Have you ever had anyone ask for this?? I've got a man (who is military) and he wants a picture of his sheet cake (which I don't even do very often, but for some reason went against my better judgment and took the order) the night before for a final check. I've never had anyone from brides to $300 birthday cakes ask me for a picture the night before. It is irritating and I feel like telling him no, but is it an unreasonable request? It may just be me being annoyed that he even ordered with me if he doesn't think I can get a sheet cake right. Oh and on top of which, he changed the pick-up from tonight to tomorrow morning so I am rearranging things for him to do that and will be working on another cake today and finishing his cake in the morning.

If I shouldn't do it, how do I put it politically?

I think it is unreasonable. He sets your schedule for you. For me, this would mean he needs to pay for it. Your responsibility is timely delivery, not finishing the cake and taking photos.

I would write / say something like this:
The photo of your cake simply cannot be taken the night before. I make your cake as fresh as possible, this means it will not be completed in the evening.

And if it doesn't meet his standards, then what? Is he going to expect you to pull a completely new cake out of your... hat... by the next morning. Or will he just refuse to pick it up and go grab one from the grocery store?
You have a website with examples of your work. If I were you, I'd tell him that he could either be confident that his cake would match the consistent quality of my previous work or he could just go to Wal-Mart but I wouldn't be rushing to provide him with photos the night before.

The answer is NO,and if he is a military man (like my dad), he probably does not recocnize you being nice so tell it to him straight. Sir you cannot have a picture of your cake the night before because i'm going to be finishing it just before you come pick up to ensure maximum freshness................SIR.

I have to agree. This is BS. I wouldn't do it, and I would be a little insulted by the request. If he didn't trust you to make the cake why did he order it??!!

Did he say WHY he wanted the picture? Maybe it's not what you think...

I've had people ask me this before and what everyone is saying is what I have said..."its not done yet".

I would actually be nervouse to show him and have him tell me he didn't like it or something. I would deinitely panic!

He did say why. For a final inspection. He will be at work tonight, too. So, I don't want him sitting there for hours picking out what he wants rearranged and changed based on his whims. I have 5 other cakes for this weekend. I don't have time for that.

I absolutely agree with the other two posts about telling him no, the cake isn't completed the night before it is completed the day of so a picture won't be possible. No further explanation or apology is needed. Military folks generally have thick skin so you don't have to worry about insult or hurt feelings (speaking from personal experience).

"Sorry, I like to accommodate my clients' requests when I can, however, your cake will not be completed until the day of pick up. This is my policy in order to ensure you get the freshest cake possible for your special event."

The end.

I would inquire "why" he wants a picture of an unfinished cake. And see what he says. I probably wouldn't send him one, just sounds like trouble. I mean it's a sheet cake, does he need a tutorial? hee hee

You could say something like. "Taking a picture of a naked cake is like taking a picture of a lady getting ready to go out for the evening. Just isn't done."

Final inspection my a$$. Tell him you are not in the military and do not have to abide by his rules. I take it from this he is a little higher ranking.

I would approach it as if he wanted to pick it up early. I would say I don't give sneak peeks. If he wants it early--maybe if I can work it out in my schedule but there would be a storage fee after that payable in advance.

I would ask why. Eventually I would explain that it comes off as a lack of trust and that I was no longer comfortable working with someone who did not trust me. But I would toy with it/him a bit first.

I am surprised everyone said no! I have been asked this once and I complied. It's annoying, but not that big of a deal.

Remember that military people are accustomed to being absolutely accountable for anything in which they are involved...not something that us civilians understand completely. If he is buying this cake for an occasion, he is understandably concerned for it being "right". It's just a part of his training.

I agree with other posters...just tell him that it will not be completed until just prior to pickup to insure maximum freshness.

I understand where you are coming from. I sort of see it from both sides. I undertand it that it would be unreasonable to have to change things around if there were nothing wrong with the cake. He trusted you to create it for him. On the other hand he probably doesnt mean anything malicious by it. Maybe he is just excited about seeing it. I did actually have one person ask me for a photo first. But in this case he was going to pay me through pay pal before he picked up. I didnt know the person and I think he just wanted to be sure he wasnt getting screwed. If it were me and I was proud of the cake, I would just go ahead and send the photo. But I do understand your reservations. If you really don't want to do it, I might say something like: your cake may not be completed until the day of pick up. Please trust that I am working very hard to make this cake perfect for your special event.

I agree with the previous posts. Politely, but firmly, tell him no, that it will not be done that early. He probably is used to having a "final inspection" on everything. I wouldn't be offended.

I think it's quite possible that he just wants to be sure that everything is spelled correctly or whatever because it's his training, not because he's trying to be insulting. I wouldn't jump the gun to be rude to him.

Hi yelle66,

Could it be that your customer has had a bad experience ordering a cake in the past? After all, we've all had a good laugh at the bakery mistakes posted on various websites - i.e. "Happy Birthday Jillian with two l's"! I would simply tell him it's not possible due to time constraints and freshness concerns, but would restate all the information concerning his order - flavors, size, color, design, spelling - in order to put his mind at ease.

if it were me, I'd say sure but you'll get it around 3:30 a.m.. But thats because I'm usually up till 3 finishing a cake. But if you plan on finishing it in the morning, just tell him that. Hopefully he'll understand.

If he wants a pic of it the night before, take a pic of what it looks like at that time. "final inspection" comes when they pick it up. He is a cake muggle/civilian and just doesn't understand that it works a bit differently. He's probably assuming since he was originally supposed to pick it up at night, it will still be ready. Just simply explain, that since he shifted his plans, your plans had to shift since you have multiple cakes to do.

Just have to remember that most people think delicious treats just appear out of our....hat...at a moment's notice to suit their needs.

To be really honest, I would accomodate him. You would be surprised how that can have a ripple effect. It does not mean that everyone will ask for a preview of their cake, but he will let people know how wonderful your customer service is. I stress and stress to my employees how very important the customer service is and how much customers appreciate it in this business world of ours.

Often times, I bend over backwards for a customer with a smile on my face, but a grimace inside. Yet, in the long run, it is worth it.

Do you have a contract with him? I always have a standard contract for all orders, no matter how small, that states all changes must be submitted by a certain date.

Personally, I wouldn't lie about anything. I'd just tell him the truth....

I would say, "Sure, no problem. But you do understand that there's no last minute changes or editing. At this point your cake will be as you originally ordered it and I would not be able to make any changes." Don't wiggle around about yes or no or why not. Just state it plainly and clearly.

I do actually understand what it is like to be military as we were a military family for several years. With that in mind, I did tell him the truth, it probably won't be ready until the morning because of the fact that I had to rearrange some things around his schedule, but that I would ensure everything was spelled correctly and went over his order again and if I had time, I would send him a picture. Oh, and he is very high ranking.

We'll see.

It sounds like you handled it very professionally....you were understanding, but you also had your time issues also. I am sure you will do a good job and he will be delighted with the cake.

I have been asked this once before- for a wedding, no less, and I complied, except they wanted an IN PERSON inspection before it let the shop! Let me say that I have never been so nervous in my career!! And the cake wasn't even that difficult.
Don't give him any excuses that he can argue with you about. The issue is a trust issue, and he probably doesn't even know he's insulting you. Make it clear in a nice way:
Just assure him that you give 110% on each cake that you do, and that you really try to earn the trust of all of your customers. If he doesn't feel he can trust you to do the cake he has asked you to do, he may wish to "go in another direction"- (translation- kiss my booty and go to Walmart!)

i have had newbies treat me this way....it has made me angry ....but if you think about it...customer service most places really sux, you gotta watch em every minute.

after i've won their trust the same peeps have called and said..."just make me a cake, i trust you."

one lady insulted me a few months ago by having to order a sample cake...she paid for it....

later she told me when she placed the cake order "you're the only one i don't have to worry about"...(she was a wedding planner)

i origanally thought i'd turn down her order, but it turned out ok.

people are scared sometimes when they have been let down before....that being said....it woulda made me mad too. lol

Yelle66

We are waiting to hear how it all went? !!!!!!!