I just goofed up my last cake order a bit. It should have been easy, but it just wasn't. First, I don't normally do sheet cakes, but that's what the guy wanted for 50 servings so I figured out what pans I needed and baked two cakes that I would put side by side on the board. When I measured the cake after I iced it to make sure it'd serve 50...it didn't. Because I'd carved some away to square it up, it only had 42 servings. I discovered this at about 11:00 PM last night (delivery at 11 AM today).

Since the gumpaste items were already made for the size of cake I had, I decided to just finish it and make him some nice filled cupcakes to go with the order. He's a friend of my DH's, so I figured he'd be okay with that.

When I iced the cake it looked awful so I removed it and had to start over. On one trip to the fridge to chill it down, I hit the door with the cake board and almost dropped it (that was at about midnight). I finally got the stupid thing done at 2:30 this morning.

I decided to only charge him for 42 servings, so he got the cake and 18 cupcakes for the cost of 42 servings. After all the posts I've read on here about customers unhappy about not enough servings, I decided it was best to just handle that problem preemptively.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. I delivered it this morning and he loved it. He was totally cool with the cupcakes to make up the servings (and then some), and he asked for a bunch of business cards to give to his co-workers.

I feel satisfied that I did the right thing by him and avoided having a dissatified customer. He'd taken up a collection for the price of the cake, and he said, "Now I have a problem - what do I do with this extra money?" My DH who was with me said, "That's for the tip." (bless his heart) but I I told him to buy her a gift certificate to a restaurant to celebrate just getting her citizenship, which is what the cake was for. He liked that idea, too.

Now I need a nap!

Sounds like a happy ending. Glad it ended up well for you.

You did well and by adding extra cupcakes for servings was good thinking on your feet.Glad all ended well!

Kudos to you for owning up to your mistake!

So many people on here are so quick to lash out and blame the customer.

I'm sorry that you didn't get that tip, but you will get it back ten fold! Yes, bless your husband's heart. He sounds like a "sweety" and you sound like a very nice person! Good Luck!

It sounds like it worked out wonderfully! And making the cupcakes was as great idea to make up for the extra servings. =o)

Glad it all worked out...

Jen

I'm not sure what size that is in the picture, but it sure looks like it would have served 50 people to me! Many say an 11x15 serves 60... is your cake smaller than that?

It's a charming cake... well executed, and I love your flag!

The finished size of the cake was about 12 x 15, but it was just one layer about 2" high, so I figured 2 x 2 servings, 6 on one side and 7 on the other for 42. I think I could've probably squeezed maybe 3 more servings off the end with that last inch of cake, but that still only put me at 45.

I just didn't want to short him, especially because he told me he had 70 in his office, but he was only ordering 50 servings. I figured he was cutting it pretty close on servings. I know that's not my problem, but he IS a friend so I wanted to make sure it was all good.

It's always hard to see scale on cakes without any reference in pictures, isn't it?

Foodservice is not an exact science and anyone who can think on their feet to fix a potential issue ahead of time and keep the customer happy is great at it. Nice job being proactive. And the gift certificate suggestion was a classy extra.