Look who is selling

[The Bear]

McKenzie style King Cakes

http://www.jfolse.com/mm5/merchant.mvc? ... Code=16000

[hungryone]

Damn...$50 a cake? McKenzie's cakes weren't even very good.

[JRO]

Too many king cakes that are much better than those:rolleyes:.

[edible complex]

Too many king cakes that are much better than those:rolleyes:.

had a Voodoo King Cake from Robert's R.E.Lee this weekend...well, it lasted one day.
bavarian cream filled traditional king cake, iced with chocolate, and topped with pecans and coconut. med $9.99
otherwise known as Zulu King Cake at some other retailers.

[Suzy Wong]

What makes it pricey is the shipping. I'm sure it's 1-2 day delivery, and the size of the box.

I mailed items over Christmas and shipping has really gone up....

[JudiB]

I had an experience last week with shipping a kingcake. I got the 'cheap' package from Haydel's... the kingcake and a package of beads, the Arthur Hardy guide and a small pack of ground coffee and chickory.... $42.

It was against my better judgement, because... geez... the COST. I'm not cheap, usually... but... GEEZ. But I sent one to my son and the other postulants at the friary as a treat.

So.... I'm filling out the online form, and the danged website timed out on me. Started over, it went quicker this time.... all done. Next day delivery. woowoo. Printed out the confirmation and delivery code, didn't bother to look at them....

The next day there is a pounding on my door... by the time I got there the UPS guy was driving away. Sitting there in the rain and grit is a kingcake.

Swell.

Picked up the phone to call Haydel's..... ONE HOUR LATER it was resolved.

There is something about hanging on a telephone listening to canned platitudes about how important my business is for longer than twenty minutes that drives me insane.

In defense of Haydel's, every one I spoke to was pleasant, sympathetic and helpful, despite my anger. By the time I got to a manager I was ready to snap. (I was also in the midst of a serious miserable sinus infection), and at first she offered to SPLIT THE COST WITH ME.

Split the cost, I said increduously? Forty two dollars for a kingcake I could have bought at the grocery for under ten?? After waiting for over an HOUR to get this resolved? At that point I did detect a bit of irritation on her part, "I certainly hope that's an exaggeration". To which I replied, "It most certainly is NOT, in fact, twenty minutes into my phone call, I dashed off an angry email to your website". At that she froze, and quickly re-ordered another kingcake to be delivered to New York, told me to keep the one I had, apologized....

And then suggested that since the situation was now resolved to my satisfaction, perhaps I would be willing to write another email explaining that.

I agreed with alacrity. After all, they did, (finally) fix the situation.

The thing that had me upset in the first place was that the recording kept telling me I was fifth in line. For a really LONG time... fifth in line, fifth in line... I figured they had stopped answering the telephones. Heck, I'm sure of it.

When I was finally told by recording that I was fourth in line, it went boom boom, and I was talking to a real person pretty quickly.

When I got off the phone I wrote the second email, giving the manager's name, thanking her for her cooperation, and interestingly enough, got a response from David Haydel Jr about a half an hour later, apologizing for the delay and the mistake.

I know I should be sympathetic because they are doing a lot of business right now. GEEZ. $42 - $50 a pop.

And even though they were cooperative, I will NEVER do that again. Too much hassle, too much money.

[Doctor_Technical]

...and the danged website timed out on me.

I've had the same user-unfriendly experience from that site, along with unexpected responses from an errant press of TAB or ENTER.

It's frustrating, as I like to send Haydel's to out of town clients. While we may turn up our nose at a ring of sugary goo with imbedded trinkets, it never fails to get an ooh-and-aah from those fine folks in, say, Dallas (shudder).

I just wish Haydel's would hire a kid to update/fix their web site.

[bam bam]

Isn't true that these King Cake companies are nothing more than fronts for drug cartels who are using the cakes to ship massive amounts of drug parphenalia across state lines?

[Dilfan]

Isn't true that these King Cake companies are nothing more than fronts for drug cartels who are using the cakes to ship massive amounts of drug parphenalia across state lines?

Now you've gone and done it.....Let the proverbial "cat out of the bag". At least you didn't mention the illegals in the crates of beads!!!......
Oooppssss

[Suzy Wong]

Judi,
Do you think you acidentally hit ship to/bill to as the same address?

I have sent quite a few king cakes with them and not had a problem, but that sounds frustrating. Glad it worked out.

I send gifts out of state often and postage is high. I tried to mail a box, it was NOT big at all at the UPS store on W Esplanade. They also have USPS rates. He told me it would be 15.75 to send it US post mail first class. I said no thanks, took it to the mobile post office on Caton St, it was 8.75 for the same first class. Seems like they make a nice profit at the UPS store.

I had a friend who sent us a box for Christmas it was 38.00 shipping, I coldn;t believe it.