...moving from cake disasters.

For similar post, please see:

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-662326-.html

I have learned my lesson. From now on I will...

Have a price ahead of time and stick to it.
I will develop a form so I know exactly what they want.
If they change it at the last minute, then I will charge or something like that
And they will have to sign a contract for something so big.
I will also require a deposit for big orders


I should have written it down because she told me 280 Thursday but came up and said she only wanted 270 today. But I have no proof.

Wow, you really are in a pickle...
I think you need to stay at your price but if you do an itemized list don't forget to put your hourly wage on it (not what they pay you - what you would get paid if working in a bakery or paying someone to work in your business).
I would also let them know that it would not have been so much per item if they stayed with the original idea of just a brownie without the fancy icing and individual wrap.
If they want to do this again, I would suggest that they pick up all ingredients and create a workshop with them doing all the labour, cooking/decorating and wrapping and that would keep thier costs down at the same time teaching them that it is a lot of work but still raise the money they need.
I wouldn't worry about them effecting your business because when they are looking for a cake and they like your product, they will come back to you - might take a little bit but they will BUT make sure you have a contract and deposit from them And if people think you standing up for yourself is wrong, then they need to look in a mirror because what they are doing is worse.
Good Luck!

You should stick to your price. What I would do, if I were in your shoes, is this. (Now, I am NOT in the baking business, so this is only my suggestion based on your situation.) Let's consider what you put into this project (at a MINIMUM!). Make a list:

brownie mix
eggs
oil
parchment (if you use it to line your pans)
individual bags
ties (or tape, whatever you used to seal the bags)
icing (if you made it from scratch, list each ingredient)
disposable decorator bags (if you used them)
decorations
display boxes/trays (if you supplied them)
"x" hours of baking time (because you need to watch them, don't want them to be under or overcooked!)
"x" hours icing time
"X" hours decorating time
"X" hours packaging time
.... plus anything else I may have left out.

* Keep in mind, too, that during all this time you also spent money on gas/heating oil and/or electricity (mixing, baking, lights, etc.), fuel and mileage for your car, etc.

I would give them a document/invoice for your price per brownie, showing the total they owe you, minus any money they already gave you. Underneath the price per brownie, I would list the items above to show exactly what went into making their 280 individually wrapped brownies.

This may then satisfy the group's quest to know how the money was spent, all without you having to cough up receipts it seems you no longer have. I would hope that after seeing everything broken down that they would then release the balance of the money that's owed to you, and maybe even realize they got a bargain!

Good luck with this. I hope it works out for you quickly and agreeably!

[Edited to add: Please note that I don't think you should even HAVE to do all this. Your price should be your price. But since it was not discussed and agreed upon up front, maybe presenting it this way will make them feel more comfortable with the price you gave them.]

thank you for everybody's advice

Do let us know wha happens. Good luck! I think that you hav a good plan in place for he future too. It only takes gettng screwed over once to make you think hard about how you do business. Here's to never getting taken advantage of again!!

So I have my receipt for the brownies. I lost $10.99 on the sale. I am upset. I was not smart in my in how I handled the situation because I actually charged too little for them. If you want to see it, I attached it.

Ok so I didn't attach it cause I can't figure out how to make it work. but its done

I've been following this and I just have to say that what they are doing to you is disturbing. I would stick to the stated price but make sure they know that you have lost money...LOTS...when you consider your time. They need to be made to understand that you graciously DONATED your time and only charged for cost and even gave them a discount on that. You mentioned earlier that they lectured you on 'business'. In view of how they have conducted themselves, they are due a stern lecture in not only business practices but ethics as well. You might consider telling them that if they aren't paying you as a contractor then they can pay you as an employee (since you are also working for them) and then tell them to adjust your time record to reflect the hours you spent on the product. Maybe that will persuade them. They are abusing their position and trying to bully you. For your own peace of mind, I think you have to at least let them know you are onto them.

I am just in awe..I mean where can you go and buy a homemade wrapped brownie and not expect to pay less than $2.00 for it!!! I bet Starbuck's won't disclose how much they actually pay for their "brought in desserts."

Sorry the school is being buttheads...I would make up an invoice with all the cost leading up to $7.00 a brownie...then watch them studder as they look at you!!

Yeah that's right!!! Now you owe me the rest of my money!!

I worked at a Christian school for 2 years and I'm apalled at the way they're treating you in this matter. I couldn't fathom the people at the school i worked at acting like this!!! First of all, Christian schools really do have very little money to spend on extra things, but it's not as if they didn't recoup that money when they sell them. There is no excuse for them to insult your work by suggesting that it isn't worth what you're charging. I just paid $4.00 for a penny on ebay (my son is starting a coin collection) from another country....now i know it's not WORTH $4.00, but we'll never go to that country to receive a penny and so I was willing to pay that price. Point being, people charge what they charge and if you don't like it, you don't order from them!!! By the way, i highly doubt they could have walked into wal-mart and walked out with a large brownie for under $2.00....i know you can't at my wal-mart!!

I think you need to guilt them. My co-workers expect cakes from me for everyone's birthday. I started bringing them, but realized it was too expensive and they didn't appreciate it. They EXPECTED it. Well, my husband is out of work now. So if they try to give me a hard time I say something like "I'd love to make you a birthday cake, but all these cakes have really added up and you know my husband isn't working right now. Plus my 2 year old wanted some toys for Christmas so....."

Tell them that you work for minimum wage, had to take time of work to get these done, and they're not respecting your sacrifice. Obviously they think your brownies are worth a lot because they're selling them for $3! That's their "worth". So why are they saying they're not worth $1.25??

As my friend would say, "give them some good ol' fashioned Catholic guilt"

Maybe they need the receipts for accounting purposes? I don't just a thought-to help you get through this.
I know this sounds like a lot of work but wonder if you go to the store and purchase all your ingredients to get a receipt then bring over to the service counter and return them. Atleast you will have some sort of price to work with. Not to mention time and materials.
This is a tough situation-good luck to you.

I just wanted to say that I've priced 75 brownie mixes and the eggs and oil and icing and it's well OVER $500.00 that was spent on these puppies!!! I think it's TERRIBLE that they're taking advantage of you like this!

Well... getting mad at yourself will assure that you don't let this happen again. Nothing suks more than paying someone else to take your hard work. You just paid them $11.00 to let you make brownies for them. (more really since they haven't paid you the rest of the money yet AND there is no accounting for your labor in there) I am mad for you. I would give them the reciepts and let them know that you normally don't do it, but since it turns out you undercharged for them brownies you figure it couldn't hurt to show them. Just terrible...

Good luck dealing with them...

I'm surprised a Christian school would even have a group of "vip" parents. Aren't they all in this together? What makes them any better than the other parents?

I would give them this itemized list of receipts with a note that says this:

Just wanted to thank you for asking for this itemized list. To be honest I was a little caught off guard because I know it is not common business practice to do so. However it made me realize that I was severely undercharging! So, considering that this is for a fundraiser I will stick with the quoted price of $1.25 a brownie, but next time I must charge more. It simply wouldn't make any business or financial sense for me to charge that little.

I am giving you 30 days to pay the rest of the order, then I will start charging a 10% late fee for each month late. After 90 days I will take this matter to Small Claims Court. You can reach me at XXX-XXX-XXXX or XXXXX&XXX.com to resolve the balance.
(mod edited to deactivate link.)

i just realized that fake email address I put in there showed up as a link. I hope it's not a real address for some dirty site!!!!

Please don't click on it!!!

NOT that I am defending the school, but thought I'd throw something out there how this might have come about. I was the treasurer for several years for a nonprofit organization and the board was always trying to come up with fresh ideas for fundraisers. I can't tell you the number of times that someone would have the idea to buy low and sell high. I can only imagine a VIP thinking 'we could buy brownies for .50 each and sell them for $3 and make a ton!'

We had to write budgets for fundraising projects and there were so many times that expectations fell short and then that has to be explained to the general membership. I must say those meetings can be really rough, so when you do come up short there is all sort of scraping to cover hineys. So, my point is...maybe they aren't trying to be mean to you, just trying to protect their rears.

FWIW, whenever I did baking for fundraisers, I would give them an invoice that detailed my full amount and also listed a big CREDIT for my labor so they could see for themselves what an awesome deal I gave them!

I am so sorry they are treating you this way
There is no reason for them to know the cost of your supplies, just no reason for it! Your bill/invoice for the brownies should be sufficient for their bookkeeping needs.

What an insult and lack of trust on their part

You deserve so much better treatment than they are showing you. I think they owe you an apology.


Did you happen to take pics of the brownies? I'm sure the CC members would like to see them.

I made an invoice for them on excel last night. The total came out to be $608.49 for a total price for my time included. I spent 52 hours including my mom's time. I put her time on there too

They are paying me $1.25 so i am getting $337.50 for them. I messed up earlier I think. I ended up giving them a discount of 270.99. So I did end up losing $10.00 on the sale.

I showed the director's assistant this morning. She was one of the ones lecturing me on my bookkeeping. The VIP mom was not there. I am actually proud of myself because I was very calm. I just said that I am extremely offended and I said some of the things all of you have said on here and she was speechless. She didn't say anything. I just stood there waiting until she finally said "ok I will give this to her." So, I said ok and walked back to my classroom. I've never stood up for myself before there. So I think she was really surprised. But I acted like an adult and kept my cool. So I think I did ok. I told her though that I am never going to do anything else for the VIP club. I don't think they are going to ask me to do anything else either.

I made sure she knew that I lost money. I actually highlighted that part on the receipt. I also added a section that stated what the price would have been if someone was having to pay minimum wage and it ended a lot more.

I have learned my lesson. I have to do better with my bookkeeping. I know I should probably keep receipts now lol. I don't plan on putting myself in another position like the again though.

I didn't take pictures. I'm so mad now that I didn't though. It was late Monday night and my camera was in my car. I just packed those things up and got them ready to leave the next morning. I wish I had though. I was actually proud of how they looked.

btw I measured the cookie cutters. I had a snowman that was 5" x 4", a Christmas tree that was 5" x 3", a star that was 2" x 2" (that one was just for extra brownie that I didn't want to throw away), gingerbread men that were 3" x 2", and a snowflake that was 4" x 4". Each one was completely covered with some color of icing. They had faces and the snowman even had scarves and a hat.

My kids went to a parochial school for the first 5 yrs of their education. I GUARANTEE you that these people EXPECTED you to donate these brownies free of charge. I learned this FAST.

That's how these schools operate....they depend on donations. I'm not saying they're right, just saying that's what they're used to. Freebies.

Sorry this happened to you....that order was a lot of work for very little money. Hard lesson learned, but I'm sure they won't be taking advantage of you again.

Good for you Ginni for standing up for yourself and remaining calm. I'm sure lots of people here are very proud of you!

yes, good job........you acted professionally unlike them (i think you need to give THEM business advice not the other way around).

Ginni,

One other thought--make sure you are keeping your receipts--this is helpful not only for managing your business (how much you are spending vs what you are charging, etc) but also for tax purposes as well.

As I was pricing cookie trays this year, I was able to go back and see what I paid for sugar, peanut butter, etc. last year, what the prices are currently and then I was able to adjust my prices accordingly. I also made sure to keep track of how many hours it took to make certain candy and cookies. (The first year I did candy and cookie trays, I had to guess at how long it would take me to make the items--some things I was pretty close and others--way off--I spent an entire saturday dipping peanut butter buckeyes!) It sure was nice the next year to have an idea of how much I needed to charge for labor!

Good luck! Don't let this one bad experience burn you.

WOW, you are a licensed home baker at the age of 21. That is great!

I am glad that you stood up for youself. You need to let us know when they finally pay the rest of what they owe you and if the VIP lady has enough guts to say anything to you.

I hope they give you the rest of your $ soon. If it were me I would make sure they knew you totally donated your time and $10 dollars in materials for this fundraiser. You should be applauded for the work you put into the fundraiser not questioned under a microscope and distrusted for your word on the amounts.

Are you a legal business? If you haven't already, it would be the best idea to check into the legalities of your area and make sure you do everything necessary and required to sell baked goods, so you won't ever get into legal trouble over it.

Well done Ginni.You should be proud of yourself. We all live and learn.