“That picture really is me, Mas. But I swear I never bought these ingredients,” Naila said in a trembling voice, pointing at the items in the photo.
Raka looked again at the picture one of their customers had sent. It did indeed show Naila standing at a food stall and holding several food ingredients that were supposedly expired.
“I don’t know how a picture like this could exist either. I never held expired ingredients like the ones in this picture. Aren’t you the one who takes me shopping every day, Mas?” Naila said.
Raka continued examining the picture carefully. He enlarged several parts of the photo, then furrowed his brow.
“It’s edited.”
Naila looked at her husband.
“Edited?”
“Yeah. The goal is obvious. Someone wants to destroy our business by spreading slander like this.”
Raka looked at the picture again.
“Whoever did it clearly isn’t a professional. Mas can tell just by looking at it with the naked eye that this picture was edited.”
Naila looked at the picture too.
It was true—the woman in the photo was her. Her face, hair, and even the clothes she wore were exactly the same as what she had worn when shopping at the food stall.
However, the item in her hands was different.
“That really is me, Mas. But the ingredients I’m holding in that picture aren’t the ones I usually buy,” Naila explained.
“Look, the hands look a little different too,” Raka said. “They took a picture of you from somewhere else, then combined it with this picture of the ingredients.”
Naila nodded slowly.
“Then how are we supposed to explain all this to our customers?”
Raka thought for a moment.
“Mas has an idea.”
“What?”
“Let’s create a WhatsApp group for all our customers.”
Naila was startled.
“A WhatsApp group?”
“Yeah. We’ll add every customer whose WhatsApp number we have to one group. We can explain everything openly there.”
Naila looked at her husband with tears glistening in her eyes.
“How did I not think of that?”
She had been thinking that she needed to explain the problem to each customer one by one. She had even imagined visiting their homes, going from one house to the next.
But it turned out Raka had a much simpler solution.
With a WhatsApp group, Naila could keep working while answering any questions the customers might ask.
“Besides explaining this problem, you can also use the group to share your new products,” Raka continued. “You’ve been selling for a long time, but why have you never made a WhatsApp group for your customers? That way, if there’s a problem, they can ask about it in the group.”
Naila shook her head with a smile.
“I don’t know, Mas. All this time, I’ve just taken orders through my personal WhatsApp without thinking that far ahead.”
“If you had a group, you could share photos of your latest cakes, the menu, or promotions. Who knows? It might also become a way to market your new products later on.”
Raka then pointed at the phone screen.
“And if there’s ever another misunderstanding like this, you can explain it to your customers right away.”
“Yeah, Mas. Thank you.”
Naila smiled broadly.
Then she hugged her husband from the side and kissed him on the cheek.
Raka chuckled at his wife’s behavior.
“Why are you hugging me all of a sudden?”
“Because you always know how to make me feel calm.”
Raka smiled.
“Come on, make the group now. Mas has to take someone somewhere first.”
“Okay.”
Naila let go of him.
Raka smiled before stepping out of the house, while Naila quickly picked up her phone and began creating a WhatsApp group for their customers.
Naila created the WhatsApp group and immediately gathered the numbers of customers who had ordered cakes from her in the past.
In the group, Naila explained in detail the problem her business was facing, including the news and malicious rumors circulating about her use of expired ingredients.
Naila also showed the customers various pieces of evidence. She showed them the receipts for the ingredients she had been using to make her cakes. She shared the receipts one by one so the customers could see that the ingredients had always been purchased in good condition and still had plenty of time before their expiration dates.
That wasn’t all. Naila also explained the photo that had been circulating.
She pointed out the parts of the photo that showed it had been manipulated. Naila even compared an original photo of herself with the edited image, which had been made to look as though she were holding expired food ingredients.
“Everyone, I’m sorry I’m only able to explain this now. I have never used expired ingredients to make my products. I always do my best to maintain the quality and cleanliness of the food I make,” Naila wrote in the group.
She also asked the customers not to immediately believe news that had not been proven true.
At first, some customers still seemed hesitant. Some even said they were afraid to order again.
However, after seeing the evidence Naila provided, their doubts gradually disappeared.
One customer finally sent a message.
“After seeing Naila’s explanation, I understand now. The photo really was edited. Don’t worry, Naila. I still trust your cakes.”
Another customer offered her support.
“I’ve ordered from here several times, and the quality has always been great. I’ve never had any problems either.”
Messages of support began pouring in.
All Naila could do as she read them was give thanks.
The customers who had begun to doubt Naila’s business and were about to pull away eventually returned as usual.
In fact, some of them immediately ordered all kinds of cakes.
Some ordered sponge cakes, brownies, birthday cakes, and assorted cakes for family events.
Naila’s phone once again filled with order notifications.
She smiled in relief.
At least for the time being, the storm battering her business had begun to subside.
Naila stared at the phone screen with tears glistening in her eyes.
“Praise God, my problem is finally resolved. Thank you, Allah. Thank you, Mas,” the woman said to herself.
She then returned to the kitchen to prepare the customers’ orders.
However, beneath her sense of relief, Naila still held on to one unanswered question.
Who was the person cruel enough to manipulate the photo and spread the slander?