Just had to stop in at Walmart for a few things and they had a cake display set up by the deli w/a wedding cake and a grad cake. The price for the 6", 10", and 12" wedding cake was $140 and it said it served 132, or 118 if you didn't include the top layer.
Please no one who may work at walmart take offense, but the display cakes were lets say, less than attractive and how in the heck did they get the serving count?! Well, for $1.06 a serving, I guess you get what you pay for.
yeah, in my town walmart is pretty much "the only" store. im going to have my first wedding cake in june and i gave her a family discount, so the whole 3tier cake is just going to cost her around $150 plus she's paying for any extra hardware im going to need (cake plates, pillars, etc.)
since i know she's on a really tight budget i didn't have any qualms with doing such a cheap cake, but then she still said she wanted to just check walmart really quick. since she doesn't want a really elaborate cake i told her to do what she had to do. she came back to me VERY quick saying that for just about the same price she'd much rather get a cake she knows will be pretty
On the other hand, I rec'd a call from a customer wanting a graduation cake.....I told her my full sheets (two 11x15's side-by-side) are $60 and my texas sheets (two 12x18's side-by-side) are $70. Well, she decided to call WalMart as I may be out of her price range. She called me back 15 minutes later and said that Walmart quoted her nearly $50 for a full sheet! Now, I don't know how large that was...I think she said they told her it would feed 80 (?)....but I thought that was outrageous for WalMart! Needlesstosay....I got her order! Yeah!
Well I have to say that I can understand people going to walmart for a wedding cake for $150. I got married 23 yrs ago and I didnt have a clue about decorating and didnt know anyone who did cakes and it was a small wedding (about 45 people) with a reception in our yard prepared by friends and family but I really wanted a tiered wedding cake with a topper. I went to our local grocery store and got what I thought was a beautiful cake 2 tiers with pillars and lovely flowers lol remember this was before my cc days all for $65 which I thought was a great buy. As a matter of fact I still have the pillars lol so we have to remember there are many many people who cant afford elaborate but would like to at least have something resembling a wedding cake. And afterall Walmarts is not that bad if you've never baked a cake yourself or know anyone who does. JMHO
I guess I'm a lucky one lol. Neither of the 2 walmarts with-in 20 miles of my home sell cakes or any fresh goods like that, with the exception of milk and eggs and bread lol. Now the one that is over an hour away is a "Super Walmart" and sells cakes but I've never seen any tiered cakes in there. I've watched them decorate in there and was amazed at what I saw them doing with the air gun and told my husband I wanted one. The lady looked at me and said "It takes real talent to do this lady and I don't think you could make it look anywhere near the same as we do" and turned her back to us once again. Well I looked at some of the cakes in the display for sale and I polietely asked her who iced them and decorated them and she said she had, and I couldn't help it I had to laugh. I told her very nicely "I think I could handle your air gun thingie for the simple fact that I can ice a cake 10 times smoother and prettier then that cake right there you just admitted you did" and walked away with a smile and a great feeling lol.
ANYWAY lol... I'm thankful that the only true competition I have around my town is the local grocery store chains like Food Lion, Acme, and Giant Food stores bakeries because if we had any real places I may not get any customers at all lol. Everyone I deal with is a family member or a very close friend and we've all had our bad and horrible experiences with the store bought cakes and I think that's one reason why I have the client base I have now. I think if you all experience the same tragedy more then once you are very willing to run to someone who does a better job lol.
And Walmarts prices.... I agree... you get what you pay for 
darcat,
Very good point and very well said! Cost is a big issue for many folks, and in those instances you're right, WalMart is an option for them if they want a tiered cake. I attended a wedding last summer and the couple was young and on a budget, and insisted on paying for it themselves. They had a 4-tier cake with moderate decorations.....it tasted less than desirable, but that wasn't important to them....they had what they wanted and THEY paid for it! I attended as a guest and didn't personally know them, or I would have loved to discuss making a cake for them! They were wonderful kids!
Becky, I must say "KUDOS to you! 
That was a very rude employee you had to deal with, and she deserved getting it right back 
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