Costco Flat-Out Hands Woman Blank Cake, Supposedly Refusing To Color It As Per Her Order Due To Copyright, Expects Her To Just Accept It
Imagine that you are about to host a birthday party for your child. What troubles can await you along the way? Well, for example, you can invite several dozen people, and when you arrive at the venue, you find that nobody showed up. Or, for example, you can encounter some birthday cake fail.
Many parents prefer not to bake their own cakes, but order a custom cake from a local bakery or from one of the stores of a large chain – for example, Costco. Usually retail giants don’t let you down – but sometimes funny troubles happen, like what happened to this mom, whose video ended up with almost a million views on TikTok.
More info: TikTok
The author of the video was arranging her 2 Y.O. kid’s birthday party and wanted a special cake for sure
Image credits: Jon Tyson (not the actual photo)
The mom ordered a cake at Costco but received a blank white cake the evening before the day of the party
Image credits: @katelanterman
“Tonight I went to pick up my son’s second birthday cake from Costco”
“And I got a blank cake instead. Of course, no decorators work in the evening, which was when I came to pick this up. So no one there knows why it was blank. The best I can assume is that because it’s a Sesame Street-themed birthday party, and I know they can’t do licensed things.”
Image credits: @katelanterman
Image credits: @katelanterman
“So all I asked for was a little street sign”
“This is a recreation of my order that I gave them. You know, ‘Happy Birthday.’ I asked for some 1,2,3s. ABCs on it, a top border and a bottom border. But I guess maybe because of the sign they wouldn’t do any of it. The person there gave me a couple of colors to take home. And the manager offered $5 off for this inconvenience, which I didn’t even bother finding him when we checked out.”
Image credits: @katelanterman
Image credits: @katelanterman
“I took it home. I don’t like my handwriting. I’ve done cake stuff in the past before this”
“So this was the best I could do. But I guess because of the sign they wouldn’t do it? That’s my assumption. What confuses me the most is why they wouldn’t do the bare minimum of at least ‘Happy Birthday Teddy.’ And the border colors like they just left it blank white instead.”
@katelanterman #Costcofail Without explanation, Costco didnt decorate my son’s birthday cake so I had to do it at 9pm the night before his party. #nailedit BUT SERIOUSLY, you thought leaving it blank was a good idea??? Do the best you can offer and thats my problem after, but them leaving it blank was a horribly petty plan. I normally LOVE Costco, we still spent bought all of our party food there tonight because that was my plan and I didnt need the added stress of changing plans over this. I’ll still shop there, but i will NEVER order a custom cake again #cakefail ♬ original sound – Katelynn Ross
The woman made the design on her own using the icing Costco workers had attached, but was surely upset with the whole situation
The Original Poster (OP) is Katelynn Ross (@katelanterman). She was arranging a party for her 2 year-old kid, and what’s a party without a birthday cake? Mom had been working around ten years in bakeries, according to herself, but this time she decided to order a custom cake from Costco. The manager said that they could fulfill such an order, so the woman asked for a fairly typical design with a congratulatory inscription.
What came to Katelynn’s surprise was when, on the eve of her toddler’s birthday, Costco delivered a cake – as blank as a paper sheet! But that was not all – as an addition to the cake, she received several tubes of icing. Such a DIY kit … And all this, just to remind you, took place late in the evening on the eve of the party!
It’s good that Katelynn had a lot of experience working in bakeries, so although the woman complained about her handwriting not being the most calligraphic, in the end, the cake came out well, and the congratulatory inscription turned out really beautiful. But it took the OP a lot of time and nerves. The manager, when the author of the video contacted them, offered a $5 discount in return as some kind of compensation for the fact that the store could not fully fulfill the order. Well, in this case, who can compensate Katelynn for the spent nerve cells?
According to information provided by the CostcoMenu website, “Costco is an excellent option if you’re looking for an affordable and delicious birthday cake. They offer a wide selection of cakes, and you can choose from several different flavors and designs.” However, no matter how we searched, we could not find an ordinary blank sheet among the available cake designs…
By the way, in the comments to the video, Katelynn also admitted that she had several missed calls while she was working that day, and it is likely that this was a Costco manager who wanted to warn the customer about design problems. However, what surprised some folks in the comments is that the cake arrived on time at all. On the other hand, some decorators who came to the comments said that if there is no way to get in touch with the customer, then it is probably better to deliver a blank cake than not to bake it at all.
What all the commenters are unanimous about is that Katelynn did a great design job herself, and actually saved her kid’s birthday party! Now, if you, too, have ever faced some strange situations while arranging any birthday celebration, please let us know about them in the comments.
However, people in the comments massively praised the mom for doing a great job of saving her toddler’s birthday party
TLDR; Costco only allows pre-approved designs in their book (with limited modifications). Woman wants custom job, which Costco does not offer. Costco tried to contact her prior to fulfilling order, but she didn't pick up. Manager makes safe call of having cake ready with the ability for her to make the custom design. Woman is upset at Costco.
I once asked Dairy Queen to do a Five Nights at Freddy's cake for my daughter. They told me on the same call they wouldn't be able to because they don't have the license for that brand. Makes sense. Just not something I thought was a thing since I heard other cake companies can do custom orders. However, copyright laws I'm aware of and respect. Wasn't a big deal. Chose a blank cake and did the decorating myself. Looked ... pretty bad but not the absolute worst. I think the Thomas The Tank Engine cake I made for her 1st birthday from scratch was way worse. This mom is overreacting, making mountains out of hills. Her child will appreciate and remember her decorating fondly more than a stranger's. And she did a fine job. Her son isn't going to care about calligraphy and perfect edges. At the end of it all, it's cake that goes down the same.
Companies (and freelancers) aren't legally allowed to make anything with copyrighted images on it without permission of the copyright holder. Buuuut lots of people either don't know that or don't care and do it anyway. I'd imagine that most never get caught by the really big corporations just because of sheer numbers, but if they do get caught, they can get sued big time for it. There are some loopholes to copyright laws, but they often don't apply to the average person selling stuff.
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I had a friend who was a cake decorator. Their department would tell customers that colors like black, purple, and blue make really bad flavored frosting and should only be used in small amounts. But no, they want these colors for the whole cake. Guess who comes back to the store to complain about bad tasting cake/frosting? Yeah, you were told it would be nasty, that’s on you.
I've been a professional baker and a hobby baker. If those colours are tasting bad that's not normal and they should buy different colours. I use black purple and blue all the time, I made a Star Wars themed birthday cake for my husband where the cake base was completely black for background and it tasted absolutely normal. I'd report them to the health department if the cake tasted bad just because it's black, blue and purple
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Sorry, but this seems to be another humblebrag. “Poor me. I’m a victim. My handwriting is horrible and my decorating skills—average. Just look at the hideous cake I had to hastily decorate for my precious baby. Isn’t it ugly?!” *Shows photo of nicely decorated cake. Waits for praise.*
Spot on. Not only shows the finished cake, but each step of the cake. That's a purposeful action with a final outcome in mind.
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The mom should remember that it's her child that's the two year old.
This didn't happen. This person just wants everyone to compliment her efforts. Costco doesn't do custom design orders like this. She's making it up. Also, the price tag is a pre-print for items they are discounting and trying to move, it wasn't a "sorry for your trouble" discount.
I don't shop at Costco, but most other places have a book of designs you have to choose from to get a cake decorated a certain way. Anything "custom" would be the colors and wording and that's it (aside from flavors, obviously). Next time, she should probably just go to a regular bakery. She did a beautiful job on the cake herself at home, though!
I'm afraid Sesame Street is a copyrighted brand. You can make your own sign for personal/private use but if you sell that design or the product from that design you could get sued and as Costco is a large business it would definitely cause them to be hit with a hefty lawsuit for copyright infringement. To be honest though, a workaround Costco could have done is cut the shapes to size, for example a green semicircle with a 2 iced on it and a yellow semicircle slightly bigger and then the same trick with the rectangles. Decorate the rest of the cake with enough space to fit them and explain it to the customer and how the workaround... works
My brother in Christ, Sesame Street does not own a copyright on the appearance of Philadelphia PA street signage -_-#
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I got one with the wrong name, the theme was right thougt. We scrapped the name of and rearranged the letters to her nick name (fondant). It was a little demaged, but all good at the end. But this cake here reminds me more on a Mexican sombrero theme. :O Still a nice cake.
If the child won't even know the difference, what is the point? To show photos on facebook? When I was a child I always got home_made cake from mum, usually chocolate with smarties around the perimeter and name in smarties. Was good enough.
I mean child won't know the difference because he's 2
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I mean its partially on Costco for taking her order. The US Costo website says they "don't provide online cake-ordering options" and that you need to order in store with TWO days notice, so at some point there was a communication break down. Whether that was when OP placed the order two days prior and the store didn't look at her order form immediately to make sure it was ok, or when they rang and didn't leave a message. So it's not entirely on OP. That said, if it was me I would have rung them earlier in the day regardless and checked in to make sure the cake would be ready. So that if it wasn't or if there was an issue I would have time to pick up a different cake.
I am a decorator with 16 years exp. A green and yellow street sign with the kids name in it is not copyright infringement, especially if you change it a little from the owners design. Furthermore, once you purchase a copyrighted item you can do what you want with it because the owner already received royalties for it. As a general rule, if the character is recognizable as having a first name or socially known title, it has a copywright. SO they should have made the cake, and if uncomfortable, put an artistic spin on it. Customers usually understand. But the finished cake is better than I have seen from many retail cake decorators.
I read this article all the way through. Mom probably didn't think about the copyright laws that different entities have in regards to their logos phrases pictures anything that they do. She needs to understand that even though it's a custom cake design that could be done, Costco has to watch what they do and when they do it. They could be sued for using the theme illegally according to the copyright laws. She did a wonderful job on the cake herself. So she needs to learn to look through their pre-approved books or pictures to go with a special cake that way. I never went and did anything so custom that the store that I went to to get the cakes could not do that. It was either that or I did it myself.
They gave her the frosting colors and $5 off. A 2 year old doesn't care what the cake looks like, smh.
So Costco should risk a lawsuit over copyright infringement? OP is annoying.
I totally understand them not being able to commit copyright and trademark infringement but it's super weird that there wasn't any upfront or straightforward communication about it
Had a custom screen printing company refuse to make me a t-shirt with the Price Is Right wheel on it claiming copyright infringement.
Our local Costco has a platform with an Order pad and a book of designs. I agree that she shouldn't have tried for a custom design but the person who called her should have left a message. I think both are in the wrong. Why can't customer service be like it used to!
That they did not give her a custom cake when they don't offer them is not the issue. She is actually at fault there. That someone decided to call from an unknown number and not leave a voicemail? Yeah... I NEVER answer a number I don't know. Could be a scam call, in fact the vast majority are. If you leave a voicemail message then I can tell if it's actually from somewhere/someone I know and call back (or any other appropriate action). If a voicemail is obvious spam, block and report the number.
If she actually decorated the cake in the picture, I find it strange she'd order a tasteless store bought cake. I get that time might have been an issue, etc. I have a cooking/baking biz I would die before I served that type of cake.
Most chain store sheet cakes I've had are delicious, like way better than normal cake.
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So the person/company etc that may have spent years designing and coming up with an image/idea/product etc shouldn't be fairly compensated for it? Eg, you paint a beautiful painting, and post it online to sell copies of it to make an income. Someone else copies that image and sells it repeatedly for x$$$'s. Wouldn't you be pissed someone else is profiting from your hard work and ideas and you get nothing from them? I would be.
Load More Replies... TLDR; Costco only allows pre-approved designs in their book (with limited modifications). Woman wants custom job, which Costco does not offer. Costco tried to contact her prior to fulfilling order, but she didn't pick up. Manager makes safe call of having cake ready with the ability for her to make the custom design. Woman is upset at Costco.
I once asked Dairy Queen to do a Five Nights at Freddy's cake for my daughter. They told me on the same call they wouldn't be able to because they don't have the license for that brand. Makes sense. Just not something I thought was a thing since I heard other cake companies can do custom orders. However, copyright laws I'm aware of and respect. Wasn't a big deal. Chose a blank cake and did the decorating myself. Looked ... pretty bad but not the absolute worst. I think the Thomas The Tank Engine cake I made for her 1st birthday from scratch was way worse. This mom is overreacting, making mountains out of hills. Her child will appreciate and remember her decorating fondly more than a stranger's. And she did a fine job. Her son isn't going to care about calligraphy and perfect edges. At the end of it all, it's cake that goes down the same.
Companies (and freelancers) aren't legally allowed to make anything with copyrighted images on it without permission of the copyright holder. Buuuut lots of people either don't know that or don't care and do it anyway. I'd imagine that most never get caught by the really big corporations just because of sheer numbers, but if they do get caught, they can get sued big time for it. There are some loopholes to copyright laws, but they often don't apply to the average person selling stuff.
Load More Replies... I had a friend who was a cake decorator. Their department would tell customers that colors like black, purple, and blue make really bad flavored frosting and should only be used in small amounts. But no, they want these colors for the whole cake. Guess who comes back to the store to complain about bad tasting cake/frosting? Yeah, you were told it would be nasty, that’s on you.
I've been a professional baker and a hobby baker. If those colours are tasting bad that's not normal and they should buy different colours. I use black purple and blue all the time, I made a Star Wars themed birthday cake for my husband where the cake base was completely black for background and it tasted absolutely normal. I'd report them to the health department if the cake tasted bad just because it's black, blue and purple
Load More Replies... Sorry, but this seems to be another humblebrag. “Poor me. I’m a victim. My handwriting is horrible and my decorating skills—average. Just look at the hideous cake I had to hastily decorate for my precious baby. Isn’t it ugly?!” *Shows photo of nicely decorated cake. Waits for praise.*
Spot on. Not only shows the finished cake, but each step of the cake. That's a purposeful action with a final outcome in mind.
Load More Replies... The mom should remember that it's her child that's the two year old.
This didn't happen. This person just wants everyone to compliment her efforts. Costco doesn't do custom design orders like this. She's making it up. Also, the price tag is a pre-print for items they are discounting and trying to move, it wasn't a "sorry for your trouble" discount.
I don't shop at Costco, but most other places have a book of designs you have to choose from to get a cake decorated a certain way. Anything "custom" would be the colors and wording and that's it (aside from flavors, obviously). Next time, she should probably just go to a regular bakery. She did a beautiful job on the cake herself at home, though!
I'm afraid Sesame Street is a copyrighted brand. You can make your own sign for personal/private use but if you sell that design or the product from that design you could get sued and as Costco is a large business it would definitely cause them to be hit with a hefty lawsuit for copyright infringement. To be honest though, a workaround Costco could have done is cut the shapes to size, for example a green semicircle with a 2 iced on it and a yellow semicircle slightly bigger and then the same trick with the rectangles. Decorate the rest of the cake with enough space to fit them and explain it to the customer and how the workaround... works
My brother in Christ, Sesame Street does not own a copyright on the appearance of Philadelphia PA street signage -_-#
Load More Replies... I got one with the wrong name, the theme was right thougt. We scrapped the name of and rearranged the letters to her nick name (fondant). It was a little demaged, but all good at the end. But this cake here reminds me more on a Mexican sombrero theme. :O Still a nice cake.
If the child won't even know the difference, what is the point? To show photos on facebook? When I was a child I always got home_made cake from mum, usually chocolate with smarties around the perimeter and name in smarties. Was good enough.
I mean child won't know the difference because he's 2
Load More Replies... I mean its partially on Costco for taking her order. The US Costo website says they "don't provide online cake-ordering options" and that you need to order in store with TWO days notice, so at some point there was a communication break down. Whether that was when OP placed the order two days prior and the store didn't look at her order form immediately to make sure it was ok, or when they rang and didn't leave a message. So it's not entirely on OP. That said, if it was me I would have rung them earlier in the day regardless and checked in to make sure the cake would be ready. So that if it wasn't or if there was an issue I would have time to pick up a different cake.
I am a decorator with 16 years exp. A green and yellow street sign with the kids name in it is not copyright infringement, especially if you change it a little from the owners design. Furthermore, once you purchase a copyrighted item you can do what you want with it because the owner already received royalties for it. As a general rule, if the character is recognizable as having a first name or socially known title, it has a copywright. SO they should have made the cake, and if uncomfortable, put an artistic spin on it. Customers usually understand. But the finished cake is better than I have seen from many retail cake decorators.
I read this article all the way through. Mom probably didn't think about the copyright laws that different entities have in regards to their logos phrases pictures anything that they do. She needs to understand that even though it's a custom cake design that could be done, Costco has to watch what they do and when they do it. They could be sued for using the theme illegally according to the copyright laws. She did a wonderful job on the cake herself. So she needs to learn to look through their pre-approved books or pictures to go with a special cake that way. I never went and did anything so custom that the store that I went to to get the cakes could not do that. It was either that or I did it myself.
They gave her the frosting colors and $5 off. A 2 year old doesn't care what the cake looks like, smh.
So Costco should risk a lawsuit over copyright infringement? OP is annoying.
I totally understand them not being able to commit copyright and trademark infringement but it's super weird that there wasn't any upfront or straightforward communication about it
Had a custom screen printing company refuse to make me a t-shirt with the Price Is Right wheel on it claiming copyright infringement.
Our local Costco has a platform with an Order pad and a book of designs. I agree that she shouldn't have tried for a custom design but the person who called her should have left a message. I think both are in the wrong. Why can't customer service be like it used to!
That they did not give her a custom cake when they don't offer them is not the issue. She is actually at fault there. That someone decided to call from an unknown number and not leave a voicemail? Yeah... I NEVER answer a number I don't know. Could be a scam call, in fact the vast majority are. If you leave a voicemail message then I can tell if it's actually from somewhere/someone I know and call back (or any other appropriate action). If a voicemail is obvious spam, block and report the number.
If she actually decorated the cake in the picture, I find it strange she'd order a tasteless store bought cake. I get that time might have been an issue, etc. I have a cooking/baking biz I would die before I served that type of cake.
Most chain store sheet cakes I've had are delicious, like way better than normal cake.
Load More Replies... So the person/company etc that may have spent years designing and coming up with an image/idea/product etc shouldn't be fairly compensated for it? Eg, you paint a beautiful painting, and post it online to sell copies of it to make an income. Someone else copies that image and sells it repeatedly for x$$$'s. Wouldn't you be pissed someone else is profiting from your hard work and ideas and you get nothing from them? I would be.
Load More Replies...
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