Nat Annoyance...wally World Bakery Coming To Town...
Business By CoutureCake Updated 29 Mar 2007 , 8:01pm by Silver044
Though as I've said many times, if someone is going to Wally World or Sam's or even Super Target for their wedding cake they weren't going to be my customers in the first place... I was at the store where Wally World is doing remodeling at today, and Moydear & I now get to have one in our backyard..
Of course, neither one of us are intimidated because anyone getting a cake from there is going to get what they pay for, but it's still annoying... Overworked staff who have exactly 5 minutes to push out a wedding cake from start to finish to keep pace with their required work load and a portion size unrealistic even by Wilton's standards. It is annoying though because there is a local store-front bakery in town and I worry about them (one of those REALLY good donut places even though I rarely get to eat donuts) because the cake designs are in direct competition..
ANYways, just had to voice my annoyance and say "Ya'll aren't alone!"...
I was shocked yesterday (Sunday) when I went into my local Publix to get a few things. There was a line at the Bakery picking up cakes. There was 4 or 5 ladies just whirling away with their bags behind the counter. They must do a terrific business. The cakes I seen leave where just simple sheet cakes with gobs of icing. Pam from Bama
You know, I remember when I was a child my mom ALWAYS made our birthday cakes and she could make some awesome ones, but I thought I was so cool when my son had his first birthday and I went to Walmart and actually bought a cake...it was the worst looking and tasting cake I had ever looked at or eaten...but I was still cool because I paid for it. 
Yes, it makes me sad now a days at what people expect...crap. When did homemade start coming from a box? I think Wal-Mart, Publix, Target or any of the large chains taste like chemicals-addictive chemicals. Their frosting taste like cheap lard and their decorating is nonexistent. Why...why dear Lord are people flocking at these places?!?! Have they all gone mad?? If you are looking for cheap and convenient well so be it then.
I have to say I feel sorry for those poor girls that work there.
There is one in our front yard...almost literally! People flock to get their donuts when a 4 minute drive would get you mouthwatering donuts from an actual donut shop. What makes me sad is they are the same price and the RR donuts are homemade daily! Ok, I'm hungry now....I just had to vent.
Down here in sunny SC the Publix and Wally Worlds are now selling tiered cakes called Celebration cakes...they are using their sheet cake decorations on like a 8 and 12 cake stacked I asked at Walmart and they are charging $77 dollars, can you believe that??? What are these people thinking....frozen for weeks cake made of cake mix....lard icing....and $$77??? The ones at Publix that they have made for display are cute but who knows who will actually make them and what the one you get will actually look like??!!!
Dang, I'm drooling for a donut now, too!!! 
Before I started making cakes, I went to the grocery store to buy birthday cakes all the time. Not out of laziness or cheapness...but because I didn't know how to decorate a cake and it was convenient to order a cake while shopping for groceries.
So, I don't begrudge people the simple convenience of buying a cake at the grocery store. It's easier, and custum birthday cakes can be pricey. I know that I can't compete with Wal-Mart prices, and the people that do want a fresh, custum cake know where to find me!
Angie
(Running out the door to find nearest fresh donut shop......)
Come on now...your wedding cake from Wal-Mart? Really? LOL!!!
You got me thinking, you could do your WHOLE wedding Walmart style!! Wouldn't that be affordable and smart...
Decorations, table clothes, food, cake...pretty sweet!
Alright, holdup. I have to put in a voice for the WalMart - Publix cake shopper. Not everyone can afford a bakery. People on here post all the time that if a customer doesn't want your prices then they can just go to WalMart. Well, they are. You can't fault them for that. In buying birthday cakes, most kids don't care what's in it as long as Spiderman is on top. When I ask my kid what he wants for his cake, he's going to tell me Sponge Bob. He's not going to say a delicious blah blah blah with blah blah blah filling. Sponge Bob.
Bakers cater to a completely different crowd. I don't even see this as competition. It would be like Talbots complaining that new Goodwill just opened. O the Epicurian complaining because McDonalds is down the block. Big deal.
And for the ladies behind the counter at WalMart, they wouldn't be there if they didn't need the job. Are they asked to do remarkable things? Sure. But they took on the job so that they could do something they enjoy and get paid for it. Not everyone can have their own bakery and not everyone chooses to be a home business - legal or not. Some people just might need the health benefits or whatever that working in a supermarket bakery can provide.
I know that this is THE PLACE to vent about weird people demanding obscene prices and ugly cakes that taste like rotgut. But, let's face it, we can be cake snobs.
I don't mean to step on toes, by why complain about the "beer budget" customers going where they are comfortable?
Sugarbean, you forgot the wedding rings also. Would any of you want your wedding rings to come from those stores? My dad always said. "You get what you pay for."
I totally agree with LanaC. I worked at Walmart for 8 years...not as a cake decorator but I was in management. I actually just quit a few weeks ago. I had my second baby in December and decided to be a stay at home mom. Anyway, I did buy alot of my decorations for my own wedding at walmart and I don't think that makes me any less of a person or I don't think you are better than me because you didn't. I didn't get my cake there....actually a lady that worked for me did. Some people can't afford a custom cake or their aren't alot of people that bake and decorate cakes in their area. If they want to buy a cake from walmart.....who cares? And the people that work there.....they want to work there. Nobody makes them. And I also think that they have more than 5 minutes to do a cake! I know your cakes.....and mine....taste better and look better but people know what they are getting when they go there!
ok, now don't hate me but I like Costco cake . Sometimes, I have so many February birthdays that if I run out of time, I will buy a Costco chocolate cake w/ half'n'half icing done in white and then add my decorations...
The fam got me one from Save- Mart one year - blech!!!! I am still trying to get the grease off my tongue 
Well this has turned into one of those threads. I think that everyone needs to take a giant step back.
It is true that Walmart will carry things cheaper than most places. This is why people have the idea that it is less expensive. I had a great wedding reception that made peoples head spin. I did not spend a ton of money. I networked with many people so yes you can have a great reception and spend less money---You have to work for it. We spent $5,000 and had smoked salmon,Shrimp, Steamship round etc.
As far as purchasing cake from Walmart or Target lets say, they are looking for a bargain and not a work of art. I had a client pass a cake with me because her fiance got a discount at Target.
To each there own!
I totally agree with that. I am sorry if I got a bit defensive, but I felt like some people were being a bit rude and you never know who is reading what you are writing that may take offense to it. I believe that people know there is a difference from a custom cake to a cake that comes from a supermarket. There is a reason.....whether time or money or lack of options....that they are buying a cake from Walmart or whereever. Your customers know your cakes.....if they like them, they will come back to you even if there is a Walmart in your front yard. As for purchasing a wedding cake from there....they are only doing it for the price. They probably couldn't afford one of your cakes to begin with. As for my wedding.....I had my dream wedding in Hawaii a year ago with a few of my close friends. When we returned, I had a beautiful reception complete with all sorts of decorations from walmart and I doubt anybody knew it or even thought about it.
Another thought about people buying cakes/cupcakes from Wal-mart instead of a bakery or making them themselves. State law here does not allow home baked goods (or homemade anything for that matter) to be brought into the classes. It has to be bought at a store. I would love to be able to bake the cupcakes that go to my children's classrooms. Thank goodness we're moving in a couple of months to somewhere that I can do that. And although I would prefer a bakery cake (assuming that I didn't do my own), I can't afford the prices of a bakery just to have a bunch of 5 and 6 year old lick the frosting off and throw the cupcake away (after taking the ring, etc off).
they put two walmart supercentres here in the gta and they have bakeries as well....i haven't priced any cakes from there as of yet but they sell cakes at loblaws (not too sure about wedding cakes), costco and sam's club...i had a slice of cake today from highland farms and i could actually taste the staleness of the cake...the whipped icing was quite tasty but it was quite alarming how stale this cake was...as far as shopping from walmart, they should offer frequent flyer miles because i am in there every chance i get...my honey and i looked at rings as well (they have very pretty rings)...some people buy their cakes from walmart due to what they think is a fair price and that's fine...those of us that offer our services know what kind of product we have and people respond to that....just my 2 cents
I agree with Moy here ... This isn't something we're getting all worked up about here, it's just the question of ?why all of a sudden now?
The intention of posting about this was just the MINI-vent-factor of that store having been there for at least 15+ years with this being the second location without the huge grocery store..
Yes, they also are taking in quite a chunk of change from me annually I might add (how else would I know they're putting in a bakery), which the store that is just 2 minutes drive from my gym will never take in because of horrid service(which also happens to be the only store within 30 minutes drive to 6 other locations that isn't 24 hours anymore).. And yes, we DID decorate 99.7% of our wedding using things purchased there (minus real flowers and cake of course), the only reason we didn't get my ring there is that we used a local jeweler because if anything ever were to happen, he would take care of fixing it... I'm definitely far from being an anti-big box zealot, it's just the "in all this time they survived without a grocery store and bakery why do they need to put one in all of a sudden???".. It's not like we're in a town without a grocery store, bakery, meat markets and such...
Like I said, not something worth getting worked up about because there isn't anything we are going to do to change its existance.. Like any business, it's adapt or die.. I'm adapting by not being bothered by it because they aren't my competition thus, yes, I'll keep an eye on what they do, but no, I'm not going to lower my rates or sacrifice quality. At the same time I worry about the store-front bakery up the road that's offering a comperable cake product.. It's just annoying like a mosquito... You can't help but notice it's there but there isn't much one can do about it...
My comments weren't directed at anyone specifically, so please don't think that they were. We just see on here at least twice a day "beer budget" and complaints about what they want. Well, they're wanting Publix, Kroger, WalMart because they know they can afford it and all they have to do it pick it up. There are MANY people who refuse to shop at big box stores. Right next to our WalMart is an entire string of specialty stores that are striving. A new specialty "strip mall" has just opened across the street and another is under construction - they've boxed in the box. Is it annoying for a small business? Sure. Are they your customers anyway? You might lose some of the birthday crowd and the lack of planning crowd. The wedding cake crowd would have just gone to their cousin's cousin's aunt's sister in law for a near freebie anyway.
I wasn't meaning to land on anyone, but I just see box store bakery and specialty bakery as apples and oranges.
To answer your question CoutureCake, as far as the why? It's business and money! I know how Walmart operates and thinks. They know that they can bring more money and business in with adding all of this stuff. People like convenience...so even if they don't go there for a loaf of bread or a "fast cake",they might notice it and there is a chance that they will pick this stuff up as well. Walmart may not care that there cakes aren't "high quality" because alot of people do buy them.....that is all it is about.....money! Yes, alot of people may check out their cakes at first just out of curousity...but most of them will come back to you for the quality. I have quit a few super walmarts around me......but people still come to me for the homemade custom cake. So what I am trying to say is that I wouldn't worry about it too much. You'll be alright!
DONT WANT TO SOUND LIKE IM BEING B&^%$ ABOUT WHATS BEING POSTED BUT IM THE LEAD CAKE DECORATOR AT MY LOCAL SAM'S CLUB, AND EVEN THOUGH WE DONT BAKE OUR OWN CAKES, THEY ARE ACTUALLY REALLY TASTY. THE ICING MIGHT BE AS GOOD AS THE STUFF THE REST OF US MAKE FORM SCRATCH AT HOME, BUT MOST PEOPLE REALLY DONT ANY BETTER. MY SAMS CLUB DOESNT DO WEDDING CAKES, BUT IT GIVES ME THE CHANCE TO DO BUSINESS ON THE SIDE. AND HONESTLY NOT ALL OF US JUST GLOB ICING ON THE CAKE AND CALL IT A ROSE. IM ACTUALLY KNOW FOR HOW QUICK AND NICE MY ROSES ARE. BUT MOST OF THAT COMES FROM THE FACT THAT I ENJOY DECORATING AND TAKE PRIDE IN MY WORK. SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR THE BIG BOX ARE JUST THROWN INTO IT WITH OUT ACTUALLY BEING SHOWN HOW TO DO IT. AND HONESTLY IF PEOPLE DIDNT SHOP THERE WAL MART WOULDNT STILL EXIST, SO OBVIOUSLY ITS DOING SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WANT. SORRY I HAD TO VENT. HAPPY DECORATING
Wasn't there a thread about writing in caps a little while ago--Sounds angry to me to see all caps!
People can choose to come to us Couture and get a off the hook cake or go get a cake else where.
Yes APPLES AND ORANGES everyone. A three tiered cake that took weeks of planning verses a cake that did not.
Lets not beat a dead horse here OK. Custom is what it is....CUSTOM!
Well, I am truely sorry that I may have hurt anyones feelings. I wasn't directing it at anyone. I was just venting about these big companies. I shop at Wal-Mart all the time because I live across the street from one and I can walk there whenever I please. Yes it is apple to oranges but it just makes me upset when these large companies push the "little man" out of busiess because of convience. I know it is the nature of the business.
lol ~ well, clearly I am the minority because I hope & pray a super Wal-Mart will get put in around here! I would love to be able to get all my WM stuff and groceries at the same locale. Our closest one is 45" away. But, then again, I am not a Mom & Pop business who will be put out of business if one is put in, so I do understand that logic.
I am just a lazy mother of 4 that would appreciate one trip to buy all the food & stuff I need.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%