chad Sorrels, hopefully with spaces this time.
After a couple hours, my phone rang. What I will tell you from here on will obviously be my take on the conversation. I will do my very best to remember what was said and give you an honest account. Obviously, you know that this is my side of the story.
The conversation started off with a series of apologies from Chad, but each was followed with an excuse. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but we’ve been under a lot of stress…” “I’m sorry you got that impression, but he’s a great guy and that’s not like him at all…” Not my ideas of sincere apologies, but whatever. I was open to hearing him out. I was open to communicating. I was, after all, the one who encouraged him to call me to discuss this matter.
Then he started telling me how my post was the only negative comment his company has ever received and it was irresponsible of me to post it just because I was mad I didn’t get a donation. I explained in very clear terms AGAIN that I was not upset that his company was unable to donate to my fundraiser. I was upset with the way my time was wasted and the way I was treated by his employee.
I asked how it would be any different if I was treated poorly by an employee while ordering cupcakes. He insisted it was very different because I was obviously just mad about the donation.
We went back and forth for a little bit, recounting each of our sides of the story. He kept trying to explain why this person may have treated me badly or, at least, why I would “feel” that he treated me badly. Again, a couple “I’m sorry, but”s thrown in.
I tried to explain that this was merely a vent about poor customer service to a group of girls who I’m close with. Had this been five or ten years ago, I would have possibly vented about it to some friends over coffee or on the phone, but that, in this day and age, he has to accept that unfavorable reviews like this are going to pop up on the internet and he should be confident enough in his company to know that one bad review is not going to do a lot of damage if there are ten other positive ones that outweigh it. I also explained that if what he wanted me to do was to remove my post, he certainly wasn’t getting there by threatening me, like he did in his first email to me.
At another point in the conversation we had some sort of exchange about respecting customers, to which he told me that I “wasn’t a customer”. I explained that I was a potential customer and he retracted with, “Well *everyone’s* a potential customer and you’re not treating me with a lot of respect by posting that.” Confused, I moved on.
Then it was back to me being upset with them because I didn’t get the donation. Seriously. It did not compute. I can’t believe I had to do so much explaining. This is when I started to get really irritated. He again implied that my post was spurred by not getting the donation and I finally cut him off. I did raise my voice a bit, because I was sick of being accused of something I clearly did not do. I told him I would not allow him to tell me anymore that I was posting out of anger over the lack of donation. He then asked why I posted on the message board anonymously to which I had to LOL a bit, and then, possibly with a snarky tone, told him that he needed an education in the way the internet, blogs and message boards work.
Well, that set him off. He told me, (this is all paraphrased to the best of my memory) “No wonder he was rude to you if this is the way you act!… You are a piece of work… I know what type of person you are and I’m sure with your personality type you deal with this a lot… I’m done talking to you… You are irrational and can’t be spoken to… I don’t know where you are from, but if you plan on doing any fundraisers in this town you better watch out because it is a small world… I will ruin your reputation in this town (<<<THAT, I know he said word for word)”
I calmly said, “Chad, I apologize for raising my voice” and went on to tell him a little bit about how a message board works and how I wasn’t posting “anonymously”. I was posting under a screen name, and then told him all the reasons why it would be bad to post personal info there like my phone number and home address, like he implied he would do in his threat to me. He expressed that he was upset that I didn’t sign that post with my first and last name (and now a roaring LOL from the internet community) or the companies I represent.
Well, last I checked, if a person works for, say, Dell and they write that they aren’t happy with the way the guy at Subway treated them, that doesn’t mean that Dell is now not happy with Subway, right? I mean, unless he was writing on Dell’s behalf, and I wasn’t writing on anyone’s behalf but my own. Okay, this is all obvious to everyone, right?
Then, at some point toward the end, he called me “Diabolical” more than once. I was so taken aback, I thought I heard him wrong. I asked him to repeat what he just called me and he said, “you are diabolical”. Then again threatened with the reputation thing. He told me to have my lawyers contact his because he was going to take further action. There was some legal banter back and forth. I let him know that I had already notified TheBump.com and the LLS and forwarded all chains of communication to both of them. Then he floored me by asking what city I live in. I told him that’s none of his business and I wasn’t going to tell him. He then asked where my phone number was from. I told him that there was no way I was telling him anything about my location. Then I calmly said, “I’m done talking with you, Chad. Good bye,” and hung up.
I’m really, really trying to think if I called him any names, but I swear, I really don’t think I did. I’m trying to think if there was anything I said to him that was disrespectful other than the snarky internet education comment, but I truly don’t think I did. I really held my composure for the most part, except when I did raise my voice a little after getting so aggravated with the incessant accusations.
I am just… just… astounded by the way he treated me. Prior to today I probably would have ended up purchasing a Dimple’s Cupcake at some point in the near future. And, had he emailed me with an open mind, asked to hear my side of the story, took at least partial responsibility for the way I was treated without making excuses, I would have at least considered posting an update to the original message board post saying that the company went out of their way to make things right. All would have been well, damage would have been controlled and I would not be blogging about this tonight for thousands to see.
But, no, Chad. I will not be bullied into removing a negative review of your company. And I really have to wonder if these scare tactics are the reason why you can say there are no negative reviews of your company out there. I stand behind what I said, but you should know that your actions today have eclipsed any negative experience I’ve had with your employees up to this point x 100. You said you would “ruin my reputation” so consider this my preemptive strike.
Signed,
Jill Krause
Associated with nobody except myself and this blog, which is read by hundreds, if not thousands of DFW area residents
Edited on December 11, 2009 to add this email I received from Chad on December 8, 2009
Jill,
I would like to apologize for everything I have said to you or written in an email. I am not attempting to make any excuses for the way I handled the situation and the tone I took.
I wanted to apologize immediately after this unfortunate event, however I did not want to appear insincere in light of your blog postings. Again, I obviously handled myself in an inexcusable manner and upset you terribly. I can only say I am sorry and would like to more than simply send an email. Dimples Cupcakes would be very happy to make frequent donations to the charity of your choice. We would also like to display your charity on our website to bring additional awareness to your cause. I know how passionate you are about the cause you champion and together we could do great things to benefit it. I hope you do not think of this as a way to encourage you to take down your blogs, as I am very aware they have been up for some time. Please share your thoughts.
Chad Sorrells
Dimples Cupcakes
I’ve passed the information for the North Texas chapter of Team In Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on to him.
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30 comments
I give up. Sorry guys. I really tried to make pretty paragraphs for you.
[…] wrote a shorter version of this sans the lengthy email exchanges. Read it here. Sorry, still can’t get that wall of text to look better with some freaking […]
Wow, I went through the longer post and I don’t even know what to say to that. If that’s their attitude I’m shocked they’re still in business!
Good for you for not backing down and not being bullied into removing your honest account.
How very, very bizarre. I can’t decide if this guy is crazy or just a little thick in the head. Maybe both? Either way, I’m so glad you wrote about it. The fact that he tried to intimidate you with personal attacks and ridiculous threats is shocking and deserves every bit of attention that you’ve given it.
Jill, this is crazy. I am pissed for you. I don’t live in DFW, but have family in Tampa, where there is another location. I will be sure to forward this post for them to read. I know you didn’t ask for that, but we are a family that believes in customer service, and just being treated like a HUMAN. Good for you.
Thanks for the LOL this morning. I understand how frustrated you must be with this, as I got frustrated just reading your posts!
This guy is crazy and/or does not have a lot of experience with customer service and the internet. How could he not know that he was just making the situation worse by acting this way?
I’m glad I don’t live nearby- I would be so sad to lose a cupcakery!
It is atrocious that you were treated so horribly. I’m not local but I would certainly boycot this company if I could, yummy cupcakes or not!
Hi there, got your comment on my blog. I’m sorry to hear that you had such a negative experience with Dimples.
I thought they were nice guys, but then again, I only talked to them for a few minutes and didn’t go through what you did.
My husband and I own a small business in Denton, TX, and I try so hard to go out of my way for our customers. I never want our company to be viewed in this light, ever. This post makes me strive to be as helpful and kind to our customers as I can.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Thank you all so much for your support.
Jennifer, I was not the one who posted the link on your blog, but I appreciate you sharing your experience.
Passed this along to my sister in law who lives very close to the new location and she won’t be going there for sure! And she has a HUGE sweet tooth. Their loss.
Unbelievable. This type of threat is often used in industries where reputation is everything; I didn’t realize that it had moved into cupcakes, too! I have never heard of Dimples but I certainly never will.
Thanks for posting this.
I will not be visiting Dimple’s after reading this, and cupcakes are my favorite food ever. I’m completely disgusted and I’m glad that you posted your experience.
Thank you for not being intimidated by a CEO with a God complex.
The fact that he threatened to ruin your reputation because you where unhappy with the treatment you received from an employee of his & stated so on the internet is really unproffesional of him. Considering he also stated that that was the “only” negative comment that his organization had ever received.
I can appreciate his loyalty to his employee. I cannot appreciate him justifying it. Thats poor business practice. I’m in the north east & have never heard of Dimple’s before. I will be sure to avoid it if I ever come accross one. I’ll also be sure to pass this information onto others.
Dude, all you said was that you didn’t like your time wasted. How is that ‘against’ the company even? And then to threaten to ‘expose’ you or something is just stupid. Rolling eyes big time. Seems like someone who has ALWAYS gotten what he wanted and doesn’t take no for an answer. I feel sorry for his wife, if he’s married. Must be a real date-killer if the waiter accidentally drops something and he calls them diabolical. Ha!
This is the nature of doing business in the internet age. People are free to share their experiences, positive and negative, about your company. Business don’t control the conversation, and no amount of threatening is going to change that. It’s only going to make you look bad and hurt your reputation even more.
It’s clear this company doesn’t understand that. If their CEO is behaving in this manner, they probably won’t survive for long.
Oooh, please post this on yelp.com in your area! Seriously! This guy is a total d-bag and should be taken down.
I read the whole email back and forth and I am SO surprised that a company would keep being so rude. Hello!!! Customer service! Ridiculous.
I’m trying to figure out what he was doing on thebump.com to even find the post in the first place! This guy clearly has no business sense – threatening anyone who has a different opinion than him is not going to take his company very far. Just say no to dimples.
You are allowed to have an opinion about something, and the last time I checked, you can say and type whatever you like about your experiences with a company. I am APPALLED that these people are still in business. You aren’t running your mouth about things that aren’t true, and now this company has dug themselves further down in the hole. How DARE he threaten you, you’ve done nothing wrong. I would twitter the ***t out of this. LOL!!!
Unfortunately there are too many of these people in management. They are lucky to evade BBB complaints and other mechanisms designed to hold businesses accountable for their actions. Thus, the world turns to reviews posted by bloggers, knotties/nesties/bumpies, etc. Freedom of speech is not so one-sided that we can only give positive reviews of businesses without being sued for libel/slander. A business with a bad review should take that opportunity to do better, that is, if they really do care. I’m sorry you had to go through this J, but don’t let yourself be belittled by these folks. Karma’s a bitch.
…and southern california
what a douche. never heard of dimples but will bear this in mind if I ever run into one. 🙂
All I can say is OMG Girl! That guy needs to chillax
…ran into this site accidentally. Find myself strangely disturbed by the idea of an evil cupcake company.
I personally don’t like to think of dimples and cupcakes at the same time. That’s mostly because dimples anywhere but on a cute face are diabolical. It is especially diabolical when they show up on legs and butts.
Was “Googleing” Dimples to see if they listed their flavors of the day and came across all this instead. I SO LOST my appitite. And to think I was headed there to load up on surprise desserts for the family tonight.
Last week I loved the place, today….all done.
Attention Ladies… I wait tables in Dallas and fully understand customer service. I wait on all of you prissy women all day long and know how you operate. You have nothing better to do than torture local business owners and threaten them with losing your business unless you get exactly what you want. You all have your causes that you represent to justify not having to work to make ends meet. You come into our businesses to drink tap water with lemon or lime, share an appetizer, treat the server like gutter trash, take up our tables for two hours during a lunch rush and leave a two dollar tip. If we make one wrong move, you ask to see a manager or write one of your vindictive e-mails in an attempt to get something free. You have nothing better to do while your kids are in school than to blog your big bag of B.S. all over the internet and to gain momentum with other bored housewives.
You WEREN’T a customer, you were a beggar. You were declined and for that reason, you started an online campaign against a new business owner who is struggling to start a business in the middle of a crippling recession. You have nerve during these times to even be asking for a donation from someone who is just starting out. And then, you have the gall to post your version of what became a heated exchange to further hurt this man’s business. Shame on you.
I know your type like the back of my hand and I guarantee you that because this man stood up to you and backed up his employee, you were FUMING. You are used to complaining in restaurants and coffee shops until you either get your apology, free product, or get someone fired and this time, sweetie, it didn’t work and you hopped on your computer with the intention of ruining a business. I don’t know you personally, but I know EXACTLY the kind of rotten woman you are. You should know that every restaurant server and store clerk HATES you and all of your friends. We cringe when we see you coming into our business and trust me… we make fun of you and do impressions of you the entire time you are in our stores. In fact, if I were you, I would cook at home. When people are nasty and act superior to restaurant workers, they take quite a risk. Bon appetite!
I have had your cupcakes and dimples is nothing more than a GLUTEN factory!
Spot on James, spot on. These “ladies” cringe, bitch, and moan at the slightest error thats within their grasp of recovering or solving and suddenly the whole ship should sink with the captain in their honor.
More and more I see how my friends from L.A., N.Y., and Miami keep pointing out that Dallas is filled with to many materialist and overly demanding people.
I’ve been to Dimples on more than a few occasions and think the have great service, a much better and tastier cupcake than Sprinkles, and have a great base to earn them a mark in DFW’s map.
~Davey
P.S. Regular Dimples Customer their Chocolate Mousse cupcake is to die for!!
Makes me wonder how much they paid you to come on here and say that. Or maybe your just that asshole and decided to post under a different name.
Way to go Jill for standing up for yourself.
A man on a power trip…in the cupcake business! Whatever! Blow it off…there’s plenty of independent bakeries out there who would love to help you out!!!