I have been making cakes for about two years now, and I am finally comfortable enough to start selling them. This cake that I did for tonight is suppose to be for 40 people. Instead of a full sheet cake, I made just a half sheet cake. When I brought the cake to the customer, there were about 50 people there. There was DEFINATELY not enough cake to go around. I feel horrible, and it is definately a lesson learned. I unfortunatly cannot stop beating myself up about it, and I am not sure of the best way to rectify the mishap with my customer. The cake was for one of the local high school golf teams, and there is ALOT of potential business. Any suggestion or words of wisdom (encouragement)??? 
How big was your sheet cake?? My 9x13 feeds 25...11x15 feeds 45 and the 12x18 feeds 55..Was it a donation or a paid cake? I would have asked how many people were expected..if the customer told you 40 and 50 showed up...that is not your problem...If she told you 40 and you didn't bring a cake to feed 40 then ultimately it looks bad on you..I'm not sure what you can do now except offer to do another cake in the future for a really discounted price but I don't know what to say...if there isn't enough cake people will talk and it doesn't look good on the decorater especially if you were the one who decided to bring a smaller cake than requested.Hope everything works out!
I agree with kiddiecakes. If the customer said they need to feed 40 and 50 ended up showing up, that's not your fault. Be sure to let the customer know (when they place the order) what the size of a serving is too. A friend of mine LOVES cake and expects everyone else to love it just as much as she does. She cuts her cakes 3 inches by 3 inches. That is a BIG piece of cake. I haven't done any cakes for her because what she considers 1 serving is 2 to me. So make sure your customer knows how big a serving is right off the bat! They may have cut the cake with larger portions making them run out even sooner.
This cake that I did for tonight is suppose to be for 40 people. Instead of a full sheet cake, I made just a half sheet cake.
This is why I don't use terms like "half" and "full". For 40 people, you were going to make an 18x24 (full sheet) that serves 100? A half sheet (12x18 ..... achieved by cutting the full sheet in "half") would serve 50 (54 if you get real precise) so you should have had plenty of cake.
So what are you calling a half and a full sheet? 
If this was a paid cake, what size cake had you told the client she was getting (not asking if you said half or full, but what were the dimensions of the cake you agreed to make)? If I tell a client they are getting a 12x18, I dont' just show up with an 11x15.
OMG! I am so sorry that happened to you. That is one of my biggest fears as a cd. I worry so much about not making a cake big enough, or it not being cut/served correctly that I always end up making the cake to feed more people then ordered. Now... this is probably not the best buisness practice cost wise, because escentually i end up giving cake away for free but I never got any complaints (knock on wood). Is it a bad idea to err on the side of caution? I'm pretty new in the business but I feel that its better to have too much then not enough.
It'll end up losing you money (if it isn't already). I always include a very detailed instruction sheet on how the cakes are to be cut And I make sure that the person who paid for the cake receives it so I'm covered if they let some moron cut the cake and he decides it's Christmas and goes cake crazy! As long as you make the cake the correct size and include detailed instructions, you shouldn't run out of cake. You win and they win.
I always tell people the servings are wedding size slices and if they think they want bigger slices than that they need to order more cake. That way they are warned and they are responsible for having enough cake (as long as I bring up what they ordered).
It'll end up losing you money (if it isn't already). I always include a very detailed instruction sheet on how the cakes are to be cut And I make sure that the person who paid for the cake receives it so I'm covered if they let some moron cut the cake and he decides it's Christmas and goes cake crazy! As long as you make the cake the correct size and include detailed instructions, you shouldn't run out of cake. You win and they win.
Yeah! Thats a great Idea, I can give them a copy with they're receipt and tape another copy to the box on delivery. Paper is much cheaper then extra cake. Thanks.
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