There is a children's event coming up that I had planned on being a vendor for. I have spoken with them several times about itand was just waiting for registration to open. I spent about $80 on cake dummies, bought licensed figures for Jake and the Pirates, Sophia the first, Tinkerbell, and Doc McStuffins....NOT CHEAP!!

Well registration opens and I go to register and they say "Oh we have a cake vendor that has been with us for 2 years. We only want one" Ummm...could you have mentioned that before when I explained what I planned to do?

So they offer me the phone # of the event coordinator in a different city...Ummm hellooooo??? People are not going to drive through the bridge tunnel to get a cake from someone they saw at an event. I

I have been planning this for a couple of months. I am really disappointed and more than a little ticked off. Seems like every event I want to attend I hit a brick wall....Grrrrrrrr

Too bad that didn't communicate clearly with you before, when you told them you did cakes and they already had a cake vendor but you can use the dummies and toy figurines to build up your portfolio / and practice. 

Yeah..I know I can still use them but it still sucks..lol

Thats really crummy!   

Awww, that does suck. Nothing much I can say but big hugs and you've got some great stuff for your business! xxx

AAre they dead set against having two vendors this time?

Yeah they are....but that's ok. I can still do the cakes and put the pictures online. I really want to do more kids cakes. Those are just a lot of fun for me.

That sucks! I run a custom order bakery and I have a couple of festivals coming up. At one of them, there are 4 cupcake trucks (what is up with that?) and 3 ice cream/gelato people! I always have to explain that I do not sell ONLY cupcakes, I am actually a bakery, with pies and cookies and pretty much everything else because they try to turn me down each time. At the same festival last year, they put me in the back of a parking lot BEHIND a cupcake tent-I lost a bit of money on product that should have sold, but people bought at the cupcake tent first.

Just keep plugging away! At least now you have the characters, should somebody order them!

I do have an order for Doc McStuffins coming up next month....

Communication is always an ongoing issue. Especially the events that have inexperienced employees with no understanding about how businesses operate. I suggest you keep a few standard statements as your basic communication tools. Keep reiterating what you do and how it fits with their event. Repeat back to them what they have just told you and ask them to confirm what you just said.