The owner of a cookie shop criticized a woman who told him she was an “influencer” and asked for free products.
David Maffei, owner of Halfsies Cookie Company, based in Hudson Valley, New York, took to his brand's Instagram last month to share the email he received from someone calling herself Ana Montez. According to a screenshot of the prospect's message, he wanted to receive cookies for her bridal party.
“I'm getting married and getting ready to spoil my team! As I dive into wedding planning, I would love to include your amazing products in my bridal boxes,” the bride-to-be wrote in the email. “Nuptial happiness awaits you? Lets chat!”
In response, Maffei congratulated her on her engagement and sent her a link to the Halfsies website, where she could order some of the cookies. However, she responded by asking if her company was doing “any collaborations with influencers.”
After confirming that Halfsies does collaborations, she asked the client if she was an influencer. Although the woman said that she had collaborated with some brands before her and offered to send her social media accounts, Maffei claimed that she did not see her as an influencer due to her low number of followers.
While he did not share the usernames of the woman's social media accounts, he did share a screenshot of her TikTok account, which only had 904 followers, and her Instagram page, which had 1,300 followers.
The video continued with another screenshot of their emails, where the business owner told the woman that she was “not an influencer.” However, she later responded by clarifying that she was “a beginner influencer.” She then jokingly responded: “I'm a beginner astronaut.”
In the title of his video, he stated that the term influencer is “a wild label,” before sharing his thoughts on how “beginner influencers can get started.”
“You buy products from brands you like and label them. They will probably republish you. You will get some followers and maybe other brands will see what you are doing and eventually you will have engaged followers who are interested in the products you receive, but in the beginning you don't ask for free products,” he said. he wrote she.
He also stated that when “some of the biggest influencers on the internet” bought his brand's cookies and tagged the company, that's when he “found out about them” and added them to the mailing list. Maffei once again criticized the potential client for apparently calling herself an “influencer” to get free cookies.
“I'm a middle-aged man with maybe a dozen real friends and a private account and I have more followers than her. “Never in a million years would I think I was an influencer or even ask for free things from a company I don’t follow,” she wrote.
In the comments, several people responded to the influencer world and criticized anyone on social media who tried to get free products from small businesses.
“Come down! Please normalize calling people out for this. Approach small businesses for free stuff, right? If you can't afford to get married, then adjust your expectations and your budget, and don't expect everyone else to go into debt for YOUR day,” one commented.
“The influence must stop completely. He's out of control. 'Are you in for some wedding bliss?' – Not at all. The way these people feel so entitled to free sex is mind-blowing,” wrote another.
“I like how he says he's getting ready to spoil his team by making strangers pay for it,” a third joked about screenshots of the emails.
However, others in the comments have criticized Maffei for sharing the email on his account, claiming it was “unprofessional” on his part.
“Why did you post this just to embarrass her? Like a brand account no less? one wrote, while another agreed: “Okay, why criticize her on social media? Is this company run by children? Rude and unprofessional. Get a grip.”
The independent has contacted Maffei and Ana Montez for comment.
