Hey all my lovely cakers! Just wondering, when someone asks you for a quote of a cake through email or facebook, and don't reply when you give them the price, do you follow up or just leave it?

I would probably send a reply just giving them one last chance to respond and saying that you hope they have had chance to look at the quote you sent and if they are happy to go ahead with the order then you need confirmation in the next xx days otherwise you cannot guarantee you will be available for the date they wish, or something along those lines, basically just let them know your slots are booking up and they need to respond, then if you havent heard anything back by the deadline you have given them then you know they aren't interested and can forget all about them!

It depends. It just really depends. I usually do follow up with a very simple "can I be of any further assistance regarding your inquiry?" type of email, and then the entire conversation goes into a separate folder so it's not in front of me and I can concentrate on work I *do* have. If they do happen to get back to me, I can pull all of our correspondence to date back up and continue on.

By the way, I have every single email ever sent to me and that I have sent regarding every single order I have ever done, saved in a file in one of my email accounts. I save everything.

That's what I was thinking of doing, but i wasn't sure if they would think they were being pressured. And i save everything to do with cakes as well, it's business and you gotta keep a record of it all right? .

Good grief.

I don't write back, I have other things to do than chase people down. I have one person who had been writing me for a couple of weeks about a birthday cake for next monday. She went silent for a couple of weeks, then wrote again saying woot woot, I can't wait for the cake. So I emailed and gave her the payment info...nothing. I came across the email on Sunday, so since she had been so hot on buying I did write her one more time saying that I needs the payment by this past Tuesday or I'd just assume that she didnt want the cake anymore. No response, so that's that. If she emails again the day before saying that she'll be picking up the cake on Monday she's out of luck. I wrote her back more than I usually did, and I can't waste time chasing someone down...

It takes two minutes for me to ask "can I help you any further, yada yada?" So if it jolts one person out of 10 into remembering they wanted a cake, I'll spend those couple of minutes doing it. Can't say it usually works, but hey. I tried.

For a customer who has ordered from you before (knows your prices e.t.c)and contacted you about placing another order but never really gave specifics, just vague information, do you contact him or her asking if they still want to go ahead with placing the order?

I had someone speak with me weeks ago about a date that's now less than 2 weeks away but then went AWOL. I don't want to appear pushy but I'd like to know if this is a real order or not. The last order was rush-rush because this customer did something similar, talked to me and then silence until a couple of days before the event.

I don't like the idea of tacking on rush fees but these folks make me want to consider it.

Even though all the pertinent info is on my website, when someone asks for a quote by email I reiterate that the quote does not book their date and remind them of the deadline to place an order. I do this mainly to cover those who do not read my policies, and so I do not have to follow up. Occasionally I will follow up if I have had some good dialogue with a client, and the potential booking date is far enough away. If I have not heard back from a client in 24 hours I move the email to a separate inquiries folder where I can retrieve it later if I need to.

Wow you guys are all awesome! So I had two non replyers sitting in my email so I sent them both of a polite reminder type email. One of the girls gave a very nice response, I went to high school with her and I knew she really couldn't afford the cake she wanted, even if i simplified the design, but she replyed with "I wish I was one of your kids so I could be a taste tester, but unfortunately we can't afford it this year" which is fine, I understand that, most people can't afford a custom cake. The other one was kinda rude, (there's always one in the bunch right?) she said "I'll contact when you have made a decision, until then, please stop messaging me" Really? lol i've sent her 2 messages, 1 with the rough estimate, one with a friendly reminder...oh well, C'est la vie!

I once had someone emailing me asking me for a quote. Then quiet. Next thing I see her advertising in an advertising mailing list that I subscribe to, asking for same quote from subscribing cakers. So when someone is quiet, I assume they are shopping around and the will get back to me if the want me to provide service. A person who has hired me before is different. I do follow up if I think they got too busy or something.

I think one reminder is enough if the person is someone you've worked with before. For potential clients, I think I'll just stick with answering any questions they may have, and leave it at that.

When sending a quote always put a deadline on it.

'This quote is valid for one week (or whatever time you need) from the date of issue. No date will be reserved or cake produced unless (name of bakery) is notified within that time frame.
Any design changes or additional servings will affect the initial estimate and should be discussed as soon as possible.

I look forward to serving you and hope to hear from you by (date[/u]).

Then mid-way through the estimation period, I'd drop a reminder and say,
"Because the quote I sent you was time sensitive, I wanted to make sure you received the estimate on your cake. If you have, then ignore this email--if not, let me know and I will send again. Thank you!"

Then leave it alone. If they get back to you within the fine, if not go your merry way. They shouldn't be upset if you send a reminder note that doesn't require they respond. After all, sometimes things sent through email don't get seen for whatever reason, and this would give them the opportunity to tell you. By telling them they don't have to respond shouldn't make anyone feel pressured.
And I wouldn't feel bad reissuing a new estimate with a higher price if someone contacts you after the deadline...or saying no depending on your schedule.
You snooze, you lose!

Honestly, to the lady that sent the "stop sending me messages" I'd have have to send her just ....one....more.
"I am no longer available to make your cake,as my schedule for that weekend is now full. Here is a list of other bakeries that may be able to take your order. Thank you for your consideration."

If she's indecisive and rude about it, then she needs to go somewhere else.

JMO
mommachris.

I get some doozies. I've learned to mellow out and not get hyper about it anymore. But it has to be shared with those that can commisserate! (in private)

I agree.

Oh you guys are tooo much! lol Thanks for all the tips!

While my data is a couple of years old, I'm reading that people are right now planning 2013 weddings and looking for quotes, so brides are STILL shopping long in advance.

I tracked everything when I had my shop and it was not unusual for people to come back in 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months or even longer. One bride booked the day of her sampling, but she had the sampling 113 days after I sent her pricing info. Another booked her sampling 2 months after I sent her pricing info and then booked the wedding 2 months after the sampling.

Understand that brides are smart shopping and making numerous appointments with multiple vendors to compare services. Unless they are doing all 5 cake samplings on the same day, they will be taking some time to sample 5 vendors and THEN step back, regroup and start the decision making process.

If I was bored, I MIGHT send ONE fol-up "....to confirm you rec'd the information I sent 12 days ago. Please contact me when you are ready for the decision making process." (this wording let them know I was not pushing them to commit now, and that I recognized they needed time to digest all of the info.)

Different things work for different people, as the above example re: the two brides' responses indicate.

I guess I should have mentioned this, I don't do wedding cakes, I stay toward the party cake area of the cake business. I haven't been doing this for that long. I basically ask a month notice is pretty much guarantee for your date, 2-3 weeks notice is a maybe, and 1 week is a rush order (if i feel like doing it ).

If somebody says "stop sending me messages" then you do NOT send any more messages...in Canada it could be trouble.

In addition, she could then go and blab to all her friends about the "cake stalker" and you never know where that would take you.

You could mark her email address as "spam" if you need to. I would certainly not bother with this person for future orders.

I totally agree with BakingIrene.  Don't send her another message - she told you not to.  But DO put her on your "NO CAKES FOR YOU" list.  A person that rude will  probably be trouble through the whole process.  I'd be booked solid forever for this person.