Woman schedules cake and flower delivery for friend’s birthday, but they don’t arrive despite order confirmation
A woman was left disappointed after a birthday cake and floral arrangement she ordered for her best friend failed to arrive on the promised delivery date.
Stomper G paid $101.49 for a chocolate cake and flowers from FNP, a floral and gifts company that launched in Singapore in 2019.
She told Stomp she placed the order on Oct 19 and made payment on Oct 23 — she had been “distracted by other things” in between.
Following payment on Oct 23, she received an email confirmation of her order from the company that same day.
The items were supposed to be delivered on Oct 27 — her best friend’s birthday — but they did not arrive. G, who was in Guangzhou at the time, contacted FNP via WhatsApp that evening to ask about the delivery.
Told that payment was ‘received late’
In messages shared with Stomp, a company representative told the Stomper: “We received your payment late, and that’s why we’re unable to proceed on time... We can proceed with this order tomorrow.”
G questioned how her payment could have been considered late when she had paid on Oct 23, four days before the scheduled delivery.
She also asked why FNP had not informed her of any payment issue, especially since she had received an order confirmation email.
“What you mean you did not receive on time? Is way before the order date,” the Stomper said in the exchange.
The FNP representative then explained that the payment had been received on a “different day than the day the order was placed”, and that G had to provide confirmation so the order could be allocated.
‘Frustrated and helpless’
G told Stomp she felt frustrated and helpless, especially since the surprise was meant for her best friend of 11 years, whom she got to know when their children were both in Primary 1.
She said she was upset that the company had not contacted her about the supposed payment delay and that the suggested next-day delivery would have been after her friend’s birthday.
“How can they suggest simply we will deliver it tomorrow?” she said.
“I was upset because they did not sound apologetic at all. Sounds like it’s my fault for not reconfirming with them,” G added.
Thankfully, her best friend was understanding and told her that it was the thought that counted. The pair had also had a big group celebration before G travelled to China, with a spa retreat and dinner.
However, G said she still felt bad that she could not be there to celebrate her friend’s birthday in person.
She was considering arranging another celebration on her friend’s lunar birthday, although she was unsure whether they could find a suitable date amid the year-end festivities.
FNP 'unaware of payment’ until Stomper reached out
In response to Stomp on Nov 3, FNP confirmed that G’s order was initially placed on Oct 19, but payment was only received on Oct 23 “without manual confirmation from the customer”.
FNP clarified that orders completed within 48 hours are automatically assigned to its fulfilment system, while orders paid after this window remain unallocated.
“Had the payment been completed on the same day, the order would have been processed for delivery on 27 October as requested,” FNP said.
FNP said it has since addressed this “operational gap” to ensure this issue does not recur.
FNP clarified that the email confirmation that G referred to was an automated system email generated upon payment receipt, and that “late payment timelines” was the main reason her order remained unallocated.
The gift company showed Stomp messages sent to G confirming that it had requested a payment screenshot to manually confirm and process the order.
“However, we did not receive the requested payment confirmation from the customer,” FNP said.
As a result, the company remained “unaware of the payment until the customer reached out on the evening of 27 October.”
By then, its bakery had closed, preventing it from preparing a fresh cake for same-day delivery.
When asked why she did not share a payment screenshot when FNP requested it, G maintained that she thought she had no need to, as she had received an email confirmation.
“It’s my third order since August and I have done it the same way, I no need to reconfirm ah.”
The company said it initiated a full refund, which was processed on Oct 30. It also offered G complimentary flowers worth $50 for next-day delivery as a gesture of apology and compensation.
“We sincerely regret the disappointment caused to the customer,” FNP said.
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