Please tell me I am not alone on this one. I HATE DOING SHEET CAKES!! I am part of a networking group and I have one caterer who comes to me to get her cakes. First off, she expects me to be cheap. She wants enough cake to feed 175 people and she expects this for $45-$100. She wants a well designed sheet cake and I have repeatedly told her that I do not like doing sheet cakes. I told her the price is the same for a sheet cake or a stacked cake. As she is part of the network group I only charge her $1.25 per serving. I quoted her a price of $200, she comes back telling me "that is a bit much". Does she expect me to just give this cake away?! Ok this turned out to be more of a vent than anything. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Thanks

IMHO, if she isn't happy with the price and you aren't happy with the project, you're busy!

Gosh i would be very unhappy in a deal like this see if you can work your self out fo this people. I am new to this but or now it's ok but later as I get good, I prefer not to do sheets cakes,

You are not alone. I posted a very similar post about a month ago. I received some very good advice from momsandraven's husband. Charge the same as a custom cake (stacked cake) or charge more. This will help you get motivated to do it. And if the customer really wants sheet cake they will have to pay the price.

Just tell her your prices are the same no matter what the shape of the cake. The additional cost are added depending on frosting, fondant, decorations, etc.

Good luck to you.

Hmm.. How do you deal with this?

Make her sign a contract that says she is getting a discounted price of $1.25 per serving. All cake orders will be this price.

If you don't want to do that. just make sure you DO NOT give in to her. I am sure she doesn't give discounts to her clients just because it is "a bit to much"

I just tell people I don't do sheet cakes. I also say I can not compete with Sam's club and they do a great job (yuck hate the stuff but everyone else seems to like it). I make edible art and they just do cake - that is the difference. Everyone gets it then.
Stand your ground. Don't cut the person a deal and leave no deal for you.

so next time say sure, i'll do it for $100 and give her a plane sheet cake with 1 layer of icing and nothing else, don't even smooth it and tell her she gets what she pays for LOL j/k i would tell her no i was busy too and hand her a price sheet so she knows what to expect when she calls again

good luck
Amy

I have found that if you sell your cakes at your price, you are happier. People are willing to pay for quality and they can see the difference. If they can't, let them go on. They will get a cheap cake and you will have time for the quality cakes. Don't discount your price. 1.25 per serving is an amazing price!!!

$200 for enough cake to feed 175 people is one heck of a deal and if she isnt happy with it tell her to shove off!!
Sheesh, if this has been an ongoing problem between the two of you perhaps you should consider no longer working with her. After she has to go somewhere else and pay a much higher price for a lot less quality I am sure she will come crawling back to you!

Do you think she is profiting off of your cakes? I have heard of some caterers telling the customer that they will "take care of the cake" they get it at a discounted price, then turn around and charge more than they paid. Granted this is not every caterer, there are a lot of good ones out there who would never think of doing any thing like this. All I am saying is watch out, you need to make your money because you can bet your bum they are going to make theirs! Good luck

If you lower your prices to where you are feeling like you're being taken advantage of (which you are) then you will end up not wanting to do them at all! Stick to your guns and do as others here have said, you do edible art. If people don't like your prices or want "just a cake" they can go elsewhere.

It has to be worth it to turn your oven on. Don't work for anything less than you think you are worth, and don't do cakes you don't enjoy.

You can tell her in a friendly way that you are veering away from sheetcakes, and will only be doing tiered and specialty cakes, and give her a price list. Tell her that business is getting busier,and that you do better with these kinds of cakes, and want to specialize. Thanks for working with me; it was a real pleasure, yada yada yada.

I don't do too many sheetcakes...I don't encourage them, and they do pop up on occasion. I charge adequately because I still have to wash the same dishes for a sheetcake as I do for a tiered.

Thanks guys. I try explaining to people I don't do the typical cake that you can get anywhere. I know I don't have many pictures posted and I'm still learning but I by far beat out the high priced competition in the area with my ability to decorate.

I know she would be a repeat customer but my hang up is this: she orders the cake from me, her client doesn't know where the cake comes from and she takes the credit. I don't get the exposure. Now if I was the one getting the credit for it, then I might not have such a big problem with it, it would simply be networking. Man this one is really burning my tush!

I began telling people, "My oven time is now at a premium. If you want on the schedule, you'll have to pay for it." I had co-workers who were very willing to pay the regular price for cookies ... but I would tell them "I can't bump my $600 order for your $12 order, so it will be awhile before I can get to you."

Oh no. That is so not right. I would never let anyone take credit for my work. Good or bad, that lady is not doing the right thing. I say listen to your gut. If it tells you to say no, say no!