I get an email inquiry from a lady who wants a cake for 10 people for a retirement luncheon. for Friday. Today is Tuesday.

When it says I need at least 1 wk notice, is that ambiguous??? And she's the second one this week!

I really never thought this business would take off like this, famine one week and turning away people the next.......weird.

Still can't quit my day job, but kinda nice all the same. Just had to share, been a long day. Hope everyone is having a great week!

I had the same thing happen. I already have three cakes for Friday, but what's one more besides my sanity???

Next Saturday- wedding for 325, 1/4sheet for family reunion, and need to bake that night for the farmers market- Please pass the espresso.

I hear ya though. We just started asking for 72 hours notice because we were getting sick of eating cake scraps for dinner with last minute cakes. 72 hours means 72 hours.

I just can't figure out, how some people think. I mean, Birthdays, retirement usually are known. OK maybe not sudden promotions but usually the occasions are planned. Heck, I'm already planning my daughter's b'day party, and that is in March next year. I've had quite a few last minutes, as long as I can fill them, it's ok, but sometimes it just isn't possible.

But it's just a cake! And I'm the only one who's calling you! And I'm SURE you're just sitting around doing nothing, waiting for me to call at the last minute! Because I AM the only person in the whole wide world who needs a cake this weekend!

"But it's just a cake! And I'm the only one who's calling you! And I'm SURE you're just sitting around doing nothing, waiting for me to call at the last minute! Because I AM the only person in the whole wide world who needs a cake this weekend!"
Besides, we all know that the rules apply to everyone, else that is. Surely you don't mean me, too?!?!?! lol

Well the good news is that a cake for 10 would be a small one, and you are getting orders, however you should let that woman know there is an extra charge to "squeeze her in" as a last minute order.....that is if you really don't want to do it.... and the cake will be simply decorated due to lack of time/notification. I dont' know, maybe we should figure out how to polietly post that orders requested in less time than we ask for will be subject to a (percentage) late order fee. Let us know what you decide.

Deb

My friend volunteered to make a Barney birthday cake for her friend last week. My friend had to back out and emailed the lady telling her she was unable to do the cake and referred the lady to me. The email was posted last Thursday. (The cake was due today, Wednesday) Anyway, since I didn't hear from the lady, I just figured that she found her cake elsewhere, right? Nope, the lady called me on Monday at 5pm asking me if I could do her cake for Wednesday. I turned her down b/c she had 6 days lead time to ask me, but waited until the last minute.

Unless it is completely impossible or I don't think I can give quality service. I try to never turn business down.

I just keep telling myself that I working long and hard now will entitle me to a great life of relaxation post retirement. (Let's just hope I live that long!)

you need a cake tomorrow....just a minute and I'll go shake the cake tree in my back yard.

oh, please!

mommachris

I gotta join this train. I have an extremely busy weekend and my husband informs me that his co-workers *might* need a full sheetcake for Friday, and they will let him know tonight (he gets off at 12:00am). I am so sick of people assuming that I am just twiddling my thumbs waiting on them to call me and *bless* me with a cake order.

Karateka, I feel the same exact way. I never expected this to take off like it did and I am so grateful, but obviously other people aren't aware of my increasingly busy schedule...like my brother, whose friend asked if I would make a christening cake for this weekend AND my lovely bro said "I'm sure she'll only charge you 1/2 price!" Grrrrrrrrrr. LOL

Half price????

Huh?

Nope. No way.

Sigh. I really did want to do her cake and the other 2 who called, but I just couldn't do it. I already have too much to do before Friday. So another cake was just out of the question. I felt only slightly bad about it, but I made mention of the short notice when I politely declined, and expressed regret that I had already booked 3 cakes for this weekend. Kinda gets the word in that I'm popular and they should get in gear early, right? I told them I just wouldn't have the time to do justice to their order, and tried to sound regretful (which I was, actually). Not that I was too busy to do it, just that I can only do so much, ya know?


Oh well. Maybe some day I'll have a staff and more than 1 oven!

In the last week I've turned away 3 orders for October. That's the advantage to not being a "real" business - you get to decide how busy you want to be. Feast or famine.

LOL, I JUST raised my prices AND added a 10% "EMERGENCY" surcharge...which I"m thinking of raising to 25%...

That will show those customers that it cost money for me to "SHAKE THAT CAKE TREE"..hahaha!

hey!
If my brother volunteered me to make a cake at half price, I'd tell him the other half is coming out of his pocket not mine!

nobody loves you like family

mommachris

I get last minute orders too and turn them down. I only do cakes when I want to and if I'm allowed total creative control. Does that make sense? I have several regular customers that just tell me what flavors they want, the occasion and theme if there is one. They let me do the rest. I don't do sheet cakes anymore. I've become a tiered, abstract cake freak. I love working with different shapes and colors and when I'm allowed to do what I want I can be more creative. So far it's been working for me. And besides this is for fun for me. I have a close friend that has referred me to a couple of people and told them explicitly, let her have creative control, you won't regret it. Two weddings have come out of it for next year. I usually stick to five weddings a year. I'm too busy with other stuff - like cookies - to do too many cakes.

You can thank the local bakery for creating the "late order monster". Especially since they always have premade cakes in the case.

Anyone can leave work, stop at the bakery on the way home to "pick-up" a cake. Shoot, you can even have a message piped on it while you wait.

a girl my husband works with was getting married..and she didnt pay me and fully commit until the tuesday before the wedding! i shook that dang tree for all it was worth, and made her a three tier bride cake and chocolate covered strawberry grooms cake.....never again though!

Tis the season, things are picking up, I thought this week would be light and was kinda hoping I would have a break since next week-end is a killer. But on Monday I had 6 call-in orders for the week-end, and a wedding cake appt. On Tuesday I had 3 more calls for the week-end.. I also had 2 ladies stop at the shop to order cakes for Oct. OnWednesday I had 2 calls for wedding and grooms cake and caterings. Today, Thursday one of my Wedding Coordinators called and ordered A Wedding cake, and another caterer called and ordered 2 cakes.And I thought I was going to have a nice peaceful week. I am not complaining, but when it rains it pours. I try not to turn anyone down, unless it just isn't possible for me to squeeze in, and then i just have to say I'm sorry I am all booked for the week.Most of my regular customers are nice enough to give me fair warning. I say you do the best you can do, not everyone realizes that we don't order frozen cakes in and have a bunch make up in advance.

I live in a town of last minute everything...I get people asking 'can I get a cake for tomorrow' Regularly. I had someone ask in the late afternoon for a 2 tier whimsical 16th birthday cake that would have fondant decorations all over it...needed it the next day before noon to drive over the mountains for a party...WHATEVER???!!!??? I just wanted to say are you flipping kidding me? A weeks notice is generally the most I get, but a few know I get booked fast and have a 6 and 3 year old and hold dates in advanced.

At Costco, we strongly discourage those last minute orders. This time of year we are up to 60 on Fridays, 85-90 on Saturdays. We require at least a 24 hour notice (which to everyone means any time the day before) and members fill out their own order forms. Scary, I know, but they are self explanitory and hard to screw up (but they do anyway...) With that volume, there is no way we have time to stand there and wait for them to make up their minds, so we let them do it. We try to do all the early morning orders the day before, which is why we like 24 hrs., but we always get early orders when we empty the box in the morning for that day. Annoying. We offer cakes on hand for them, too because they are always calling for a cake same day. We don't take orders over the phone, either for the same reasons; we don't take them, DIY. That makes them mad, but that is why we have cakes on hand. Birthdays come around every year on the same day, you had a whole year to plan!!!

Poor planning on your part should not create an emergency on mine...

I don't like to turn away business... but sometimes you just have to politely tell the customer you are overbooked and so sorry that you can't do another cake and how you wish they had called sooner ect..