Customer Wants Something I Don't Want To Do....now What?

Business By 1234me Updated 3 Sep 2009 , 3:39am by CanadianChick

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Jeana77 Posted 31 Aug 2009 , 2:56pm
post #31 of 47

I'm with everyone else on this one! The oreos must go on the cake. I also had a strange request for a baptism cake this weekend for a three year old boy. The mother requested a yellow transformer be put on the cake along with other baptism related items. How on earth do you come up with a way to make this look good? I had many sleepless nights over this one. In the end it turned out okay, although I didn't even take a picture of it with hopes of trying to forget all about it. I'm sure the little guy was thrilled!!! Remember....."The customer is always right!"

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Mike1394 Posted 31 Aug 2009 , 3:49pm
post #32 of 47

Just see if the kid would rather have the cake shaped like an Oreo.

Mike

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sleepy33 Posted 31 Aug 2009 , 4:12pm
post #33 of 47
Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewkyrankelly



BTW - I'm having difficulty understanding why it wouldn't look good




OMG, I had the exact same thought! Maybe I just don't have a good design aesthetic or something, I think it could be cool, kind of like an Andy Warhol painting or something. You could do them in very precise rows and every so often throw in one that you'd painted a different color maybe. Especially if you attached them so they had dimension and stuck out from the cake and you could see the whole Oreo, filling and all. Doesn't really seem all that different from cutting out a million fondant/RI circles and pasting them on. Kind of like a cake I just saw on Amazing Wedding Cakes.

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vtcake Posted 1 Sep 2009 , 9:00pm
post #34 of 47

Gosh, he's EIGHT. Let him have the cake he wants.

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Rylan Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 3:04am
post #35 of 47

I am the type of person who wouldn't love the cake I don't want to do. Hmmm, what if you have chocolate covered Oreos and start the design from there? Check out Sugar Shack's blog because got some really nice ones.

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Mommy2ThreeBoys Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 3:22am
post #36 of 47

I commented on the wedding topper thread and I think just like the bride, the kids should have his cookies on his cake!! After all, isn't it all about making the customer happy!!! So what ifyou don't like it, I bet they will love it!

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robinscakes Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 3:41am
post #37 of 47

I once made a light blue Tweety Bird cake because the client's favorite color was light blue and her favorite cartoon character was Tweety Bird. It was hideous! My boss still brings it up just to watch me cringe! Tweety looked plucked and cold! Such an ugly cake! But, it's just what the client wanted and she loved it. Why? I have no idea. But I did it because she wanted it and there was really no harm in it. I can see not doing a design because it was offensive or something, but if it's just not your idea of pretty and you turn it down, you'll lose any repeat business you might have had, plus risk getting a bad rep when the client bad-mouths your for turning down her request.

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dandelion56602 Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 4:07am
post #38 of 47

I haven't read all the responses, but this is what I would do. Find out his favorite colors. Go buy some Wilton candy melts. Dip those babies & "glue" them on. I'm sure you've seen the cakes where the sides are covered in polka dots. You can give it a retro look. I think those cakes are cool & you could do a lot with it. If after you coat them & glue them on you can pipe on top of them too. I think for an 8 yr old it would be really cute.

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eatdessert1st Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 4:29am
post #40 of 47

i did a search on the net and came up w/ some cute starting ideas. Don't forget, too, that u can dip the mini (or large) oreos in candy coating 2 get different colors... you could even paint faces on them. Anyway... here are a few of the pics i came across. I hope they help! I thought they were very cute and yummy looking. One was an oreo cake made with a pan sold by William Sonoma:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/srch/index.cfm?words=oreo+cookie+pan
LL
LL
LL

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eatdessert1st Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 5:20am
post #42 of 47

I jimmied up the photo posting...don't know how i got doubles on some oh well. here's one more i thought was pretty and interesting.
LL

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kansaswolf Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 5:43am
post #43 of 47

I had a 5 year old request "A rainbow dragon eating a fish next to a lake!" Ooookayyyy... No idea where the idea came from, but I did it, and she was thrilled! Still talks about it, too... icon_biggrin.gif I'm pretty much in the "whatever the customer wants" camp, though if I was concerned about a wedding cake being ugly, I might try to suggest other ideas... But if they were still stuck on the original idea, I'd probably just go ahead and make whatever it was! I can try to "guide" the cake design process, but in the end, it's their cake.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! I think there's lots of good ideas on here about what to do with oreos! Especially the mini ones, there's no end to the creativity you can have with those!

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AKA_cupcakeshoppe Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 9:01am
post #44 of 47

i want oreos on the side of my cake... and i'm not 8 anymore. hehe

really cool oreo/cake pics everyone!

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Gingoodies Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 2:46pm
post #45 of 47

Is the mom ordering the cake? Is she the one who said her son wants mini oreos on the side of the cake? If so, she is obviously aware of the situation. Just do the cake as requested and give this little guy what he wants. DONE!

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emrldsky Posted 2 Sep 2009 , 10:01pm
post #46 of 47
Quote:
Originally Posted by indydebi

This thread is an interesting study in human nature.

Customer wants birthday cake that baker thinks might look tacky and isn't keen on displaying as one of baker's work. Advice coming in leans toward "make the customer happy" ..... "it's what the customer wants"... "the look in his eyes will be worth it" ..... whatever he wants will make him happy". And for the record, I'm VERY happy to see this kind of advice for this customer

Where is that other thread in which a bride wants a "tacky" topper on her cake and the advice ranges from trying to talk her out of it to "don't put it on the cake"? And the other threads where a bride wants a fountain and the baker shudders with the thought of having anything to do with it? The comments on how these brides have no taste (or the implied opinion that the bride's taste is no where NEAR as good as the bakers?).

How come THOSE threads aren't leaning toward "what the customer wants" and "it makes her happy"?

Just an interesting observation. icon_rolleyes.gif I'm alway fascinated with the inconsistencies that pop up on here.




Well, I think of it this way. There's a big difference between an 8 year-old child and a bride that acts like an 8 year-old child.


I'm joking, of course. icon_smile.gif I think many of us shrug off the tastes of a child as something to outgrow but get frustrated when an adult doesn't have the same taste as we do. It IS rather interesting.

To the OP, put yourself in the mother's shoes...wouldn't you want the decorator to add those cookies?

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CanadianChick Posted 3 Sep 2009 , 3:39am
post #47 of 47

I don't do cakes for money, but I would be in the "give them what they want" category too.

If you don't like it, you're not obligated to put it in your gallery or on your website or use it for promo purposes, after all.

Same with the ugly topper dilemma. Take a picture before the topper if you really want something for your portfolio. Otherwise, do what the customer wants, even if its hideous.

Now, I don't see what's horrible about Oreos on a cake...although everyone's tastes differ, obviously...

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