I love cakecentral and have watched from afar without joining or posting for years. This is a place where people go for referrals, advice, to vent, and to celebrate and we all know word of mouth travels SO FAST. So far most of what's been said has been negative. I'm curious to know if the owner has peeked in to see what this forum of cakers think of her business. If I were friends with the owner and was looking out for her best interest I would refer her to this site so she can hear/read what is being said. If she takes a look and continues to do business the same then I would think she really doesn't care and really isn't interested in staying in business for long. It really does sound like a nice idea/business, if it is done correctly it could benefit a lot of people.

i've done a couple for them, here in Tennessee, they contacted me and asked if i could do it, they paid me way more than i charge, the second time it took me a few weeks to get the check, but i've had good experiences with them. the only thing around here is people arent willing to pay what they charge

Hello All at Cake Central! I am Dottie from Cakes Across America and have read all your responses and comments - Sooo, where do I begin!? First off, Thanks to Debbie at Icing Images for turning me on to Cake Central. I will for sure, watch it and respond to it when I can.

Cakes Across America has been in business 20 years and during that time has put millions of dollars into the baking industry.l We would be NOTHING without our bakers and are eternally grateful for their hard work, attention to detail, and of course, great cakes! Our bakers who register with us (free) get to bake & deliver cakes, cupcakes, and cookie orders for us to customers who they wouldn't ordinarily hear from - thereby increasing their customer base. Our "senders" (folks who order cakes through our website and over our 800#), are happy because we have delivered a wonderful bakery item to their loved one or friend; our receivers are happy because they have received a wonderful gift and our bakers are happy becuase we pay them for the cake and delivery.
I will write more later becuase I think I might be out of room here.
Dottie - Cakes Across America

Hi, Dottie from CAA again.

As far as orders, we place orders with bakers and give them as much time as we can. Sometimes our clients and customers do not give US enough time, but to accomodate, we try anyway. It's certainly up to the individual baker if they want to take an order from us or not. If not, we go on to another baker. No pressure!! As far as payments, and I know this has been a recent issue, so I will address it - we have had the recent experience of a lot of our "corproate" clients asking for terms - 30, 60 and sometimes even 90 days before they pay us. This has sometimes put us in a difficult situation in that our payments to our bakers are delayed. We don't like this any more than you do - believe me. I have been a friend of our bakers for 13 years now and I would like to pay you all BEFORE the delivery, as we always did in the past. But currently, that isn't the case. We are working as hard as we can to catch up and our almost current.

I will tell you right now, in this forum, if there is anyone out there to whom we owe any money for an order you delivered for us and have not been paid for it, call me at 1 800 422 5387 and I will get you paid as soon as possible. Again, we have been providing this service for 20 years and hope to continue, with the help of our wonderful bakers.

A[quote name="Doug" url="/t/32247/any-experience-with-cakes-across-america#post_296168"]came across this: [URL=http://www.cakesacrossamerica.com/index.aspx]Cakes Across America[/URL].

...

is it legit? Yes

does it work? Yes

CAA has to be legit. I've been working with them since before I left America in 2004 & they still email/call. An illegitimate business couldn't be around that long. In any case: The one lady was correct. They'll call you with the order (size needed, flavor, date, amount they're willing to pay - they charge more due to labor, delivery & their cost), no real decorating skills needed.

When the order is complete they'll mail you a check (not sure about the credit thing, but thank God they don't use PayPal). I haven't done it during this move, but I know the changes are like another lady mentioned & you have a member cost. It used to be free, just register like I registered here today. Not sure if it's monthly or yearly but there's a cost.

I recently wrote them about that, bcz after covering the cost of materials, has to cook it, gas to deliver it + this new fee there really is no profit.

I thought I would raise a clientele base for my small 3yrs old (at the time) company but no. My reward was the customers appreciation. Like flowers delivered to your door.

They 'K'eep 'I't 'S'imple - follow the kiss rule K.I.S.S. & I like that.

ANever had that happen but they are legit. Maybe they're stepping up their game. Hope it paid well. That's alot to do in 2dys.i would've had to put my kids to work hahaha

AJust found this link (2014 article) very interesting: http://flaglerlive.com/9202/cakes-across-america-flagler-county-airport/

Hey Dottie,

Long time, no hear! Just found this thread, and yes, I called that number quite a few times, back in October of 2011 with no answer and no reply. Believe me, I gave you plenty of opportunities to do the right thing. I made a cake for you, and delivered it, for a mere $43.50, of which you decided that you didn't need to pay. Yes, times got difficult, but it's one thing to take money for making a phone call, it's another thing to get nothing for taking a phone order, making a cake, and delivering it, which is a lot more costly, all while trying to raise a family. You have no right to tell all of these people that your bakers are happy because I am among a few that weren't paid for our services. To those that believe this kind of business practice is legit, wait until you get burned.

Unfortunately I had a bad experience as well.  I think I joined way back in the early days - early 90s and thought it was a novel idea.  I had worked in a florist shop and understood the concept.  However, being that this was a new idea, not many of the local bakers were willing to give it a try.  I think I was the only one in two counties!

I received one order for a half sheet cake to be delivered to a client who lived in a questionable part of town- 45 minutes away.  I tried to turn it down, saying that for the cost of the cake and mileage it wasn't worth my time.  The gal insisted and I agreed. 

Because of the icing I used, the cake had been stored in the frig overnite- the delivery was early in the morning, like 8 or 9am, so the cake was not quite to room temp by the time I got it to the client.  The client was rude and grabbed the cake from me and never said thank you or anything!  I had a bad feeling about this.  Yup- the next day the CAA gal called to tell me that the client complained that the cake "had obviously been frozen" and they refused to pay for it. An obvious lie to get a free cake, but I guess there wasn't much CAA could do. So I never got paid for my cake, time and almost 2 hours of driving time!

Since so few bakers were signing up, I wasn't about to drive all over two counties for just a few bucks!  I requested my name be removed from the list and I never heard about the company since - - I actually thought they must have gone bust! 

Even though my experience was bad, the concept is good - I worked in a florist shop and this would work just like FTD or Teleflora.