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Oh.....these people!!! Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next      CakeCentral.com Forum Index » Cake Decorating Business Author Message Irish245 Regular Member Joined: Aug 06, 2006 Posts: 149 Location: Butler, PA (just north of Pittsburgh) Birthday: Aug 02 Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:34 pm  A bride's mother called today....very nice...wanted some info. Says her daughter wants a wedding cake with cheesecakes around it and needs some info. No problem. I ask for her email and send her a link to my website and send along my general information letter with questions to answer if she wants an estimate. So her daughter, the bride emails me back tonight asking for an estimate.....and in answer to my questions......sends along pics of 3 completely different cakes, for somewhere between 100 and 350 servings (she's not sure yet how many she's going to invite), doesn't know if she wants buttercream or fondant, doesn't know what type of filling she wants, doesn't know if she wants enough cheesecake and cake both to serve everyone or half and half or what, wants marble as the traditional batter (does this mean she wants marble....white???? hehehe). WHAT????.....oh and just now I got the exact same email from her mother with the same exact information on it..... I sent it back to her and told her based on the information she supplied, my estimate would be between $800 and $2,000. hehehe Told her if she was able to answer my questions with definite answers and pick one design, I would be glad to give her another estimate. What is with people anyway? Can you imagine how many combinations I could make with the information she supplied me with? And if she comes back with more vague information, I'm going to tell her she can schedule a consultation for $35. Arrrgghhhh!!!! LaBellaFlor Forum SuperStar! Joined: Jan 16, 2009 Posts: 2067 Location: Enjoying C.C. while still dealing in the real world. Birthday: Jul 15 Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:47 pm  Well at least your keeping your sense of humor about it! jillmakescakes Frequent Member Joined: Jun 04, 2008 Posts: 447 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:20 am  Can I just tell you how many times I get the following from my website contact page: Name: Lisa Email lisa234@ (yep, they leave that part off!!) Phone Comments: how much is a three tier cake It just boggles my mind. I don't claim to be super smart, but I do know that if I call a pizza place, they are going to ask if I want a small, medium or large, and I should know that in advance! indydebi Forum Matriarch Joined: Jul 07, 2006 Posts: 22150 Location: Indianapolis IN Birthday: Jan 19 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:30 am  Irish, I think your reply was spot-on! Vague questions get vague answers. Jill, when I first got started I got the "how much for a 3-tier cake?" all the time. I finally started responding with "A 3-tier cake to serve 30 or to serve 300?" Babarooskie Forum Addict Joined: Jun 22, 2007 Posts: 590 Location: Miami, FL Birthday: Dec 24 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:43 am  I totally understand...when they submit their form on my website I get the: Name: Maria E-mail: XXXX@XXXX.com Number: 000-000-0000 Comments: How much would it be to make a cake for my wedding? The cake is for March 1, 2010. Thanks! CakeMommyTX Forum Fanatic Joined: Aug 07, 2007 Posts: 1160 Location: where the sidewalk ends.... Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:11 am  I get the same thing with the 3 tiered cake. I also get the people who have no idea what they want aside from cake, and when I try to work with them it justs gets super confusing. They want this but not that and maybe this but change that and if you could can you do this and oh I saw this on TV once can you add this but change it this way blah blah blah.... it drives me crazy. I'm really anal though when I grocery shop I make a list and I put in in order according to the aisles in the store and with the product price next to it. So when I shop I start in produce and go up and down every aisle only stopping long enough to grab what I need and mark it off of my list. I'm not a "shopper", I know what I want, where it is and how much it cost and I get outta there. I even calculate my total and tax so I know alomost exactly what I'll have to pay when I checkout, I don't like surprises. So when I have deal with "shoppers" it's very frustrating to me because in my mind I'm screaming "why don't you know what you want!!!!" But on the outside I'm smiling, nice and helpful because thats my job. And for the most part I can steer them towards a cake design that I like and make them think they designed it themselves. CakeMommyTX Forum Fanatic Joined: Aug 07, 2007 Posts: 1160 Location: where the sidewalk ends.... Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:13 am  Babarooskie wrote: I totally understand...when they submit their form on my website I get the: Name: Maria E-mail: XXXX@XXXX.com Number: 000-000-0000 Comments: How much would it be to make a cake for my wedding? The cake is for March 1, 2010. Thanks! Send them this as your qoute.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l91ISfcuzDw Babarooskie Forum Addict Joined: Jun 22, 2007 Posts: 590 Location: Miami, FL Birthday: Dec 24 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:24 am  CakeMommyTX wrote: Babarooskie wrote: I totally understand...when they submit their form on my website I get the: Name: Maria E-mail: XXXX@XXXX.com Number: 000-000-0000 Comments: How much would it be to make a cake for my wedding? The cake is for March 1, 2010. Thanks! Send them this as your qoute.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l91ISfcuzDw Too funny! suzylynn58 Frequent Member Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 328 Birthday: Mar 15 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:30 am  I get the same thing - customer calls "how much are your cakes?" Welllll....that depends. I think as my son says, there is so much the non-caking world does not know about cakes! LOL They don't really know how many options are available and it does confuse them. Most people want a cake just like one they've seen on my website. I usually try to steer them to make at least a few changes because it gets boring making the same cake over and over. But it is a starting place with them. But those that don't have any idea what size, what colors, what flavors, what budget, etc. yes, they get on my nerves too! cylstrial Forum SuperStar! Joined: Aug 12, 2008 Posts: 5349 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:31 am  jillmakescakes wrote: Can I just tell you how many times I get the following from my website contact page: Name: Lisa Email lisa234@ (yep, they leave that part off!!) Phone Comments: how much is a three tier cake It just boggles my mind. I don't claim to be super smart, but I do know that if I call a pizza place, they are going to ask if I want a small, medium or large, and I should know that in advance! LOL - even if you could come up with a price, it's not like you could contact them. Idiots! AmandaKate Junior Member Joined: Jul 30, 2009 Posts: 66 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:37 am  haha I love it ^^^^^ I definitely don't have a business or anything but I've recently been getting requests to make cakes for people/events. I've been getting a lot of people who think they know exactly what they want, but they really don't. I have a wedding cake that I'm making on the 7th and they've chosen a 3 tiered 6,8,10 inch cake..........FOR 25 PEOPLE!!!!!!!! Arrraaahhhhh!!!! And last week I dealt with someone who wanted a baby shower cake for 80 people and when I gave her a price quote she replied "oh, that's a bit expensive, I was thinking of only spending like $30" HAHAHHAHA she wanted to spend $30 to feed 80 people cake!!!...and then she said she was just going to go buy one at the store.....GOOD LUCK! Come on people.......THINK!!! suzylynn58 Frequent Member Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 328 Birthday: Mar 15 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:40 am  I'm not sure she can even get one from Sam's for that price! AmandaKate Junior Member Joined: Jul 30, 2009 Posts: 66 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:47 am  I know!!! I wish I could just be a little fly on the wall when she realizes how much cake she needs and what it's gonna cost even from Sam's! Babarooskie Forum Addict Joined: Jun 22, 2007 Posts: 590 Location: Miami, FL Birthday: Dec 24 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:47 am  I would tell 'em that my crystal ball ran out of batteries. Kel1222 Junior Member Joined: Jan 02, 2009 Posts: 34 Location: Hampstead, Maryland Birthday: Dec 22 Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:53 am  I had a lady email me to request a 3d pumpkin cake for her son's 2nd bday on Halloween. She said it was to feed about 10-15 people. I found a pumpkin pan by Nordicware on ebay (for $26 incl. s&h), because it was smaller than using my bundt pans and I would certainly use the pan again. I had been waiting for her to reply on what her budget was so I knew how to elaborate to get with the cake. She finally did and said she was thinking about $20. $20! I am not going to even turn on my oven for $20! I politely emailed her back and said that besides my materials, there is alot of time invested in custom cakes, told her where my price usually starts, and that I really couldn't do anything for $20. She politely emailed back, "uh, no thanks." Oh...these people. 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