A special Christmas cake sold online at a famous Japanese department store was delivered damaged and received complaints from customers. The department store apologized, saying there was an accident during delivery.
According to Japan’s Kyodo News and NHK on the 27th, Takashimaya Department Store recently sold a cake worth 5,400 yen (about 50,000 won) exclusively through online shopping malls. The cake is made with strawberries on top of layers of white cream.
However, as some cakes were delivered damaged, complaints poured in on social media and online communities.
Customers expressed their disappointment by verifying photos of the damaged cake, and the controversy grew as many Japanese media reported this.
A female hairdresser in her 40s said in an interview with the media, “I thought it would be safe because it was a famous department store and had expectations, but I was shocked.” Another customer said: “It’s an absolute disaster.”
Kazuhisa Yokoyama, managing director of Takashimaya Department Store, held a press conference and bowed his head, saying, “I deeply apologize for disappointing the expectations of many customers.”
The department store sold the same cake last year, but it is said that the production period for the cake was tight this time. At the time, the freezing period in the manufacturing process was two weeks, but this year, due to the delay in the arrival of strawberries, it was drastically shortened to 20 to 25 hours.
It was reported that there were no problems when the department store checked the condition of the cake in advance through preliminary testing and sample inspection.
However, the department store later said, “As a result of the investigation, we confirmed that approximately 800 cakes fell during delivery from Hokkaido to Okinawa,” and that they were taking full responsibility and were providing refunds or product exchanges.
Choi Jae-ho,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.