Seems like when someone comes to pick up a cake, I either sit around waiting for 30-45 minutes for a late customer, or they come early and surprise me. I don't know which is worse!

Today I had a pickup, they sent their friend and the friend said "I'll be there around 12:30 and I'll call first". Okay great. I have two huge projects to work on today so I was doing those (big cake weekend) and my toddler was meanwhile dumping all his toys. Also I had tossed a diaper out the door planning to get it into the garbage. I figured I had time to neaten everything up and throw the diaper away before they got here. Well the doorbell rings at 11:30!!!! No call, nothing. I am so embarrassed because I could not invite them in (toddler destroyed the house) and there was a diaper right there by the door, and my toddler still in his pajamas (told ya, busy cake weekend!) trying to talk to them through the door. How embarrassing! I feel like I'm going to lose business just by people coming to pick up a cake at a house that seems like "Green Acres" or something.

Its just that on busy days, I don't have time to sit around in a spotless house for three hours "just in case"....I gotta move! My husband is out of town with one of my sons but I have another at school so have to fit in stuff between pick up times and then a toddler as mentioned above...plus I'm 6 1/2 mos pg and moving slower than usual.

Anyway....I hate cake pickups.

That's exactly why I always deliver. No pick ups! I allowed a pick up once way back when, and I didn't hear her knock, so she came around the back onto the porch.. and I heard a knock on the back door, opened it up and OMG, I was so embrassed.. the raccoons had torn open 3 bags of garbage and it was all over my deck. At least when she came in the house, it was clean, but oh my, I felt horrible, thought if I was her I would throw the cake in the trash.. never did hear from her again.

Try not to feel bad, I do understand. I do my best to avoid pick ups, even going out of my way to deliver. I have 3 kids and the only time my house is spotless is when no one else is home, I clean and they don't come back for a while. Then I got 30 min max until chaos rules again.

Hugs to you, I feel your frustration.

Deliveries just aren't feasible for me, I have a really hard time with directions, and with little kids tagging along its hard to deliver and decide whether to leave them in the car or take them with me, etc. Usually I have my husband deliver but I have to plan ahead with the person and its usually only for a larger cake.

Yeah on Mother's Day we had church, but someone needed a pickup so I told them 9:15am...they came just before 9am and I was not presentable to answer the door! So had to have my husband give the cake after the man stood at the door for a minute or two and one of my kids had answered the door too (both no-nos, I don't like them to wait and I don't let my kids answer).

Oh well I guess I have to just live with what I can do, if people don't like how my house is then they don't have to order. I DID get a compliment on having a "clean house" when I had a wedding tasting, but of course I knew ahead they were coming in and had time to clean. This weekend is just crazy, the customers who picked up were lucky I didn't have powdered sugar and icing all over my face and food coloring all over my hands to boot. (That's tonight. )

Wow that is horrible. I always try to deliver when I can because I hate having to worry about getting the cake done and getting everything cleaned up in time. Also, I did have a few where I waited for over 2 hours for them to come. It just is so much better when I can deliver it. But I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, and maybe they didn't even see the diaper. They probably thought nothing of it. Plus, your cakes are amazing so I'm sure they'll be back!

That is hilarious! It sounds just like my house! I had three cakes to do this week, all due a day apart, and baseball games every night for my sons, and my toddler writing on every surface of my house. Today when I left for school for awards, I had to dump powdered sugar out my shoe! So don't worry, I feel your pain, but that is why I like to deliver, too. Also cause I live down the potholiest street in the universe, and I figure I have to make sure my cakes make it there in one piece! (Or so that is what I tell them!LOL)

Christie

Big [[Hugs]] to you!!

This is my pet peeve, too. I had one pick-up scheduled for 5:00 pm. They called at 5:30, said they were running late. How about 7:00? Okay. By 9:45 pm., I was ready to turn out the lights and go to bed, then the doorbell rings. "I was out to dinner, and just lost track of the time." I was not a happy camper.

I don't mean to laugh, but all that just so sounds like something that would happen to me! I swear that most of the times when someone stops by unexpectedly, the kids have destroyed the house, the kitchen is a wreck, or like you, I have diapers waiting to be thrown out by the front door. It is sooooooo embarassing!

I'm laughing here, I'm 52 started baking out of my home due to DH pension getting cut in half, I love the government how they are permitted to steal, anyway I feel your pain going through the same thing but I'm helping to raise two Grandsons 9+11 between the games and the running in and out and the laundry it's never ending. Seems to be people are wanting wedding cakes here and they have to come for tastings and whammo gotta make it presentable, I wouldn't want to come into a messy house either and know they were doing my cake. Oh to do well enough to get a kitchen in the basement maybe next year. Let's keep sharing the stories , laugh it off and go on. WE ARE NOT ALONE!!!!!

I am so glad to hear that other people end up as messy as I do. Christielee: I have had to dump powdered sugar out of my shoe before too! My house is always a wreck and I don't even have kids! What am I going to do when that day comes? Who has time to clean house when they work full time and have eleven cakes to do for the weekend. (I know I am crazy and should've said no, but I am trying to prove to my husband that I need to do this full time. I did turn one down finally.)

Kitagrl - off the subject but did you decided to do that cake of the girl? sweet 16 i believe it was.

This has always been a touchy one for me as well. Especially with gas prices the way they are. I hate delivering if they are too far away, but I worry if they got it there in one piece. So, I normally do deliver if it is close by. However, I have people who just insist that they pick the cake up. I had a shower cake that someone was going to pick up at 5:30 so I told my husband after they left we'd go to dinner. At 10:15 she calls and tells me that she had to stop at Wal Mart first to pick up things for "tomorrows" shower. I was furious. I called her cell phone and she wouldn't even answer. Needless to say we had dinner at home. Ever since this happened, I tell my customers that they have to be prompt or call me 30 minutes in advance so that I can make other plans or arrange to deliver.

How funny - I'm laughing at all these responses and I have no excuses but at the same time I deliver. My house has been taken over by cake supplies everywhere. There just isn't enough storage but working on trying to get organized. No children at home anymore and no DH to worry about either. So, no excuses except not enough storage. I still prefer to meet customers off-site for deliveries and taste testings. I've found the local Starbucks work very well. Anyway, keep smiling everyone and keep the stories coming - I'm chuckling away - they are just too funny!!!

OMG!! I was just wondering if others went through the "clean house" predicament!!! My youngest is 5 and still manages to "help" me. My final straw was last week when he used one of my cooling cakes as a "Monster Truck" race track (I turned my back for only a second)!!!! Had to toss it and do another. Anyways, even though I am busy, if I am expecting a pick up I only clean the necessary areas and close any doors that I can. I don't worry about the toys, anyone who has kids would understand and probably not even take a second look. Maybe you can tell them they will have to wait if they are early and if they are extremely late there may be a late pick up charge? Just an idea.

I don't have any kids for an excuse, but I had a pickup disaster too! My front room is the "formal" room and always clean since we never go in there. It just so happens to be the room you walk into when you come through the front door so I thought I had it all figured out. The lady comes to get the cake, which I have boxed and waiting on a table in the room. Before I know it she flies past me into my.....kitchen! Agggghhhhh! I am trying to chase her down as she is looking all over for a pen to write out her check and I am stuttering a bunch of excuses about why the kitchen looks like my pantry threw up. Who just barges through someone's house to look for a pen?? Just ask for one! I must have been bright red. I feel for those of you who have little ones to help make the messes and I don't know what I'll do when I end up with 'em.

Oh, this makes me feel so much better. I have a 3 1/2 year old and am 3 months pregnant with number 2. I only do a handful of cakes a month, but it seems like they are always due at the same time (3 cakes one weekend, none the rest of the month). With a preschooler who LOVES to "help" mommy the only thing I can usually do is let a movie take over while I'm decorating. So the entire house looks like a toy store blew up by the time I'm done. I do my best to clean before pickups, but jeez! There is one person I routinely do cakes for that is a friend of the family and I've starting creating reasons why I need to deliver it to her so she won't see the house. Of course she is one of those people whose house is always perfects, kids are always perfect, she always looks perfect and not a hair out of place... I always felt like even when I got the house straight after the cake it still didn't compare to hers so I started to deliver. She's not too far away and it is easier for me to do that than to feel bad not knowing (or should I say imagining) what she is thinking about my house. As far as the original post, no one is ever there exactly when they say they will be. You are right, they are either early and you aren't ready for them yet or they are late and keep you waiting. Although I have fixed that one by telling them on the phone that I have somewhere I have to be 30 minutes after pickup time, so if you want your cake you better be on time to pick it up-worded nicer of course.

I don't deliver and I drive a minivan and have 3 kids have you looked at the gas prices lately? Anyways i guess i don't mind having to clean up before someones comes I do have a rule applies to everything and everyone if I am not expecting I just don't open my door. It gives me an excuse t have to clean.

Lalana the same thing happened to me! The cake is in the livingroom on a table and this lady just bursts in and goes straight thru to the kitchen. Needless to say, it looked like a tornado went thru! I try to deliver customers never show up when they are suppose to.

I nagged my husband so we could build a front room for cake pick ups, I even put a glass display cabinet to separete my bussiness area from my house. But I had a customer who came early and I asked my HUsband to open the door, well when he came to ask about the cake, she followed him all the way to the kitchen, and I was just finishing her cake. OMG!!
Now I try to have the cakes about 45 min earlier. But what I really hate is when people say they'll be coming at certain time and they get here late. Mostly because I'm always on the run and sometimes have to deliver a big cake at the same hour and can't wait for them.

this is so funny, this is exactly my problem right now but not because of cake pickups but because we are trying to sell our house - I can't even get the darned thing clean, let alone it stay clean long enough for someone to come look at the "entire" house!!!