Wow, sorry to hear that Polarbear! That is terrible! It's amazing what people think they're allowed to demand.

Oh Polarbear

So sorry that your "friend" and her daughter treated you that way.

Today a young lady call me for a wedding cake, she had seen one at Kroger and wonder if I would put some "Bling" to it and add a "Bunch" of rose to it for $125. I try my best to not lol, I ask her to hold on cause I knew what she was talking about. I run away from the phone and laugh my AO. I came back to the phone and ask her for the date, and turn her down. I hate those calls.

I have a bride asking me if there is left over cake after i've baked hers, can i return it to her..DEAD SERIOUS. Oh, and she wants to make sure that i know that a cake has to be firm in order to put fondant on it etc... I swear people watch a few episodes of Cake Boss, and "allusudden" they're experts. My Mom said i should have told this chick to go kick rocks, but we'll see what happens

I had a customer contact me about a cake. She let me know right up front that she was contacting other people as well, so I increased my price a bit. I figured she dropped the other contacts to use this as a bargining tool. So when she came back and said that other bakers were willing to do the cake for what I would have normally quoted her, I dropped my price to match, and got the money I would have wanted in the first place. Worked well for the custom cake, but I don't think I would be as sucessful for a regular cake!

BTW, I'm so glad I found this site. I'm new to the 'official' business of cake decorating, and this site is fantastic! So are all the people here!

I know what you mean I have been doing cakes for a long time and Just recently was ask to give a full refund on a wedding cake cancellation. This was very difficult for me. I am friends with a family member so I didn't want to make a bad situation worse and lose a friend. This was with less than two weeks til the wedding. And the person who ask for the refund couldn't believe that I had already purchased supplies for the cake!!! Anyone who doesn't do cakes and especially wedding cakes just don't have a clue. Thank God for his grace through that situation, hope it never happens again.

I once had a person want an anniversary cake for her parents. She was almost an aquaitance. (both of our children were involved in scouts, but we never really met). anyway she kept making jokes about me giving her a deep discout on the cake. Joke after joke after joke! It was like she was trying to wear me down with her humor! I didn't ever really know her! Emails went back and forth for a long time and then she said maybe she could bring her parents over for a cake tasting because it would help lift their spirits for some reason (for like a 20 serving cake!) I didn't give into that tactic either. she never ordered the cake.

These are the crazy things I've been asked or told in the last 45 days.

CUSTOMER A: "Can you make me 12 cake pops, each a different design and flavor and deliver them my friend for her birthday?" The woman only wanted to pay $24.00. When I told her that I couldn't do it for that price since I would have to make 12 different cake flavors just to accomodate her, she advised me that she would find someone else who could.

CUSTOMER B: "Can you make me a 3 tier Winnie the Pooh cake with gumpaste characters?" When I advised her of the price, she then told me her budget was only $50.00 and that she would need to keep looking. Incidentally, she ended up with a cupcake cake from the grocery store which probably cost more than her $50 budget.

CUSTOMER C: "I would like to order a wedding cake and a groom's cake from you for my best friend's wedding, and because the cake is going to another city 2 hours away, can you please deliver it to my house, and I will transport it there." At this point, everything sounds good. Then I get another call, "I would like to do a cake tasting with 5 cakes and 7 fillings." I usually don't do this, but since her husband is a good friend of mine, I did the tasting. Now I get another call, "Well, we are all staying in that town the night before the wedding, so you will NEED to deliver the cake there instead." Uhhhh. No. I don't think so. I told her I have to pick my mother up from the airport that morning, and I'm unable to drive 2 hours each way and still make it on time. She then offered to pay me extra for the delivery (duh), if I forgo the trip to the airport. Um, NO!!! I will not drive that cake 2 hours away and leave my mother at the airport. I have bent over backwards for this lady already. She then advised me, "well, we'll figure out something." She better figure fast, cuz the wedding is 3 weeks away, and I haven't heard from her.

CUSTOMER D: "Can you make me a gluten free 3D guitar cake ?" I then advised her that I do NOT do allergy free cakes, and I sent her a list of cake flavors and fillings that I can do. She then asks, "Can you make a gluten free Boston cream pie cake?" I then tell her, that I don't do allergy free cakes, and I don't have a recipe for Boston Cream. I advised her again to check the list of flavors. She then calls back and asks if she makes the gluten free cake, would I carve it and deocrate it for her at a discount since she did the baking?" NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure if this falls under the "entitled" category but my friend saw a Facebook post declaring "Looking for a Cake Boss type cake for my kid's birthday" so she gave out my number to the mom. When the mom called me, she said her daughter loved Cake Boss and expected a cake as cute, but she didn't want to pay much for a 4 yr old's bday....I suddenly became unavailable for the date she had in mind and let it go right there.

I was once feeling challenged about making my friends and family "cake poor''. Until I had a friend of mine order three cakes in one week. I generally would have knocked off a few dollars here or there because she had been a great help to me when I needed someone and was low on funds for a babysitter. She would watch my kids for me for about 10 mins. in the afternoon until I could get home from work (I worked out of town and couldn't see paying $200 a week for my kids to spend only a 10 mins a day at daycare. Guilt trip tactic!) This was over a 2 year period. She would never allow me to pay her even when something came up and she would need to do somethng else. Well, at first it was a cake for people should knew on her job-one here (1/4 sheet cake) and another one there. She told me over the phone "Girl if I have anything to do with it I am going to put you on the map!" (I should have known it was a setup and should have ran for the hills) Then comes the three cake order in one week, one supposedly due on Thursday with an elaborate time consuming design but oops I need it by tomorrow. Thursday changed into Tuesday and today is Monday at 1:30pm in the afternoon yet you need it by tomorrow Tuesday at 8:30am and you want ME to deliver it (now I work and is in college besides making cakes); then she want a $20 book cake with edibe images for Saturday to feed 30 people (edible images cost $6 each); and finally by Sunday a cake to feed 50-60 people fondant covered giraffe print gift box cake for $45. Now this was all of the same week and I had a death in my family. They paid me for the Sunday cake two days later as if I was suppose to track them down for the payment that was supposed to be given to me on the Sunday. "That was her way of helping me ans putting me on the map." I learned a lesson then that you can go into the hole with wanting a sell or wanting people to become interested in your cakes. Your products cost, your gas cost, your time cost. I live in a small 4 traffic light town and its the biggest town in my county. There are two actual custom cake businesses but TONS of at home bakers. I know that I have just started out baking and decorating for the public. But my time is worth more than nickels and dimes for something that is near and dear to me. If I don't value them no one else will. I will just keep practicing until God sends the people for my product. Do I need the money HECK YEAH! But my products may not be the other established business products (even though I have been told I do just as good work-wondering if my prices were making them talk like that?-) but they are MINE. And I confidently Stand on THAT. If you are not confident about your price or your products, people will play off of that! Your cakes will be taken seriously when YOU take them SERIOUSLY!

why didn't you just tell her it was too short of notice for you to pull it off? You can always tell them the price you think is fair and they can always say no. I prefer to do cakes for "customers" rather than friends because I just don't care if customers say no to the price. With friends I always end up giving a big discout and often feel a bit resentful..but that is MY fault for having trouble naming my price. I can't be angry with them when that is the price I quoted. Many times though the cakes I do as gifts or big discounts end up providing me with some good fortune or joy (NOT ALWAYS) but many times. It sounds like your friend provided you with a much needed service in the past with childcare. Since she insisted on not being paid, perhaps a good way to handle it is to give her a gift certificate for a certain amount of cake services. Then she'd know how much "free" cake you intend to give her.

Actually, when I was doing this, she knew how much my cakes cost up front and how much of a discount she was getting from me. I have learned from that experienced. It is way easy to tell many no. It takes experiences to learn that if you can give some people a discount here or there since they may be the one that comes to expect it every time. Now, they it's easy to think they won't be getting a cake from you this time.

I have noticed that when friends and coworkers ask, "how much for a cake?" They really mean, "can you make me a free cake." It's really annoying.

@Problemcat... I have had similar experiences as you and I feel for you!! And, I'm probably not going to make any friends with this remark, but (and please read carefully) in my own experience, the ones that seem to take the most advantage are the ones we call "brother or sister in Christ". And, to me that is just a shame. And again, that is from my own experiences.

It was the same way growing up with a father that was a mechanic that specializes in exotic cars. I can't tell you how often people from church would call my dad "in need" of having their Mercedes /Porsche fixed. And, meanwhile, my stepmother would drive us around in a less than perfectly running car because he didnt have anymore time to work on her Chevy. What made it really bad, though, was not the fact that they asked to have things done, but that they would bring a part over and ask that he "just install it"? And, the majority of the time that "installation" took my dad an entire weekend and the people would NOT offer to PAY!! And, because my dad was a "good Christian" he wouldn't ask to be paid for his time...which, at a repair shop would have cost them several THOUSAND dollars in many cases. And, yes, family would ask for things to be done also. But there wasn't that shame when he said no to one of them like when he did to someone in the church and, unfortunately I've had similar experiences. I have been talked about behind my back and DOGGED OUT for not doing things for free. Unfortunately, I am sad to say, it is that type of behavior that has made me walk away from a church or two....

Thank you for your response, i will never let this happen again. Friend or not business is business. I live in a very small town and I am learning a lot the hard way. I will take your advice, thanks for the blog link, great info.

I just decorate cakes for fun, but I have a story to tell about an entitled customer. My husband is an electrician and only does work on the side as a second job. He went over to a lady's house, fixed what she wanted and told her we would bill her (he had done work for her before) I sent the bill and when she paid - it was $50 less because she didn't feel he had spent enough time to justify the bill?!?!?! AND she had the nerve to call again needing an electrician. We put the word out really quick as to what she had done and she had to pay top dollar for the next electrician. None of the independents would darken her door. Some people have all the nerve.

Two sisters started corresponding with me back in December for a party this month. 2 cakes each serving 40 people. Both covered in fondant, one is a 2 tiered cake. They sent me pics of cakes they liked and I quoted them the price. They texted me about 3 weeks ago and all the details are still the same. The tiered cake has a ceramic topper of Betty Boop and I TOLD them they would need to find the topper themselves. Now I'm getting texts asking how much for 30 people on the tiered cake and I just got a phn call telling me they found someone who can MAKE a betty boop topper out of fondant for $30 (just the topper) so can I lower my price? I told her no, that the price I quoted her never included me making the topper, remember? Then she asked if I could MAKE the topper. NO. Now I don't even want to make her cakes. She also said she wanted it to be "perfect" and she wants her mom to "cry" when she sees it! Tomorrow she's going to call me to change the colors on the cake. Now I want to cry!
HELP! Should I just tell her I don't feel comfortable making her cakes? I'm charging her $225 for TWO cakes...TOTAL! This was the price I quoted her back in DECEMBER! If she it was too much she had PLENTY of time to find someone else. Instead she is changing things and trying to negotiate. And the party is April 16th!
What should I do???!!!