I don't have an 'act of god' clause.....however, here's my 2 cents.
Flood, Fire, Tornado, etc, etc......I would personally fully refund someone's money if this struck my business. (Afterall....it's not the customer's fault, either!) Same goes for that unmentionable car wreck where someone slams into the back of you when delivering a cake. It wasn't my fault, but it wasn't the bride's either. In this case, I would fully refund all money.
You can, however, have stated in your contract that once the cake is delivered and approved, someone at the reception hall (or wherever you place the cake) must sign off on it......and have a signature line at the bottom of your contract for this purpose. State that following that signature, you are no longer responsible. (Such as Aunt Jane just hit the table 5 minutes after you left and the whole cake came crashing down.)
Just my 2 cents!
This is what is in ours:
In addition, on occasion we will take photographs of our cakes and we reserve the right to use any photographs for display/promotion without compensation to you. You agree to assume full responsibility for your wedding guests and we are not responsible for any consequential damages which may occur. Once the reception has begun, we are not responsible for any damages incurred to the cake. We are not responsible for any reactions due to any food allergies. In the event that you fail to pay, and collections proceedings are initiated, you will be responsible for any legal costs incurred. Our obligation to perform will be modified to the extent necessary based on inclement weather, transportation problems, or other causes beyond our control. If our obligation to perform is not met due to the aforementioned conditions, an 80% refund will be given within 90 days.
I totally agree with momthreekiddos! I have a contract that I use for "paying" clients. It came in handy last summer.
After I verbally instructed the bride AND mom about needing the room cool (humidity in KY is a CAKE KILLER!) and especially not to move it....well, there was no air conditioning going and people were moving in and out of the house. THEN they told me that they were going to move the cake all together on the kitchen table to the outside. This cake was "constructed" and when they told me that....I was SCARED!! Luckily, I had "the contract" that said once it was approved and signed off that I was no longer responsible.
Guess what? Yep, got a call almost IMMEDIATELY asking how to "fix the cake". The icing had cracked and slid off the cake. I had left a repair kit just in case, but, since the bride's mother was supposed to fix it and it was only a couple of minutes from my house I went back and fixed it myself. I did it to help out the MOB. They were really nice people and didn't blame ME for anything. It was just frustrating. But, if they HAD tried to blame me....I had it in WRITING!!!
Beth in KY
Here's the wording in mine, which has gotten the stamp of approval from my attorney.....
13. Performance of this agreement is contingent upon the ability of management to complete the agreement and is subject to labor troubles, disputes or strikes; accidents; food, beverage or other supplies/suppliers; Acts of God, and other causes beyond managements control.
Setup/Delivery Policy:
1. Cakes are made specifically for your event alone. The decorator shall not be held responsible for product replacement in the event of an accident in transport or process of delivery of purchasers cake/confection to venue and/or Acts of God. Delay in transit shall not constitute grounds for discount, refund or other compensation to purchaser.
That's what I have, but my contract is still a work in progress so I may adjust it a little into a different section... Of course, the idea is that it puts the power back to me for what action is taken.
Always have an attorney check out your contracts. Some standard "Acts of God" (and other) clauses won't hold up in court even though the client signs off on them.
Mine:
If, for reasons beyond our control, including but not limited to, labor strikes, accidents, government restrictions or regulation on travel, acts of war or acts of God, {whimsette} is unable to perform its obligations, then such non-performance is excused with no other liability upon return of deposit. In no event shall {whimsette} be liable for consequential damages for any reason whatsoever.
I have one...I "stole" it from Queenies Cakes..
She posted it one day.
Did I? I'm sure I must have, because I do have one! I think I got mine originally from someone else on here 
!
Labor strikes??
If I'm a customer I'm not concerned with whether your dishwasher quits. I wouldn't sign a contract that would put my event at the mercy of your ability to retain employees. (I also wouldn't sign a contract that considers the cake delivered if it's lost in an accident while the vendor is delivering it to me. If the sale includes delivery, if I don't get the product you haven't fulfilled what I'm paying for.)
Labor strikes??
If I'm a customer I'm not concerned with whether your dishwasher quits. I wouldn't sign a contract that would put my event at the mercy of your ability to retain employees. (I also wouldn't sign a contract that considers the cake delivered if it's lost in an accident while the vendor is delivering it to me. If the sale includes delivery, if I don't get the product you haven't fulfilled what I'm paying for.)
That's not what this clause is for. It's not about a dishwasher or my ability to "retain employees".
If the trucker's union goes on strike and you ordered fresh strawberries with your cake and my suppliers can't get the strawberries because the trucker's union isn't hauling them from California to Indiana and NOBODY has access to strawberries, then this is what the clause covers. I am not liable for not providing strawberries because the berries are not available thru no fault of my own .... a national labor strike. If you can't get the product, you can't get the product.
During another job in which I was in charge of getting our product from our Mexico plant to our Indiana warehouse, there was a situation where the produce pickers in Mexico went on strike and blocked the border. No trucks were getting thru.....for something like 5 days!!!! Our largest, #1 customer used 3 trucks a day of our product and those trucks were in line, NOT getting thru customs and across the border. Customer wanted us to pay for overnight delivery because of it, but our agreement had this strike clause deeming us not liable.
It's the big picture that could be the problem.....not whether your dishwasher guy shows up or not.
Well I think if anything happens that keeps you from getting the cake to your customer in the condition it was meant to me then you should refund the money to the person.
If it was damaged after you left then so be it. You keep the money. Unless you set it up wrong and that is what caused the damage.
Take photos of all delivered cakes once they are set up so you have proof it was not your fault.
Thanks Joanne K. That was kind of what I was thinking when I asked this question. Something like I can't be held responsible if Aunt Sally wants to slide the cake table 3 feet after I leave but I will refund XXX% of your payment if something happens that is out of my control (accident, tornado, fire, etc.) I was just looking for how to word that in a contract. Thanks to everyone for their responses so far.
This is what I have in my contract....
Liability I will do my best to make the proper arrangements with you and your reception hall to safely deliver and assemble your cake. Once I have done this, I will not assume responsibility for your guests or caterers negligence, property damage or any injury that would occur as a result of our services and provision of your cake.
As indydebi said, it's not about personal employees, it's about suppliers and industry service providers (like UPS or hotel staff) coming to a screeching halt with no reasonable alternatives available to allow me to get the job done.
I ship some of my products, so I'm very freaked anytime a snowstorm hits the mid-West and grounds UPS/airline transit on days that I have product in transit. We recently went through a local hotel strike and that could've been a huge problem for cake deliveries to a catering staff that may or may not have been there. It doesn't happen often and I've actually never had a dispute or reason to invoke the clause. I do feel it's a good cover-your-butt measure in case of those types unforeseen and freak occurances. It doesn't mean I'm not going to do everything I can to get the job done. It means that there are some things 100% out of my control that we (the client and I) need to be contracturally prepared for.
Labor strikes??
If I'm a customer I'm not concerned with whether your dishwasher quits. I wouldn't sign a contract that would put my event at the mercy of your ability to retain employees.
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