Stressful Birthday! I Hate People! (Long)
Decorating By Cakenator Updated 30 Jun 2008 , 10:19am by keconnell08
I am the only cake decorator in my family's bakery. Let me just say that is stressful enough.
Two weeks ago I was decorating a topsy-turvy wedding cake at the bakery in the VIEWING WINDOW. (I love having the viewing window, I think that its great that people can watch me decorate cakes.)
Two small children come up to the window and commence to BANGING on it. It was loud and a little annoying. I'm usually pretty good at ignoring this type of behavior but it just wouldn't stop!
After about 20 minutes of the kid's banging on the window and a ruined sheet of fondant, my friend taped a sign to the window that said "please- don't bang on the window".
The kids kind of stopped, but were now tapping and yelling through the window, all the while their mother was eating her dinner nearby in peace.
Two weeks later... Yesterday... My birthday...
I receive a phone call from the mother of these kids. She started yelling at me about how rude I was, how I hurt her kid's feelings, and how I could never understand because I don't have children.
The best part... She took a picture of the sign that was taped up and is taking it to the NEWS!
She wants me to apologize to her and for her kids to come by and "decorate a cake or something" sometime.
How DO YOU REPLY TO SOMEONE LIKE THIS?
You don't reply. She is looking for a handout. I HIGHLY doubt the news is going to give a second thought to her claim... Sorry this happened and Happy Birthday!
btw I just looked at your pics and your cakes are gorgeous!! I wouldn't give this lady a second thought! People will pay for your cakes either way- you have a lot of talent!
First of all, Happy Birthday!!! and I hope you had a cake that you didn't have to make.
Second, that woman has no class at all...you don't let your kids run wild, I don't care if you've paid for a meal or not, if the kids don't behave you get a take-home carton and leave, and just yell at the kids on the way home (hear my experience speaking 
). And if you did have your own kids, you would have simply told those kids they were going to have to stop or you would tell their mother. I've noticed that now that I have my own kids, I don't hesitate to tell other kids to behave...and they listen to the "Mom-voice". So don't worry about it, you handled the situation much more discreetly than you would if you "understood and had kids of your own".
If the news does run a story on it (fat chance) your cake will be the main thing in the photo and people will be too busy being amazed by it to pay attention to the sign. Anyhow, lots of places that have glass don't want the kids tapping on it.
If that woman calls back, tell her the zoo called and they want their monkeys back 
(no, don't really...but wouldn't it be nice)
Lousy parents are like lousy pet owners---- think their "babies" can poop anywhere. SHE owes you an apology for letting her monsters terrorize you!
You can tell her your window is a showacse window for customers to view "art in progress" not a carnival amusement and not designed for banging which not only affects your concentration but could be dangerous for the sweet kids.
The best part... She took a picture of the sign that was taped up and is taking it to the NEWS!
She wants me to apologize to her and for her kids to come by and "decorate a cake or something" sometime.
How DO YOU REPLY TO SOMEONE LIKE THIS?
You tell her thank you for making your establishment realize that they need to put signs up to encourage people to actually be PARENTS and control their kids, and that you're attaching a bill for the fondant that was ruined due to her inconsideration while her children were running amok and bing incredibly rude.
Okay, you don't tell her that, but man, wouldn't that be fun to say? 
Just ignore her. She's one of those who expects everyone to stop and adjust their lives to accommodate her and her kids. She needs a reality check.
And BTW... I HATE people who pull the 'you don't have kids, you don't understand' card. Yeah. I don't have 'em, but you might want to ask how many I've raised before you make that there snap judgement, chief. 
If that woman calls back, tell her the zoo called and they want their monkeys back
(no, don't really...but wouldn't it be nice)
Also when she calls back, tell her the nearby village is looking for their missing idiot...
Sorry! Just couldn't help myself!
First off.....Why did it take her 2 weeks to realize her kids were tramatized...??????? Where has she been....eating again. ?
Second, that business of "you don't have kids, so you don't know" doesn't hold any water either.
She has kids and doesn't know .....what they are up to, how rude they are and what manners are.!
When you go past an exhbit in the zoo....sign hanging up "don't bang on windows". At a pet store "don't bang on windows", same with fish, and numerous other things. The news doesnt report on those, so don't worry about it. The lady was out of line to call you yesterday. If anything was to be said, she could have gotten off her rear and walked into the bakery right then and there. If I think someone is upseting my kids, I'll call them on it right then, not wait 2 weeks and say "oh, you were mean to my kids".
SURE, I'd invite her and her little darlings to come to YOUR bakery!
Give Mommy Dearest a pic of some Collette Peters masterpiece to copy (or hell, a WalMart hunk-o-junk cake, it would be just as hard for her), a stopwatch set for 20 minutes, and a bag of buttercream. Set her up in the viewing window, then let her little darlings stand outside and bang on the window while SHE tries to concentrate. Videotape this for the NEWS, then go enjoy a nice lunch nearby, in peace.
Call her two weeks later and scream at her, about how rude she is, how she hurt YOUR feelings, and how she just doesn't understand because she doesn't have a clue.
I want her to apologize to you and for her to come by and "get her tubes tied or something" sometime.
being that I have four little terrorizers of my own running a muck, you better believe that I'm chasing them down..let alone eat peacefully, I'm lucky my foods hot lol...
you should have asked her what was her excuse for not understanding that kids need to be supervised at all times.
Tell her to take her story to the news then maybe she could explain to social services why her kids where unattended for more than twenty minutes.
Oh and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
I wouldnt respond to this lady at all. I also wouldnt worry about her bad mouthing you because Im sure everyone knows her children are little monsters LOL!
Tell her to take her story to the news then maybe she could explain to social services why her kids where unattended for more than twenty minutes.
That advice above was spot on! I totally agree with this one.
You could tell the mother that glass is breakable and you were just concerned about her little darlings getting hurt. (Oh and if she tells you thats bull just have her call the Toledo Zoo. Years ago, 2 boys were hitting the glass of a shark exhibit and the glass broke right there. It was a huge piece of glass and the 3 sharks and fish in there came pouring out)
I say let her take it to the news, it'll be good advertisement for your bakery.
. . ."IF" she takes it to the news . . . and "IF" they consider it news worthy . . . you couldn't pay for advertising like this . . . they will of course want your side of the story . . . and you could provide a demonstration or photos to accompany their story . . . you will come out on top of this, don't worry . . . "IF" she calls again tell her you welcome the publicity (in other words . . . BRING IT ON) . . . SHE will fall into the outhouse and YOU will come up covered in diamonds . . . (SHEESH, some kids and their parents 
)
oh yeah . . . and HAPPY BIRTHDAY . . . 
she's probably banging on the window of the local news station right about now.
I think this one made me laugh most of all! HA!
Oh, and Happy Belated Birthday! Have yourself some ice cream, or cake, if you feel like it after all that! 
I'm sorry . . . I would have started laughing so hard at this woman!
I would tell her that you highly encourage her to submit her story to the local news . . . perhaps it will encourage more parents to take an active role in supervising their children properly in public when they see how incredibly rude and offensive her own children are.
As for having her kids over to "decorate something," sure! You charge $500 every 10 minutes for babysitting/lessons. Cash. Up front.
In all seriousness . . . how did you keep from going outside and throttling those kids in the first place? If I had EVER behaved like that, my mom would have spanked me and totally dressed me down . . . I sure as heck knew better!
The sign on the window reminds me of when people put them on fish tanks..
"do not tap of glass.. scares fish" LOL
Why would she really take this to the local news? SHE would be the one who looks bad.....
"Ma'am where were you when your kids were at the bakery"
"oh I was done the road at a local restaurant quietly eating my food in peach"
Things that make ya go hmmm..
all of these replies are cracking me up! THey are so spot-on!!
Hubby worked in a bank and some kid was swinging those velvet ropes while standing in line with mommy. Hubby goes over and tells kid to stop it. Mom gets all upset because hubby "yelled" at her kid (he didn't "yell").
Hubby proceeds to tell her that those are not sturdy, they are not made to swing on, it's dangerous for her, her kids AND his other customers, and how if she isn't going to be responsible for her children's actions, then he has a responsibility to his other customers to make them stop. He also pointed out how she would be the first to try to sue the bank if her little darlings got hurt because she wasn't making them behave. (Yeah.... hubby was a real hard-a$$ when he was in banking!) She was of course all huffy about it ... 'WELL!!!"..... theatened to complain to the bank president (oh, THAT'S an overused line!), so hubby offered to escort her to the president's office!!! Gosh, turns out she was too busy to go right then.
nutty. crazy. dumb. weird. lazy.
hellllllllloooooooooooooo?? your fault, lady.
*rolling eyes like crazy*
Gee...
Wouldn't it be fun to find out where she works and bang on the window?
OR.....Maybe she's a stay-at-home mom and you could stand and ring the doorbell all day! That should'nt be TOO annoying and if she ask you to stop you snap her picture, take it to the news--report a lunatic screaming mother and demand she come to your house--clean and make dinner for you! I'm seeing opportunity all over this one!
........hey!! I hear the neighbor cutting his grass. I've gotta run! I'm going to grab my sack of recycling and throw cans in front of him as he goes along! I bet I can get my yard manicured if I play this right!
In our showroom we used to have a highly visible sign near the front door:
"Parents you are responsible for your children"
which made most parents think a bit...
maybe you could tape her and her "darlings" pictures up with a notice like those people who bounce checks...... or instate a "leash law". i have small children but they would not even attempt something like that. where are people's manners??
Unless that sign called the woman's children "you little a$$" or something, you have NOTHING to worry about! I can't believe what some people let their kids get away with. The problem is the parent, not the kids. Kids know what they are taught. If they are never expected to behave properly, they WON'T!
Ignore this woman and her plan for free cake. If you really traumatized her kids, she wouldn't bring them near you again. Tell her you are happy to give lessons at $50 per hour in cash and bring on the news team!
If her kids are so interested in decorating, she should maybe buy them some, I don't know, cake mix and frosting or something. I doubt the news picks up a story about a sign in a bakery's viewing window asking people to refrain from banging on it. If that's the case, I am going to my local news because I find the "no solicitors" on my neighbor's door offensive.
The sign on the window reminds me of when people put them on fish tanks..
"do not tap of glass.. scares fish" LOL
Why would she really take this to the local news? SHE would be the one who looks bad.....
"Ma'am where were you when your kids were at the bakery"
"oh I was done the road at a local restaurant quietly eating my food in peach"
Things that make ya go hmmm..
Hahaha, I was thinking the same thing! Don't harrass the animals at the zoo! (That always makes me very mad, BTW).
I have two children, 2 and 4. They are unruly a lot of the time. But, there is no way I would let them bang on a window of someone who was working for 20 minutes while I sat on my butt and ate dinner!
I have gotten dirty looks in places, snotty women or whoever who don't like how my kids are behaving. A lot of the time, it is probablly justified. A lot of the time, the person has a stick up their butt. But this time, the note on the window was definately OK. Those kids were being brats, and their mom was being lazy.
She is just embarrassed. And the news won't pay any attention to it.
Tell her Please, GO to the News! They will love to hear about how children are so spoiled rotten these days, they are allowed to disrupt the peace and quiet of other diners, people working and just in the area with her brats.
If that had been two ADULTS doing that, people would have told them to stop already!
IF anything, tell her she owes you money for ruining a sheet of fondant!
Sorry you had to deal with this. I have 2 kids. Now way would I ever let them act like that. I can't stand it when I see children just running amuck. I teach my children that they should behave out in public and we don't act like that. She's not much of a mother if she lets her children run wild.
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