So I was super excited to get my business cards. I took them into work to show my coworkers and the owner and his wife. It happened to be the end of a program I coordinate/coach. Each time a program ends I have brought in a small store bought cake and fruit for our "graduation" celebration. This time was no exception. Apparently when I left the room the owner's wife (who claims she is the boss) said "She owns her own bakery business and she has to bring a cake from the store" and then rolls her eyes.

I have given away enough cake that there is no way I am wasting my time to make a from scratch cake/cupcakes for the stores benefit. So as we are cleaning up after having the cake I say to her. "oh you know if you guys ever want to BUY a real cake from me I would be happy to make one. A cake this size would be about $36, so just let me know if you ever want one instead of a $12 store cake". I said this as nice as I could. She was all like "Well T (the owner/her husband) does all the money/budget stuff, you'd have to talk to him" as snotty as she could.

Later in the evening she practically accosted a coworker and was saying how ridiculous it was that I was charging $36 for a cake, and who would pay that when they could get a cake from the store for $12" Luckily my coworker knew the backstory and said there was no comparing a cake made from scratch to a store cake. When she realized my coworker wasn't going to agree with her she just said "Whatever" and walked off.

I think that she was just 1-jealous that I had started my own business , 2-ignorant of what real food tastes like as well as the time involved. It's just very frustrating that here I was so excited about it and she felt the need to slam me-for no apparent reason!! At least her husband,who can be fairly brusque congratulated me.

Yes I realize baking my own cake would have been good exposure for the 20 or so people in the group, however if I made it myself I wouldn't have gotten paid for it. I have three of these programs a year and as you all know it's alot of time and $ to give up, especially when I had a full weekend of orders ahead of me and I've already done lots of freebies to get my name out.

Anyway..thanks for letting me vent..sorry for the long story!

Well.............I'm afraid that I can see things a little from the side of the other woman.

It could be taken that they and/or the event, werent' "worth" the $ and time investment necessary for a home baked, $36 dollar cake............only a cheap, quickly acquired store bought one that even you don't feel is comparable to your own creations.

It may have hurt her feelings. It would have hurt mine. Sorry.

Rae

Nah, I think it sounds like she's just an old cow. Some people just like to be sour. Don't let it bother you.

Quite honestly, you are not in any way obligated to bring in anything, unless it is written into the contract of your courses. In this case, I would not bring in anything the next time.
I was taught "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

I am supposed to bring something for the celebration and I do get reimbursed for it, however my boss is super cheap and I know he would flip if I brought in one of my cakes and asked for $36 (or even if I suggested it). If I brought in a homemade cake he would expect it to be out of the goodness of my heart. It's also alittle bit of a line I want to be careful of- expecting my employer to support my business.
She was being rude and talking about me behind my back. I just need to have thicker skin!

To be fair, what you said to the owner's wife did seem like an attempt to goad her, even if you said it in the nicest way possible. The best way to deal with people like that is to ignore their rude comments to prevent things from escalating out of control.

And in some cases, a $12 store cake is the preferable option, especially when dealing with a limited budget for food.

[quote="dairyair" Apparently when I left the room the owner's wife (who claims she is the boss) said "She owns her own bakery business and she has to bring a cake from the store" and then rolls her eyes. [/quote]




This is probably the comment that set you off and I can't say that I blame you...I would have set her straight after hearing what she had said too.

It's unfortunate that you were told she made that comment...people shouldn't repeat things.

In the future I would let her go to the store and purchase the cake...I'd wash my hands of the situation entirely.

I don't think it was intentional goading on my part, just that I wanted to make it clear that I would be willing to make a cake for the celebration but that it wouldn't be free and that it would cost more than a store cake. Which I kind of thought would make her realize that I went the cheaper route therefore saving them money (cause I know they wouldn't pay more).

She has an issue with me anyway because I coordinate the program and not her so anytime she can get a jab in at me she does just to prove she is "the boss". I just thought it was very uncalled for to say spiteful things about me and to say them to my coworkers.

But, I am over it now and moving on.

I really don't think you should ever have to justify when you make a cake and when you don't. And it's definitely hard when you start getting into the habit of making cakes for free for re-occurring events because then it's hard to break out of it because people will start expecting it. No matter how the situation started or ended, it's hard to hear comments from people who really don't know the amount of work and time that goes into making a cake compared to grocery store massed produced ones. Ah well, there's always THOSE people out there!