I need a mirror.....I need to see if I have a sign on my head that says "Last minute Sally".

Every single call I've gotten for the last 2 months has been for last minute bookings. "Can you make a cake for Friday?" "I need it tomorrow" etc...

ARRRGH! Is there mass amnesia regarding loved ones birthdays, or what?

I mentioned recently that I'm getting a lot more last minute weddings ..... the latest one was about 10 days and got a walk-in today planning for 9-5. And they will call me later coz they're still price shopping!

Anyway .. when I mentioned it, someone said they are seeing it, too, and they think people have been postponing wedding plans to see if they still have a job, to see how the economy is going, etc., so they didn't want to make any financial commitments way in advance.

I guess that makes sense for the larger stuff. Most of my calls have been for birthdays, though. And some of them know they are last minute and are understanding, but some of them actually get mad at me!

well I just started doing wedding cakes last year....and I get quite a few last minute orders.

I've learned my lesson though (I do this from my home), if I don't have the time or supplies on hand I will not do it, if it is really last minute!!

That does make sense. But what happens when somebody comes in wanting a cake with 100 gumpaste peonies or something crazy like that? I would be hard pressed to make those flowers in 2 weeks

I can understand what Indydebi is saying about the economy and people waiting until the last minute...but for birthdays you should know 2 weeks prior if your going to have a cake or not.
My motto at work is: Your piss poor planning doesn't necessitate an emergency response on my part.

My motto at my previous job (which I put on a board near my desk) was, "Failure to act in a timely manner on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."

I was always amazed at people who would wait until the last minute to try to make a reservation, and then get mad at me for the fact that we had been booked up for several months. I guess I was supposed to know when they wanted to book for, and hold the date for them.

Oooh, I just figured out (8 years too late) what I should have done--told them that I had reserved some specific, non-workable date for them. "What, that date doesn't work for you? Why didn't you tell me that three months ago when I scheduled you?"

RP

Your right, that is definetly an option. BUT, I couldn't do it. I'm dealing with a possible late order, well, actually no, I take that back. They didn't call back when they said they would, I all ready told them don't call me the week of, so, no cake for them. For me, its also a respect thing. I've actually had someone tell me thats not real work. Thats fine, but yu still need to give me 2 weeks notice.

I had a woman once ask me to do her cake. She was one of the nurses in my doctor's office. I said sure, give me a call and we'll discuss it. Never heard back from her until 6 months later....a week before her wedding and then she called me to explain what she wanted......and she couldn't understand why she would have had to give me a deposit to hold the date. She said she had told me 6 months before that she wanted me to do her wedding. I called her on it and told her if she was planning a wedding, then she was well aware that she had to put deposits on things in order to book the date. She was NOT happy...but .....oh well, too bad, so sad.