ah, the old standards! I have one which everyone has surely had:

 

customer: I want XYZ elaborate cake to serve 200 for my birthday.

me: how nice, here is the price.

Customer: my father is paying for the cake and has a small budget of $100  (what an unbelievable surprise!)

me: the prices is...

customer: but i am well known in the community and there will be a lot of photos taken for the local magazine

 you will get a lot of business from my party. ... blah blah blah...

 

has anyone ever gotten business from a donated cake? I never have. 

 

I also don't like being asked to cut the cake I provided for an event, which I also attended.  You know, I'd like to enjoy the wedding, instead of being elbows deep in buttercream for 30 minutes while the bride and groom have their first dance. 

I think any of these should be at least added to a list of "Please, think before you ask *this*"  for brides' check lists.  Most are just because they really don't know their way around serving sizes, wedding cakes, etc, but still...they always make me remember to smile before answering.

 

1.  "Is your cake dry?"   (umm.  yes.  yes, it is.  That's what all.those.awards are for)

 

2.  "How much does a 3 tiered cake cost?"   (this one just needs for them to understand the wiiiiide range of variables here)

 

3.  "Can I get this cake (3-tiered photo) for 20 people?"   (well if we start with a cake pop for a TOP tier...then, sure)

 

4.  "My sister (mom/neighbor/aunt) makes cakes too, so can you show us how to make/stack/deliver/setup this cake?"    (I better not hear this AFTER a tasting and an hour of my time!!)

 

Again, most of them are common sense or, I don't know, lack of tact, or whatever. 

 

But guess what? I'm taking a break from customers for this whole year, and taking my life BACK--my actual life, where I go camping and kayaking and shopping with my family, and spend time in my garden!  So at least for most of these, right now, my answer is "I'm not available that day.  Bye!"

Oh I had forgotten this one from a potential investor:

 

If I invest, technically, my teenaged daughters will be your business partners, since they love to make cakes. I'm sure you won't mind having them come

in and make cakes. They can be your helpers...

 

uhhhhhhm no thanks.

AThe worst for me was to hear: "Hope the cake and cream will be fresh! " Oohhhhhh yes of course I will put a spoiled cream on your cake...people are just insane!

How about the ones that called on a Thursday to ask to order a cake for Saturday when you already have 3 or 4 more orders to full filled...

I always say, "sorry but  I'm booked for the weekend" -___- do they seriously think we bakers grab a cake mix box and a can of frosting and work magic in an hour?

I had a bride on Feb 11th requesting a quote for a wedding cake for March 9th -___-     LOL

Here's two more...

1-I had someone called me on a Friday to cancel her Saturday order -__-...I had already made her fondant decorations and her cake was on the oven.

2-What do you all think of making ALL your relatives cakes for FREE for every little celebration they have? -__-..sorry but can't do that anymore, I'm doing

this for a living and not a hobby now. At least get me ALL the ingredients and money for gas to bring you the cake.

I work at a Dairy Queen, decorating and making the cakes there... Get a phone call one day with a "Hi, I'm at Safeway and they are printing an edible image for me. Can I get it on a cake?" I respond with a for sure, when do you need it by, what size is the image, writing, cake size blah blah blah... "Oh, I need a sheet cake, for today, the image is 8x11."  Okay sir, I'll see what I can do. Usually we need 24 hours notice but since we have one in the freezer ready to go, sure! After you deliver the image, we'll need about an hour or so. "Okay, I'll be down in 10 minutes". Half an hour goes by, and the guy finally shows up. No big deal, but he says ''okay, i'm here with the image. You have 15 minutes and I'll be back for the cake."  We discussed a different time on the phone, so I tell him that, and he just gets mad and says that I now have 10 minutes, and leaves. So I rush to the back to slap the image on the cake, whip up the icing, the writing, and the border... And he didn't come back for FOUR hours! 

This thread is both funny and makes me shake my head, wow!  I make custom cakes part time and have a full time job.  My nephew is getting married in 2 years after college and is planning the wedding and budget already, which is small since they will both be graduating.  His fiancee asked if I would make the wedding cake for them, I told her that I would be happy to.  I live in Texas, they live in Vermont, and I would be going there to attend the wedding anyway.  But I wouldn't normally ship half my kitchen up there, so I wanted to get some details so that I could plan and let her know what to budget and if I could realistically do it for them.

 

She told me they were going to invite 200+ people.  Before things could get out of control and assumptions made by anyone, I emailed her a few websites that showed how big a cake for that many people would be and how much it would cost, just so that she could understand the grand task that she was asking for.  I knew that they wouldn't have that kind of money in the budget.

 

I made the suggestion that she let me make her a beautiful 2-3 tier 10"/8"/6" for the showcase cake that they cut and serve each other and immediate family/wedding party, that I would make sheet cakes of the same recipe that the caterer could keep in the back and cut and serve and no guest would be any the wiser.  I said that I would kick in my time and $300 toward perishable/non-reusable ingredients and decorations, and I would transport my kitchen gear to VT to make the cake as my wedding gift to them.  I said that anything above and beyond that, they would need to pay for (which means she would get the cake for free if she took my recommendations).

 

I wouldn't be working in my own kitchen, I wouldn't have the refrigerator or freezer space to make a cake for 200+ people, but I could do the smaller cake and the sheet cakes without too much problem.  I thought it was a great offer, but I haven't heard back from her yet and it has been 2 months or so.  I know the wedding isn't until 2015, but I would have expected some response, like "wow, that's so sweet, thank you, we will talk more as the event gets closer".  Nothing!  SMH

It's like... You had 365 days in advance to plan your kids birthday (they happen every year!), atleast give us some notice! :P

AYeah, no kidding!

Here's my latest.

 

I taught primary school in town A and now live in town B, about 5 hours' drive away. A parent of a student I taught when he was 11 is a FB friend, and really wants me to make my ex-student's 18th birthday cake. She'll work out how to get the cake frm here to there. Fine, no problem.

 

I get an update message - she's having some trouble finding someone to drive from here to there with the cake. I wouldn't like a party invitation and bring the cake with me? There will be other ex-students at the party who would love to see me.

 

Ah, no. I don't want to drive 10 hours round trip with a cake in order to attend a party I wouldn't have been invited to for any other reason, with the bonus being that I could chat with a bunch of 18-year-olds who I'm sure would be thrilled to sit and catch up with their year 6 teacher.

AClient calls to order 2 cupcakes, yes TWO single regular size cupcakes, to celebrate girlfriend's birthday, each a different flavor and... it needs to be delivered to a restaurant at a specific time, no earlier or later (can't spoil the surprise). Can you guess how much he wants to pay?

A

$4? I would certainly do it, for the right amount of money, no less than $60, depending on where I had to drive, but, putting myself in the place of the girlfriend, why would I care if a (albeit fabulous ;-) ) baker delivers 2 beautiful and delicious cupcakes? I would be wondering what this person is doing walking up to my table, and in such a small box, I would be expecting something a bit more sparkly!

It would be a lot cooler if it was a younger Richard Gere, or Chris Hemsworth... :-D

Forget MOISTI want my cake WET! LOL

One way to shut people up when they tell you that they'll send so much business your way so they should get a discount, is to say absolutely! They can pay full price now, and for the next year whenever anyone who they refer to you books business over a certain amount in value (which you'll gladly put into their contract to make sure you don't rip them off for all of these bookings) you'll write them a check. That way they can benefit from all of those checks rolling in from all of the business they'll be sending you.

A

ROFL That's a thought! :grin:

I just had to post this!!! This is a question I received yesterday and I just sat there and shook my head. Please note that I am only a hobby baker and don't charge much. The design we were talking about in our email correspondence is the rose cake (that I am baker created) with matching rose cupcakes.

 

 

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.  Just a couple of questions regarding your prices.  I was just on your website and it list that 6" or 8" standard two level cakes are $25.00; what's the difference between the $25.00 pricing and the $40.00 pricing mentioned below.

 

Also, standard cupcakes are $1.25 on your website.  Is this different than the $1.50 quoted below.  Is it because of the rose swirl?  Is there an alternative.

 

I sooo wanted to reply back and tell her the difference between the $25.00 pricing and the $40.00 pricing is $15.00!!!!!! And yes, the $1.50 pricing on the cupcakes is different than the $1.25 quoted on my site.....BY 25 CENTS!

 

I understand that a lot of people are on a budget but nickle and diming like this is just CHEAP! And I can't stand it when people complain about my pricing!  Cupcakes in my area typically sell for around $2.50 or more. My prices are low and people still complain.  I think I may have just conveniently booked someone else for this day!  LOL!

A

If market value in your area is $2.50 for cupcakes, why are you selling them for $1.50?