Christmas cakes are a vaunted part of Japan’s Christmas traditions. But over 900 customers – and maybe more – had their Christmas decorated with disappointment. Over 900 cakes from major department store chain Takashimaya arrived looking like they’d been through a war zone.
Christmas cake and customer service
In Japan, Christmas isn’t about the kids – it’s a couple’s holiday. Christmas became a trendy time for date night sometime in the 80s, when Japan’s economy was booming and couples were looking for ways to celebrate their love. The country’s famous love hotels see a spike in usage on Christmas Eve.
Western sweets company Fujiya introduced the concept of the Christmas cake after its CEO fell in love with fruit cake in the US. Estimates put the Japanese Christmas cake market at around 25.6 billion yen ($179 million) a year.
Japan, of course, is also famous for its customer service. People expect good service to such an extent that “customer harassment” – customers abusing staff when they don’t get their way – is an ongoing problem in Japan’s service industry.
Unfortunately, this Christmas, Takashimaya gave its customers plenty to complain about.
This is not the cake you are looking for
The controversy started as numerous users took to X to show pictures of the cakes that Takashimaya had delivered to their doors. Popular X account @takigare3, which tracks social media trends, posted a roundup of pictures showing cakes in a state of disarray. They labeled it “the Christmas from Hell” and included a link to the contact form for Takashimaya.
Customers had a right to be upset. Takashimaya’s Christmas cake retailed for 5600 yen (around $38). And given that it celebrates a romantic occasion, people expect that the final product won’t arrive…well, like this.
According to Yomiuri Shimbun, the problem extended beyond a few customers. Out of 2,900 cakes ordered, Takashimaya says it received complaints from 900 customers – around 1/3rd of the cakes sold.
Who’s responsible?
Ultimately, as the seller, the buck stops with Takashimaya. It’s their responsibility to ensure they meet their customer’s expectations from order to delivery. And the company has been nothing but apologetic since the incident occurred.
The issue lies somewhere in Takashimaya’s supply chain. French bakery Les Sens designed the cakes, while Win’s Arc, a Western sweets maker, assembled them. The Yamato shipping company was responsible for final delivery to customer’s doors.
Takashimaya says it’s still investigating the source of the collapsed cakes. One customer reported that their collapsed cake was still frozen. That would indicate the collapses happened before delivery. That would also explain why the incident impacted nearly one-third of customers.
While many customers got angry, some managed to take it in stride. One Twitter user posted that her friend let her 3-year-old decorate their Takashimaya cake, with glorious results:
The half-off Christmas cake trend
Not everyone ordered their cakes from fancy department stores. Some (many, I assume) folks waited until late Christmas day to pick up a half-off cake from the local combini (convenience store).
As X user @Hira_su0ke notes, some people dismiss these 半額ケーキ (hangaku keeki) as “shabby.” The user countered, “If there’s half-price cake, I’m buying it – that’s what being a sugarholic means!”
Hey, at least they knew the cake they were getting hadn’t fallen apart. Besides which, combini cake is delicious. I can think of far worse ways to celebrate the holiday.
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Sources
Post by user @takigare3. X social media network (formerly Twitter)
Post by @akarimochiba. X social media network
崩れたクリスマスケーキ、高島屋への苦情９００件に拡大…「凍った状態でつぶれていた」. Yomiuri Shimbun
クリスマスケーキ市場規模推計を実施（2022年）. Visualizing.info
