So my store has been officially open for 3 weeks and I had to send out my first "that date is booked" email.

Here is what happened... we held tastings over a two week period and several people were interested in the same date. We can only accept so many per weekend based on our staffing. Well, yesterday a bride booked right on the spot and took up the last spot for the popular date. I emailed the two other brides interested in the date to let them know that it had been booked. Well, one was pretty upset that we didn't give her a 24 hour notice (her tasting was last week).

So, my question to everyone is: How do you handle having multiple brides interested in the same date? We did tell them that other brides had inquired and that we only accept so many per weekend. Do you give them a certain time that you hold their date after the tasting? Or do you have the "first come first served" mindset? She seemed very disappointed in her email response and I'd like to avoid having to have this situation again.

Thoughts?

I usually only book consultations where I know I can do the work...if I do happen to book extra, they know they are tentative. I do try to book the original couple first, and the tentatives afterward, just to give the first couple the fair advantage. Once the consultation is done however, payment is due to hold the spot - first come first served.

I do tell everyone at the consultation that there are other couples interested in the date, so I must know their decision asap - some people just don't get it though (I swear that they only hear what they want to).

First with a deposit.... first served!

What chutzpah said! You can't let one upset bride make you compromise. You let the bride know that it is a popular date and those who book first will be accommodated. It is her lack of planning not yours that caused her to loose the date. So don't worry. It is her loss not yours.

$$ holds the date...first come first served.

We are in the cake business, not in the "I will hold your hand and get you through this." You told her the bottom line...she didn't follow through fast enough.

My skin was pretty thin when I first started....nice and thick now.

I don't think it is a bad thing to be booked up...shows you are wanted!!

No $, no date. "You snooze, you lose."

absolutely!! if they didn't put the cash down to hold the date (which you did tell them was popular so hurry up) it's tough luck too bad for them.

24 hour notice? LIke you were suppose know 24 hours in advance that the other bride was going to book?

When brides ask me "How soon should I book?", I tell them I'm not a "6 months or 9 months in advance" type of business. The proper answer that I give them is:

"It depends on how organized the OTHER brides are. If you are competing with 3 other brides for the same date, and one of them is more organized and more decisive than you, she's going to book right away and she's going to get the date. No one is on the calendar until I receive a deposit AND a signed Terms."

This isn't a big deal. I tell people this ALL the time.

Chutzpah, you changed your face! I was used to your avatar! I didn't even recognize you.

At a prior bakery I worked at we held tastings/consults once per month. They were all told money gets the date. Some people just don't get it. Some get upset, mean and just plain nasty when they don't get there way. Be up front letting people know that the deposit holds the date. We did have people fill all the a certain date within 30 minutes of the consult for "the good" dates. You can't hold the date for a possible later in the day/week/month. Your in business to do business not waiting for business.

A related question here--how long do you say the quote (the price of the cake) is good for?

Me first--usually people book on the spot. But I heard these words coming out of my mouth, "Quote good for 30 days." But then I thought one to two weeks is better.

What do you do??

K8 - just curious - but why would the quote change?

In 2008, my brides took an average of 63 days between sampling and actually booking. In today's economy, I see brides doing more comparisoin shopping and getting some good info before making a decision. Right now the 2009 average is 8 days from sampling to booking, but it's only February.

I didnt' used to put an expiration date on my quotes ... until last year when my flour was going up 30% with every truck delivery and prices were rising so fast that I (and others in the food industry) were unable to raise our prices high enough or fast enough to cover the rising costs. Since I had NO idea what eggs 'n such were going to do on a day to day basis, I had to put a 30 day expiration on it.

if she was rude to you in the email, she was a customer you didn't want anyway. She shouldn't make you feel guilty because her lack of planning/timing. She will just take that attitude to another bakery and they will get to deal with her.

been thinking on this, The POTENTIAL bride got mad that YOU did not give her 24 hours notice that you could not do her cake? What 24 hours notice did she need? Just confused!