[/quote] TexasSugar wrote:
We teach people how to treat us. So by calling and apologizing, oh its my fault, my fault, then she is just teaches her that she can call leave a voice mail and get an order filled. Even if you say I need you talk to me, actions speak louder than words sometimes.

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Well said. I work for people that have no idea how to run a business and it just makes me sick to my stomach! They totally let people run over them and they don't stick to their policies. Even though it's stated in the voicemail greeting that we do not take orders left on the machine, they do it anyway so of course people keep doing it.

Every job I've had has been customer service related and while I agree that you should make the customer happy, there comes a point where the customer is NOT always right and you have to make it clear, especially in this business.

Thanks for all the great thoughts and suggestions, I sent her a message restating that she needs to speak with me directly to place an order and that the price is indeed going up. The cakes are for a retirement home and I enjoy making something special for their parties. Can't wait to see what her response will be

Hey it's all about how the message is delivered... you can pretty much say ANYTHING but do it in a way that makes them feel... hey they fix it! even if you didn't... perception is reality and I know the customer is not always right... but I always make them feel like they are.... you can tactfully tell them blah,blah,blah...

I just don't see how you will wait until there is a miscommunication to say... well I was undercharging anyways.... if you feel you are charging less than what you should... address it ASAP... not when something doesn't work out....

there are 2 well 3 different issues here....

1. Leaving a VM... assuming she is available... and she got the message... no follow-up call to verify is order req. received.
2. Not getting paid in a timely manner... having to wait to get your money (that should have been handled the first time it happened)...
3. Charging her lower than you usually charge per serving.

those are the rest of my cents lol.... 2 cents earlier.... my last 3 cents now...

I think that alot of the time people can handle one issue or another, but when they all stack up it really gets to them. It is kinda of like the posts where they said they complained about this or that on the cake, even after I had given them a great deal.

Of course they are two seperate issues, and individually they could be over looked some, but put together they really get to us.

I just think that while she is having the talk about the VM it would be a good time to go ahead and address the other issues, if she does want to change things.

I think everyone knows what they'd "like" to say. And, sometimes it's not nice. Cussing at times can actually seem appropriate!

But, I always try to deal with people the way I'd like to be well, dealt with. Everyone runs into a problem one time or another. It's HOW you handle it that will determine the quality of your customer service. It's not fun to communicate with a person who is difficult in one way or another. But, I think as long as you can be honest & perhaps explain the process simply then most people will respond positively.

And, really....if she's huffy about it, it's not a huge loss. I get the whole "slow moving" corporate thing. But, I've seen many people paid in hand written checks from the CFO for catering. I worked in a couple Accounting/Finance departments in my time. People get paid at the very least...when the goods show up. The assistant organizing the event, actually e-mails the invoice to the CFO and walks over to get the check and drops it off to the area you check in at. Not sure what the big hold up is with your money.

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today? Nope, would be easy to get burned & I just don't have the heart for that anymore. Shields are up sister! Protect yourself. I'd think they would happily pay you promptly for such a good price.

I agree (with Leisel). Its not a valid agreement or contract if agreement is seen to occur in the absence of response (the whole "if I don't hear from you, I'll assume we're good" thing). So technically speaking - there was no verbal or written contract to provide her a cake. If she is such a big business woman, she would know that too. I would also suspect she forgot to place her order with enough lead time and was scrambling to save her bacon.

I do think she has learnt from prior dealings to treat you rather casually. From, experience I know that this kind of treatment can lead to disillusionment in your work. It is normal to be eager to please and somewhat flexible. But abuse of this special service really sours business for a lot of business people (women especially).

A lot of the threads I read here on CC talk about a rather...adversarial... relationship between caker and client. Part of the enjoyment of running MY small business is that I like to forge a good business relationship with my small (birthday, wedding) clients and my regular (caterers, cafes) business clients. The basis for this foremost is honest, open communication, mutual respect and adherence to MY terms and conditions.

When its all open and 'out there', clients know what they are dealing with, and you can then focus on operating within your T&C to provide a great service to your customer...instead of worrying about what they might think about you personally, your policies and prices, etc. It just makes it easier for everyone. Take a week to nut out a solid price list, a company policy on deliveries, credit accounts, ordering methods and confirmation. Put it on paper and email to any enquiring customer (and also your existing repeat trade)...I guarantee you your stress levels will improve as soon as everyone is voluntarily working within YOUR boundaries.

the issue is not the pricing, we have no ideal how many customers she has gotten from these monthly cakes. I would however inform her in advance if you going to charge her a higher price.

The issue at hand, both customer and baker are to blame. If you know you bake cakes every month for this customer, why not call to see if she needs a cake, unless you really don't care for her business, which is perfectly fine, your choice. the customer got too comfortable and felt she did not need to speak directly to you, probably because she orders a cake from you every month. However it is always better to speak to someone in person to confirm. I would call and try to salvage the situation as professionally as I could.

I get the impression that some of you feel that it's more important to teach the customer a 'lesson', and it certainly is within everyone's right to do so if that's the way you want to do business. After all, no one wants to be taken advantage of. In this instance I'd say both parties screwed up. Just take the high road and don't worry about who was right...just address the issue and go on.

Um, also, this may be a good time to talk to your cell provider about why your messages aren't getting through to you in a timely fashion.