Lady Disgruntled That I Charge A Small Consult Fee!
Business By Swede-cakes Updated 23 Jan 2011 , 12:11am by scp1127
WELL. I just got handed my a$$ to me by this shrew.
I actually think you were handed your freedom from a penny pinching bridezilla. You were polite and professional at every step with her, and she became more hostile and beligerant at every step. And for what, something that isn't much more than a birthday cake? This has now cost you more time and energy than your consult fee would have brought you.
Do I see some of her points, I sure do, but when you tried to educate her on "this type of business", she went out of control. Not worth your sanity. But boy, wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall to see her dealing with whomever she does hire?
Ah, don't let this get to you. I wouldn't even have answered someone who said "I'm not coming in becasue you charge a fee." Okay, fine, delete. No response required.
If she had sent that second email after I HADN'T responded, then she's got way too much time on her hands to sit around and think about someone's $10 consult fee. Like someone else said, if she knows what she wants, just place the order and get on with your life. If she wants to be treated like the princess she obviously thinks every bride should be treated like, then she should go talk to the mirror where she'll have an appreciative audience.
If she wants to be treated like the princess she obviously thinks every bride should be treated like, then she should go talk to the mirror where she'll have an appreciative audience.
giggle
" I do not get charged when I order my wedding gown, only the price of my gown. I do not get charged when I go to the shoe store and ask the sales person to bring me a size 8 in a particular shoe."
The difference between this statement and a cake consult would be that you cannot sell the cake she tested to someone else. A shoe store can sell the same size 8 to another person. I wouldn't like her having the final word either. Best of Luck!
As much as I would love to have the last word, it's obvious she wouldn't let me considering how she lashed out. I was done with her the minute I pressed the 'send' key. With a person of that tension level, logic doesn't resolve things and I'm not going to waste any further energy on her.
BUT I really appreciate and enjoyed reading all of your posts! Thank you for hashing this out with me! xo
As much as I would love to have the last word, it's obvious she wouldn't let me considering how she lashed out. I was done with her the minute I pressed the 'send' key. With a person of that tension level, logic doesn't resolve things and I'm not going to waste any further energy on her.
BUT I really appreciate and enjoyed reading all of your posts! Thank you for hashing this out with me! xo
They're called "shoot and run" b*tch*s 
You're definitely better off without her. (Hey, I'll bet she's best buds with the bridezilla from hades I had to deal with last week!!!) 
Good, glad you are done with that and can put it aside. Because now, can you come to NJ, bring my 5 favorite cake flavors, and at least 3 different fillings for a free tasting? I'm planning a birthday party for my 8 closest friends and I want to be sure it's going to be absolutely delectable. I have a budget of $15, but if push comes to shove, I could go as high as $20 (providing the sales tax is included in that) 
Good, glad you are done with that and can put it aside. Because now, can you come to NJ, bring my 5 favorite cake flavors, and at least 3 different fillings for a free tasting? I'm planning a birthday party for my 8 closest friends and I want to be sure it's going to be absolutely delectable. I have a budget of $15, but if push comes to shove, I could go as high as $20 (providing the sales tax is included in that)
<---- Is that the emoticon for "just swallowed my tongue?" Boy, wouldn't that beat all???
LMAO cownsj!
I have a free half hour tomorrow in between wedding deliveries and I'll squeeze you in OF COURSE! And the $15 fee includes EVERYTHING you just asked for...except the Delivery fee. Because it's over our 70 miles delivery radius, there is a $480 Delivery Fee because you're 240 miles away. I wanted to make sure you know exactly what fees are involved.
bobwonderbuns...Brides from Hades? Surprised they don't demand we pay THEM for their travel expenses all the way up from there!!
I look at this from the customer's prospective...it's not her fault that you don't have a store front for customers, you evidently don't want them coming to your place of baking and choose to have consults elsewhere and charge for a customer to order a cake, this is what I am gathering from her email.
Frankly, if no tasting or sketching design concept was needed, I would think that this lady is within her rights to be upset. If I walked into a bakery and was told I needed to pay $10.00 up front to place an order, I would tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine, and take my business elsewhere no matter if they were more expensive. Sometimes it is the principle of the thing. That is just the way I am, if I feel a business/or person is taking advantage of me I let them know it. I could very easily see myself as that lady that emailed you.
This is your business policy, you have to expect that not all customers will agree with you and maybe in the process be "told off" but that is business, take it with a grain of salt and move on.
Like everyone else, this is just an opinion, no flames intended to OP.
I totally agree with this response. Gas, drive time, whatever else is the cost of doing business. Personally, even if I know exactly what I want, I always like to meet face to face on any contract and make sure we are on the same page. I would not go with someone who charged me a consultation fee either.
When I make memory quilts, I meet with a person at a local coffee shop free of charge. Once they contract me and hand over their pictures, they have to pay me in full. Why should I charge them, because I don't want them to come to my house for a consultation? As far as cakes/chocolates, I don't charge for a consultation. I do charge for tastings.
bobwonderbuns...Brides from Hades? Surprised they don't demand we pay THEM for their travel expenses all the way up from there!!
No kidding! Hey, maybe that's why I'm such a bad businessperson!! (Her words!) 
That is a pretty small and insignifigant fee if you ask me. Second of all, I agree with everyone else on here. You are very blessed that you do not have to make a wedding cake for that bride. I would not deal with that and neither should anyone else.
God bless.
adonisthegreek1, I understand how you run your business. But I'm not charging them because I don't want them at my house. I prefer not to have strangers come to my home because I have children and you just don't know who the heck is walking in your door. My personal preference is all. I felt this way even when I wasn't charging anyone anything in 2009-10.
That's certainly your choice not to give your business to a person that charges a consult fee. But think about who else charges a fee?
~ A plastic surgeon who charges $100-$150 for a half hour assessment sitting in their office.
~ An interior designer who charges a $75 fee to come to your home and do a paint color consultation (that's before you hire her to change anything).
~ Not all, but some lawyers charge a consult fee before they decide to take your case.
~ Some graphic designers charge a consult fee to meet with a client to assess the project.
I'm simply saying that our time is not free. We've all heard it here on CC when some new baker can't bring themselves to charge enough. If I increase my product prices to include this "cost of doing business", then even those brides who simply email or call in their order (about 25% of my clients and they're usually referred from other clients or already had my cake at another party) will pay for something they aren't using.
Dear PITA Bride-
After your last email I have decited to tell you the real reason I charge a consult fee, its for people like you who think you are entitled to everything handed to them on a sliver platter. If you really think its as easy as baking a cake and selling it why dont you try doing it yourself; maybe then you will appreciate what us bakers do.
Sincerly
Not putting up with your attitude
" I do not get charged when I order my wedding gown, only the price of my gown. I do not get charged when I go to the shoe store and ask the sales person to bring me a size 8 in a particular shoe."
The difference between this statement and a cake consult would be that you cannot sell the cake she tested to someone else. A shoe store can sell the same size 8 to another person. I wouldn't like her having the final word either. Best of Luck!
oh good one!!!! 
bobwunderbuns, I have a sister who does the shooot-n-run thing. during any family drama, she sends us all a BIG 'ole long email, chewing us all out and giving us what for, then concludes with "dont' bother replying because I'm blocking all of you."
Well bite my a$$, b*tch! how dare you drop a bomb then run and hide in the bathroom!
So yeah ... these people can never be dealt with in a logial manner, They're pretty much cowards. And we all know how cowards operate.
Well, this tops it all off. You all know from one of my earlier posts (12:05 am this morning) I cut and pasted her response into my post. I haven't been into those emails (her two or my one) since then, and have been gone most of today snowblowing the ice rink that my husband and I build for our town each year.
I just now went into my work email to look back at something she said, and they're all gone. Yes, gone. Both of her posts and my response to her. They're not in the "Whackjob" file I created in my mail system. I just went through each and every file on every client and they're not to be found. Freaky. I guess I dreamed it! LOL!
Weird! Well, this way you can just pretend it never happened I guess! 
I checked my inbox, sent, delete, plus all other client folders and nothing is there. I actually went to bed wondering if that iPad she was using has the ability to pull back anything she sends. Oh well!
That's certainly your choice not to give your business to a person that charges a consult fee. But think about who else charges a fee?
~ A plastic surgeon who charges $100-$150 for a half hour assessment sitting in their office.
~ An interior designer who charges a $75 fee to come to your home and do a paint color consultation (that's before you hire her to change anything).
~ Not all, but some lawyers charge a consult fee before they decide to take your case.
~ Some graphic designers charge a consult fee to meet with a client to assess the project.
.
Also plumbers, electricians, and other home repair types.
Regardless of whether you want to charge or not, there's no reason for a potential client to be nasty about it. If you don't want to pay a consult fee, move on. No need to send a scathing email. That's just a waste of time.
I checked my inbox, sent, delete, plus all other client folders and nothing is there. I actually went to bed wondering if that iPad she was using has the ability to pull back anything she sends. Oh well!
I have no idea if this could be it, or how it would affect what is already in your email, but if her ipad is through gmail, I know that google had a problem and wiped out all the emails in accounts. I have no idea how widespread it was or not, but our township rec. had everything wiped out, emails, contacts, everything that was in there.
I checked my inbox, sent, delete, plus all other client folders and nothing is there. I actually went to bed wondering if that iPad she was using has the ability to pull back anything she sends. Oh well!
I have no idea if this could be it, or how it would affect what is already in your email, but if her ipad is through gmail, I know that google had a problem and wiped out all the emails in accounts. I have no idea how widespread it was or not, but our township rec. had everything wiped out, emails, contacts, everything that was in there.
I do not do wedding cakes, so take this as business advice, not from a wedding expert. If all of the bakers in your area give free consultations (and just absorb them in their "per serving" price), it may look bad to a wedding cake customer to charge. Remember, they don't buy wedding cakes often, so they have called around and have been educated by all of your competitors, as well as you. Sometimes it is harder to be the odd man out. They already have a negative feeling about the fee that only you charge, while you are trying to justify the fee. In your market analysis for your business, you need to know all about your competitors (which it sounds like you do). Then use that knowledge to "MAKE IT EASY FOR THE CUSTOMER TO BUY!", the FIRST rule of sales. I will say, as a consumer, that I would not pay a consult fee if I knew what I wanted and did not need a tasting. That is taking an order... no design time, no baking, and I would never pay a merchant to take my order.
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