I have a question for all you professionals.

Is it standard in the wedding cake business to create & deliver a wedding cake with just one layer of the tier with the selected icing /filling flavor?

I've been doing cakes from home for nearly 30 yrs purchased countless cakes from grocery stores and NEVER have I seen a cake that has only one layer of flavored the other 2 or 3 plain butter cream.

would this be a point to mention as the baker during a consultation? Especially if the sample was a mini cupcake therefore not begging the question?

How does one handle the situation with a very disappointed client?

Pissed in AZ

I'm not sure I understand your post. I have a 100% scratch bakery. All cakes are three or four layers. But the fillings and frostings vary based on what flavor I want to achieve. The cake could have one layer of filling if it is intense, like my raspberry jam. The other layers have the buttercream. In my Bailey's cake, the cooked caramel pecan custard is between each layer. And other cakes have two fillings, but related to the frosting. And some cakes are just better with the frosting used as the filling. I cut no corners. The decision is based purely on the proper balance of all the components.

If I understand your question correctly, it can be typical to have torted layers with different filling preferences like cake, BC, cake, filling, cake, BC. (It's seen a lot on the cake challenges too.)

I generally do: cake, filling, cake, buttercream/ganache, cake, filling, cake.

What ever way you do it, I would be sure to describe it to the person ordering the cake. You can say something like, our servings are 1x2x4 and they consist of 4 in layers of cake, two layers of filling of your choice and a layer of buttercream. Another suggestion would have a picture of a cut cake with a piece of cake on a plate, so they can see what the insides of yours usually look like.