I normally don't get on here to vent about some idiot that wants a cake, but after reading what other people go through, I had to share.
First off....let me say that my first job is a teacher. I decorate cakes on the side and most of my business comes from word of mouth through school. I am also not in this to become rich, but I do put the extra money away for vacation, christmas...etc.
So anyway...there is a girl in my class who was a senior this year. She comes to me back in March and wants me to make a cake for her sisters bridal shower (which by the way is tomorrow July 11). So I comend her for getting a jump on things. SHe brings me in two pictures of 4 tier wedding cakes and I say to her "is this for the wedding or the shower?". She says "oh this is kinda what we want for the shower". So I ask "how many people are you inviting" and she tells me "75". So I procede to tell her that these cakes are wedding cakes and they would serve about 400 people and that I could come up with something on a smaller scale and only charge her a flat $75.00. Sounds fair, don't you think?????
I'll also throw in here that this student is not on the up and up. Lives with her boyfriend, barely graduated from high school.....a "real piece of work" to put it nicely.
So I hear nothing until about a month ago. She e-mails me through our school account and says "we have decided that we can't afford $75 so can you make a cake for $50?" Ha ha ha, yeah right....but I figure I can whip something together for this wack-o family (by the way...the bride is the only normal one in the family....I'll get to that point later). SO I tell this dingbat that yes, I wll do something for $50.
So....2 weeks ago, she e-mails me a picture of ANOTHER 4 TIER cake that they want now with sugar paste plumeria flowers on it. OK...I have been doing this side gig for 3 years now and I have never made sugar paste flowers, nor am I going to even try for $50. I would rather go to the dollar store and pick out some fake ones and stick on this cake....grrrrr.
So....I email her back and again tell her that this cake is TOOOOOOO big for a shower for 50-75 people. Please call me as this e-mailing is not getting the point across.
So.....I have not heard anything since then. I ran into this girls mom last Sunday July 5th and told her, please have her call me as this cake she has picked out is too big. SO the mother says....oh yes, I wll have her call you right away.
So....here is it Friday July 10...I have heard nothing from these wack-o's. So I decide, they are getting whatever I feel like making for them. BUT....before I begin baking today, I think I better check my e-mail "just in case" GOOD THING I DID. This girl had e-mailed me on Sunday July 5th and says in one sentence...."Hi, we don't need your cake, we have decided to go with someone else. Thanks anyway"
No thank you....you just saved me a nightmare in dealing with your wack-o family.
Oh, by the way....they live up the road from my parents. The bride contacted me about 3 weeks ago to make her wedding cake. She says to me "I hear you make cakes for $1 per person" I said no....wedding cakes start at $2.00 per person. I ask her how many are invited....she tells me 300. I hope when the sister said "We don't need your cake, we have decided to go with someone else" she also meant the wedding cake. A friend of mine is in the wedding so I will ask her what the deal is. I personally hope they want nothing to do with me or my cakes.
What a bunch of idiots.
Thanks for reading ....I hope someone out there can get a chuckle out of this. Good thing is....I now have the whole day and night to myself. Yippee
Another financially-strapped bride having a wedding for 300...............
The bride usually doesn't put on her own bridal shower, so the young sister and mother may be cash-strapped, but that has nothing to do with the bride and her cake.
I don't see anything wrong here other than a very young person trying to take on the responsibilities of putting on a shower she knows nothing about. Try educating her as to what is involved in ordering a cake, different ways you can make a similar cake for less money, etc. A quick phone call would have alleviated all of those very confusing emails over many weeks.
I get emails a lot of the times with pictures of large cakes for a small function. They are giving you an idea of what they want their cake to look like as far as design/flowers/etc., not that it has to be 5 tiers tall.
Why are we complaining about doing a $200 cake for $50? Just say no!
Goodness, now I know why a friend chose to homeschool. Teachers think we are all idiots, dingbats, or wackos.
TGIF!
Goodness, now I know why a friend chose to homeschool. Teachers think we are all idiots, dingbats, or wackos.
That was kind of harsh.
If the OP wasn't a teacher, would it be all right for her to express her frustration?
And what she said wasn't harsh? Your kidding me, right? One more post about a stupid bride is just rediculous. Expressing your frustration is one thing. The name-calling of our customers on this board has gotten out of hand.
I have to agree with MichelleM. This story really hurts me because my son had a teacher call him lazy in front of the whole class. If she says those things in class, what is she saying the rest of the time? IMO, the OP could have provided the same story without saying she was a teacher, or that the customer was a student. Maybe something along the lines of "a family that lives near me" or something like that. But again, that is just my opinion
I think everyone needs calm down. What's the big deal if someone wants to vent about a customer who is an idiot? Seriously. We all deal with people who are, let's say, hard to handle, so if someone needs to come on here and vent about it, who's going to know about it except for other CC'ers? Don't read it if it bothers you so much.
Every job I've ever had, my coworkers and I would complain to each other about the customers who were really troublesome or just bizarre...people who are making cakes at home don't have any coworkers to vent to (and husbands just aren't that understanding, not all the time), so I think that's why we see people complaining about their customers here.
The teacher issue is something separate...my mom is a teacher and I've seen firsthand how they're not perfect. She complains about her students, sometimes bitterly and in great detail, every semester to me on the phone...but being able to complain about them to a neutral person who doesn't know them lets her blow off steam so she doesn't lose it and blow up at them in class.
lol im sorry to hear ur issue but i had someone just like that and they wanted a small cake but the price wasnt getting small ( with the details invlove) dont get me wrong i might adjust a price once in a while to work with my customers but PEOPLE need to understand that this is not just ur regluar stop and shop , costos , bj cakes these are labor intestive cakes and custom so theres going to be a price thats not to highly but high enough , i personally hate when they play ping pong with me and then say ill go with some one else (fine just stop wasting my time )
whew ok happy friday everyone
The bride usually doesn't put on her own bridal shower, so the young sister and mother may be cash-strapped, but that has nothing to do with the bride and her cake.
I don't see anything wrong here other than a very young person trying to take on the responsibilities of putting on a shower she knows nothing about. Try educating her as to what is involved in ordering a cake, different ways you can make a similar cake for less money, etc. A quick phone call would have alleviated all of those very confusing emails over many weeks.
I get emails a lot of the times with pictures of large cakes for a small function. They are giving you an idea of what they want their cake to look like as far as design/flowers/etc., not that it has to be 5 tiers tall.
Why are we complaining about doing a $200 cake for $50? Just say no!
Goodness, now I know why a friend chose to homeschool. Teachers think we are all idiots, dingbats, or wackos.
TGIF!
Might be harsh...but I agree! I don't do this professionally but I know that most people don't know about cakes the way a lot of people on this board do. I still look at a chart to figure out servings and such. I know lots of people will find pictures of large cakes that they like....doesn't mean they want the exact cake...just something similar on a smaller scale. I know it's frustrating but sometimes a person just needs to be shown what they can get with a certain amount of money. Take the picture they give you and then sketch out your own picture of what you can do for their budget using some of the ideas from the original cake. Or just tell them flat out what kind of cake you can give them for $50.
danielle1218
good vent and i think it is ok to do so....i have read many other people's rants, so why shouldn't you.....i too am a teacher and noone but another teacher understands what we go through......so i understand.
now to the rest, everyone has the right to post and if you really don't like the post, just move on....why does anyone have to post a negative reply...i know i have not responded much to anything or anyone anymore because of people misinterpreting what you say.... no one comes here to have their feelings hurt. most of us wouldn't post a comment on a picture like "wow that look terrible"...so why write a comment that has the same affect?
Now i will probably get the negative responses.
What the OP put in her vent had nothing to do with being a teacher, except that was how she knew the young lady wanting the cake. So why anyone is jumping on her as a teacher confuses me. I spent a number of years as a secretary, and a customer service rep, and a life insurance salesman .... if I told the same story about a co-worker, would I get the same response about "secretaries think we're all idiots!"?
Her occupation has nothing to do with it the story. It's just a side bar in the story.
I dont' want to discourage anyone from having a place to vent. (Heck, those are my favorite stories, so keep 'em coming! 
)
The venting I have no problem with, it's the names she used to describe this family.
My sister is a teacher and while she vents about her job, she has never used words like these to describe her students. It wouldn't matter if the OP were a gas station attendant, words like that are just unneccessary and inapprorpiate, and plain rude.
hammer1, what about the feelings of this family? It's okay to come to the defense of the person who wrote them, but not to the person who they were said about? It has nothing to do with the fact that they will never see this post.
I'd really like to know how my post was harsh. The OP said the exact words I used to describe her student, yet my post was harsh?
Just remember, you link your business to this site and anyone who googles your business will find your posts.
bejeezers! $50 hardly would have paid for hte ingredients for a cake for 75 people! I am glad you aren't doing the cake.
....goodness! Back to the original vent........ I am glad this worked out for you and you have the day to yourself.
MichelleM77, I'm with you.
I've recently read some posts here written by people that identify themselves as teachers, who refer to their students as "losers", "idiots", "lazy slobs" and "wackos".
It's very inappropriate and very sad.
Let's not forget these are kids that are being called these names.
Sometimes teachers are the only hope for some of these kids and the best role model they have. It's not their fault if their families are what you consider "wackos".
Now about the cake...........a cake for 75 for $75?!! Isn't that what WalMart is for?
I'm with IndyDeb and Texas Rose on this. I cannot really vent to my DH and I don't have friends in the cake decorating business so they don't really understand what goes into the making of a cake...CC needs to be a place where people can connect (even if it is to vent) You know I've called other drivers idiots, psychos, as well as some very colorful names...I don't think this reflects on someones character..Anyone who can say that they've never expressed frustration is not truthful. I think that part of this person's frustration was the lack of thoughtfulness even though she was going out of her way to be accomodating and charge her next to nothing....
Why must we always lump ALL teachers in one category? Really? Come on people. Teachers must be perky and happy and just love every single kid every minute of the day? We have no right to vent about students?
She was trying to do something nice (hence the $50) for someone who might not be able to afford much more.
Should OP have called? Maybe. But the student just graduated from high school. Perhaps as a young adult who was initiating this transaction she should have been responsible for following through.
And, if you really, seriously got from the original post that teachers think everyone is a stupid idiot, I say that your subconscious monologue is slipping out.
Why must we always lump ALL teachers in one category? Really? Come on people. Teachers must be perky and happy and just love every single kid every minute of the day? We have no right to vent about students?
She was trying to do something nice (hence the $50) for someone who might not be able to afford much more.
Should OP have called? Maybe. But the student just graduated from high school. Perhaps as a young adult who was initiating this transaction she should have been responsible for following through.
And, if you really, seriously got from the original post that teachers think everyone is a stupid idiot, I say that your subconscious monologue is slipping out.
Exactly!!! Hee hee...I couldn't have said it better...Darn, is that the little voice inside me telling me about my sagging rear end? Could someone please tell me how to turn off the subconscious monologue...It keeps getting louder....Oh well...have some more cake...yummy!!
Goodness, now I know why a friend chose to homeschool. Teachers think we are all idiots, dingbats, or wackos.
Obviously, they're not always wrong.
Seriously, when someone has to tell someone repeatedly that that many tiers is too much for the guest list they have, that's a definite sign of dingbat-itis!
I have to agree with MichelleM. This story really hurts me because my son had a teacher call him lazy in front of the whole class. If she says those things in class, what is she saying the rest of the time? IMO, the OP could have provided the same story without saying she was a teacher, or that the customer was a student. Maybe something along the lines of "a family that lives near me" or something like that. But again, that is just my opinion
What the teacher said about your son was uncalled-for an a violation of the Teachers' Code of Ethics, and you should report it to the principal because the teacher in question needs to have some form of disciplinary action taken against her.
MichelleM77, I'm with you.
I've recently read some posts here written by people that identify themselves as teachers, who refer to their students as "losers", "idiots", "lazy slobs" and "wackos".
It's very inappropriate and very sad.
Let's not forget these are kids that are being called these names.
Sometimes teachers are the only hope for some of these kids and the best role model they have. It's not their fault if their families are what you consider "wackos".
I'm sorry, but can you back this claim up? This is the first post I have seen at all where it's been a TEACHER calling people losers, idiots, lazy slobs, and wackos. Mostly it's been, you know, just plan cake decorators.
And if someone is old enough to buy a cake that size, they're no kid anymore.
The venting I have no problem with, it's the names she used to describe this family.
My sister is a teacher and while she vents about her job, she has never used words like these to describe her students. It wouldn't matter if the OP were a gas station attendant, words like that are just unneccessary and inapprorpiate, and plain rude.
hammer1, what about the feelings of this family? It's okay to come to the defense of the person who wrote them, but not to the person who they were said about? It has nothing to do with the fact that they will never see this post.
I'd really like to know how my post was harsh. The OP said the exact words I used to describe her student, yet my post was harsh?
Just remember, you link your business to this site and anyone who googles your business will find your posts.
SERIOUSLY, it is people like you guys who make me want to not be a teacher, because apparently you don't think teachers are allowed to be human beings with feelings that can be hurt. She chose what she felt to be a SAFE PLACE to vent. She didn't march into the home of the student's family and call them names to their faces, so their feelings can't be hurt by this--unless someone is so much of a jerk that they deliberate show it to the family on purpose.
If anyone in ANY other profession had made the EXACT SAME post, you all would have been, "Oh, that's so terrible, that family is so horrible, we're with you all the way!" But no, because she's a teacher, she's not allowed to be frustrated or upset or irritated?
Get REAL!
Ane yet another thread goes south..................... (I hope that doesn't offend anyone from the south--I meant no harm).
Once again, I'll hop on my soap box and say:
"Please do not stereotype."
This is a recording.
Thank you.
Every job I've ever had, my coworkers and I would complain to each other about the customers who were really troublesome or just bizarre...people who are making cakes at home don't have any coworkers to vent to (and husbands just aren't that understanding, not all the time), so I think that's why we see people complaining about their customers here.
The teacher issue is something separate...my mom is a teacher and I've seen firsthand how they're not perfect. She complains about her students, sometimes bitterly and in great detail, every semester to me on the phone...but being able to complain about them to a neutral person who doesn't know them lets her blow off steam so she doesn't lose it and blow up at them in class.
This is so true. I'm the daughter/granddaughter/niece of many school teachers and they are human. No one loves a child like his/her own mother, plain and simple. Teachers are not all little petite ladies with a bun on their head who think all kids are angels. Teachers know your REAL kid. OP vented, i had a feeling it wouldn't go over well with everyone, but CC is a TEACHER/Cake bakers safety zone. Let's give her a break. After this, i'm confident she may choose her words a little differently next time.
Who cares what the OP does for a living? Teacher, secretary, computer programmer... that has nothing to do with the vent. She is venting about a difficult cake customer. I have read many posts like this one, where somone wants to vent a little, and I have never seen that person get jumped at like this. Please, let this be a safe place for cake-makers of all kinds to vent!!!
And OP, I'm so glad you get the day to yourself 
It just wouldn't have been worth it I think. Too much hassle.
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