Ok, I'll try to make this short. lol

A friend of mine referred a work colleague to me for a 21st birthday cake for her daughter. She gave a scrap of paper with the womans name and contact details on it last Wednesday and said she had given the woman my details and let me know that the woman would prob give me a call. I waited until Friday, and then rang the woman myself. She told me she wanted a key shaped cake sort of like one on the internet ( I found the pic online, yah!) but not exactly, so we talked for about 20mins and couldn't seem to get our heads together for a design (she wasn't real good at communicating what she wanted) I told her I would sketch something up and email it through. Ok, she tell me she needs it for this coming Friday, I say that should be fine.

Right.....fast forward to Sunday.....I check my diary......bad news I have a 3 tier castle cake for my BEST friends daughters 5th birthday cake..... I email the 21st lady and tell sorry but there's been a muck up with the dates and I can't do it sorry sorry sorry.

OK....still with me...I heard nothing until 5pm today (Tuesday) she calls and leaves a message on my answerphone...'I am really disappointed, I gave you plenty of notice, how on earth am I going to get this organised now, I want you (meaning me) to call me straight back....' Now, I really don't want to call someone who is obviously going to yell and scream at me....

soooo...where do I go from here..... all suggestions welcomed

Goodness...


I would call the lady back and say something like, "I'm really sorry for the mix up. I have a really extensive cake scheduled that weekend. I always try to ensure quality work which is why I must decline doing your cake at the same time."

Whatever you decide to say you just must call her back. I think that's the most important thing. If she yells at you, then she yells. You can end the call at anytime by saying something like, "Ma'am I understand you are upset but if you keep speaking this way I'm going to have to end this call".

Good Luck!!!

Yes, everything jewelykaye said.

Also, if you know of any other cake decorators nearby who do good work, call them and ask if they can take a last minute cake. I had to cancel one cake last summer when my grandmother died, and I called my old Wilton instructor and asked her to take it. Both the instructor and customer were very happy!

Do you know anyone else who does cakes? You could refer her to a friend and that way she doesn't have to try to find someone herself...hopefully that will stop her yelling

Define "plenty of notice".

I'm putting together a wedding workshop for brides and one of the questions I will be covering is "how early should I book?"

The answer? "It depends on how organized OTHER brides are!"

I COULD tell brides "6 months", but if they want 6-13-08, I'm already booked. That bride is very organized. The new inquiry COULD come back and whine "but you said 6 months was plenty of notice!" Yeah it is ... unless the other brides who also want your date, are more organized and committed than you.

On the flip side, I have 6-23-07 open ... so someone can call me 30 days prior and get that date. (I am SO looking forward to a weekend off!)

30 days from now available .... 1 year from now is booked.

Well, you have 2 options- call her and listen to a very upset person, or don't call her. Hmmm...

You've already told her you can not do the cake. What does she want to discuss with you? I does sound like she just wants to yell at you, which really won't make either of you feel better.

Maybe e-mail her with information for other local cake decorators?

I believe this statement applies in this situation...
"Your lack of planning does not make an emergency for my schedule"...

Call her back, let her know you could make the cake for her for the day before, however the day that it is suppose to be for was previously booked for another cake that you didn't realize until you got your order paperwork out for this coming week. The people that booked you months in advance take priority especially with a labor-intensive design.

If she yells, as some gals who work in collections and go to the same gym I go to say "NMP"... NOT MY PROBLEM!!! And they get yelled at a heck of a lot more than us! I've started using their tag line for stuff, and WOW it makes some things a lot less stressful!

Absolutely be honest and apologize for the mix-up.

If it were me, I would then offer her a discount on her next order with me. She may not accept...but at least you tried to make up it.

Keep us posted!