This is NOT a good client! Just because someone places several orders, does not make a "good" client. A good client would not make this kind of request. Just be honest and tell her/him the reality of cake decorating. If they want a naked cake, then make a cake, make the decorations as best you can, and put them in separate boxes. They can take them home and put it together themselves! I draw the line at "ridiculous"! As much as we try to please the public, and give them what they want, there is a limit. I doubt you will lose the majority of your business if you can't deliver what this person requests. Just say'n!! (sorry, but this really struck a nerve with me!)
Believe me, SpeciallyYours, that phone call and request struck a nerve with me too! That's why I posted it here "what NOT to ask a baker". 
But as I said she has been a good client up until now (I would have probably rejected a new/unknown client with this kind of request) and I am not afraid of challenges, so now with the suggestions from the amazing cake designers on this thread I might just have found a possible way to deliver it.
I had a lady other day request a cake. We went over all the detials and she couldn't seem to make up her mind. She wanted a rather large cake with different flavors each tier... Well once I gave the price she responded with "I'm going to just get a square sheet cake from the bakery. Do you make balloon arangments?" I was soooo heated.. But oh well, If she is fine with a flat boring cake from a bakery filled with roaches then goooo right ahead... Just hate having my time waisted.
So rude. Why not say, "Thank you for your time. I'll get back to you if I decide to order."
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Original message sent by SweetTzippy
Believe me, SpeciallyYours, that phone call and request struck a nerve with me too! That's why I posted it here "what NOT to ask a baker". :D But as I said she has been a good client up until now (I would have probably rejected a new/unknown client with this kind of request) and I am not afraid of challenges, so now with the suggestions from the amazing cake designers on this thread I might just have found a possible way to deliver it.
If you can find a way to make your client happy, then I bow to you SweeTzippy!!! Strange requests, but we all get those, and try to find ways to give a product to their liking. If she is a good client, then it does make sense to try and do that. Sometimes tackling a "challenge" brings out the creative spark!! Good go'n!
OOh yes... keeping track of what other things people will pay top dollar for is a good way to extinguish rude comments.
My employer found out that I did pastry arts in school and so would ask me to cater things (it's not totally weird, I work in a kitchen anyway). But she wanted cupcakes and cookies, but said she didn't want anything sweet. 
I sweated bullets through most of the planning on that one!
Had someone contact me recently about a cake, wanting "something simple" after receiving an initial quote. Maybe no fondant? Maybe a single tier rather than stacked (won't change a thing since I price by the amount of cake, and not by spatial orientation)? I tried to explain that even if I went all the way down to my base price for SMBC, the cake still would not be cheap. It got me thinking about the steps the clients rarely think about when considering what does into their custom cake, so I made this my status update for the day:
Pre-order consultation to discuss what you want, what your event is about, what your design themes are, drawing up sketches, creating quotes, back and forth emails to confirm what you want.
Shopping for ingredients, making fondant, making buttercream, making whatever specialty ingredient that goes with the cake e.g. caramel, making gumpaste, making gumpaste flowers, making ganache, prep, measuring out ingredients, baking, cleaning up. Next day: tort-fill-crumb coat-ganache the cake, cover in fondant, decorate cake. Packaging, attach logo, delivery, set up at your location.
Hours of work, use of resources: gas, mileage, electricity. None of these even include the cost of the actual ingredients that go into your cake.
Even if I paid myself minimum wage, that fancy cake still would not be cheap.
Here's one:
A couple of weeks ago a lady came in to our storefront. I greeted her as usual and she looks down at the cupcakes in the case and says, "So, your cupcakes are just cupcakes with blobs of icing on top?"
Me: Yes, pretty much. (Actually, they are iced in pretty swirls of icing, but whatever)
Customer: ::Makes face:: "Oh ok" ::Leaves::
I still have no idea what in the world she was expecting them to be. Is there some type of cupcake that doesn't have icing on top? Icing on the bottom? Icing in the middle, like a cupcake sandwich? Did she expect them to be custom decorated cupcakes? (From the case? Yeah right!) I'm so confused. That wins the weirdest question award. (So far...)
Here's one:
A couple of weeks ago a lady came in to our storefront. I greeted her as usual and she looks down at the cupcakes in the case and says, "So, your cupcakes are just cupcakes with blobs of icing on top?"
Me: Yes, pretty much. (Actually, they are iced in pretty swirls of icing, but whatever)
Customer: ::Makes face:: "Oh ok" ::Leaves::
I still have no idea what in the world she was expecting them to be. Is there some type of cupcake that doesn't have icing on top? Icing on the bottom? Icing in the middle, like a cupcake sandwich? Did she expect them to be custom decorated cupcakes? (From the case? Yeah right!) I'm so confused. That wins the weirdest question award. (So far...)
Filled? Or flavored icing on top? Or a pice of candy or something on top? IDK, that is weird. Maybe she was the competition?
You didn't tell her they get up and do a dance? No wonder she walked out.
Here's one:
A couple of weeks ago a lady came in to our storefront. I greeted her as usual and she looks down at the cupcakes in the case and says, "So, your cupcakes are just cupcakes with blobs of icing on top?"
Me: Yes, pretty much. (Actually, they are iced in pretty swirls of icing, but whatever)
Customer: ::Makes face:: "Oh ok" ::Leaves::
I still have no idea what in the world she was expecting them to be. Is there some type of cupcake that doesn't have icing on top? Icing on the bottom? Icing in the middle, like a cupcake sandwich? Did she expect them to be custom decorated cupcakes? (From the case? Yeah right!) I'm so confused. That wins the weirdest question award. (So far...)
Maybe she spends too much time on pinterest and expected each one to be topped with a gumpaste peony?
Do you have the kind of cupcakes that have just a swirl in the center and not to the edge? That may have been what she meant. I saw a thread on here where there was a discussion about how some people thought that it didn't look like a 'real' cupcake without icing covering the top.
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Original message sent by LoveMeSomeCake615
Here's one:
A couple of weeks ago a lady came in to our storefront. I greeted her as usual and she looks down at the cupcakes in the case and says, "So, your cupcakes are just cupcakes with blobs of icing on top?" Me: Yes, pretty much. (Actually, they are iced in pretty [I]swirls [/I]of icing, but whatever) Customer: ::Makes face:: "Oh ok" ::Leaves::
I still have no idea what in the world she was expecting them to be. Is there some type of cupcake that doesn't have icing on top? Icing on the bottom? Icing in the middle, like a cupcake sandwich? Did she expect them to be custom decorated cupcakes? (From the case? Yeah right!) I'm so confused. That wins the weirdest question award. (So far...)
My guess is that she was wondering if your cupcakes had a filling. That seems to be the rage right now, and many of the "cupcake" shops in my area just selling "filled" cupcakes. But it beats me why she didn't simply ask you, if that is what she was wanting. No need to be huffy about it! People!!!???!!!! :D
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Original message sent by scrumdiddlycakes
Maybe she spends too much time on pinterest and expected each one to be topped with a gumpaste peony?
Maybe she spends too much time on pinterest and expected each one to be topped with a gumpaste peony?
Haha, maybe so! If they were, we would be charging a LOT more for them!
My guess is that she was wondering if your cupcakes had a filling. That seems to be the rage right now, and many of the "cupcake" shops in my area just selling "filled" cupcakes. But it beats me why she didn't simply ask you, if that is what she was wanting. No need to be huffy about it! People!!!???!!!!
Yeah, I had that thought after she left. We do have a couple that have fillings, but not all of them. But like you say, why didn't she ask? How could she tell for sure if they had filling without asking?
Do you have the kind of cupcakes that have just a swirl in the center and not to the edge? That may have been what she meant. I saw a thread on here where there was a discussion about how some people thought that it didn't look like a 'real' cupcake without icing covering the top.
Yes, they are the type with a swirl in the center. It comes pretty close to the edge, but it's not completely covered.
Dancing cupcakes, now THERE's a money maker! 
I have been to a lot of the famous cupcake shops in the NE and pop my head in every bakery we walk past on vacations. Cupcakes that are $3 and up. Each time I go in I try to see how they are decorating them in action and see the ones in the cases. Each time I shrug my shoulders and think...huh, just cupcakes with icing on top. So I can kind of understand the customer. I think basically a grocery store cupcake ultimately doesn't look that much different from a fabulous, famous cupcake. Especially when you aren't tasting them, seeing them side by side, etc. Mainly I think I never see anything I would pay that money for since I figure I can make my own cupcakes for way less.
I suppose she could have been expecting the Crumbs type cupcakes where they've stuck a bunch of stuff on to the side of the frosting. But those babies start at like $4 and they're kind of dry.
Or she might have just been a dingleberry.
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Original message sent by costumeczar
Or she might have just been a dingleberry.
Bahahaha ha! I so heart you, CostumeCzar!
I have been to a lot of the famous cupcake shops in the NE and pop my head in every bakery we walk past on vacations. Cupcakes that are $3 and up. Each time I go in I try to see how they are decorating them in action and see the ones in the cases. Each time I shrug my shoulders and think...huh, just cupcakes with icing on top. So I can kind of understand the customer. I think basically a grocery store cupcake ultimately doesn't look that much different from a fabulous, famous cupcake. Especially when you aren't tasting them, seeing them side by side, etc.
Yeah, I guess I can see that, but then what was she expecting them to be??? That was my question.
HAHAHAHA! Love it.
OK I got a new one...
"You are called Beyond Buttercream, why are you trying to sell us a fondant cake?" (when handed a photo of a design that had to be *exact* with NO modifications except it *had* to be in buttercream - when the photo was fondant and could not be reproduced even close in buttercream).
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Original message sent by kikiandkyle
What did they think Beyond means?
what does beyond buttercream mean?
strictly fondant and ganache?
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