I'm Sorry, But I Have To Say This....
Decorating By ge978 Updated 6 Jul 2007 , 11:28pm by mbdecorator
I've been reading quite a few threads lately about grocery store cakes, people wanting their cake for a lower price, etc etc.
I would like you guys to know what its like on the "other" side of things
My nephew's bday is Saturday...I can't make his cake. So me and my sister went looking for one. We only have a budget of about $80 for food, cake, drinks, utensils, etc for about 20-25 people.
So you know what i did?? Yep ..I bought a grocery store cake...UGH GASP 
Not all of us are no taste cheapskate pain in the a**es who don't know what a good cake is!!
So remember some of us who have to buy a cake at the last minute and don't have a budget for all of your oh so delicious top of the line cakes....would i like to be able to afford one? Yes..of course, but i shouldn't be made to feel bad because I go to the grocery store instead!
Oh, some just have strong opinions about "other" cakes.. I've bought them all the time in the past.. The only reason I would rather make it VS buy it.. Cause I enjoy the experience!! Heck I FIND a reason to make one. LOL
I dont think those who buy from grocery stores are cheap or have no taste.. Or anything negative.. It's ok!!!! My mom wants to buy me one this weekend for my Housewarming party.. I was like NOOOOOOOOO I wanna make a cake!!!! I love baking!!!!
I don't think there's anything wrong with getting your cake at the grocery store. As a SAHM of 3 I understand throwing a party on a budget. Some people spend more on cake than I do on the whole party!! The whole reason I got into cake decorating was so I could have really nice cakes for my kids and not have to pay the price for them (including grocery store prices 
). For my birthday this year I got a birthday cake from Wal-Mart...the kids didn't want mom to make her own, they wanted to get it for me. Could I have done one that looked better? Probably. Would mine have tasted better? Hopefully. But you know what, I loved what they gave me (a Little Mermaid Cake) because it came from their heart. That's what matters!
I don't mind the taste of most store cakes...there's one chain who's cakes I can't stomach because the icing tastes awful IMHO...but for the most part I don't mind the taste. And the cakes look fine. No, they aren't CC quality (really, what is?!)...but they work for people who can't afford something else or who don't have a great baker near them.
i usually get the ones in the box that are in the freezer section. me... someone who does cakes every week! you actually get sick of it and want something else. when i make cakes for friends and they ask if i want a piece, i always decline. i am good at what i do, but i would rather taste something different!!! you know what i mean? 
Thanks guys..its nice to see that some have the same point of view. I just wanted some of us to see that there are so many reasons that people buy grocery store cakes instead of theirs or call and ask for a price, but then don't order the cake.
Seriously , if someone could have done a 1/4 sheet decorated tractor cake for $25 I would have been all over it.
oh geee ge78 -- I know how you feel.
there's one big-box place, I just adore their carrot cake.
and yep
budget$ are a royal pain -- but something we all have to deal w/ and that means compromise.
so -- don't feel bad -- the important part is the time spent w/ family building memories and enjoying each others' company -- that's what will be remembered long after that cake is "fertilizer".
I think what may be a problem is when customers want us to match the grocery store prices! Since they can buy in bulk and have other storage and labor resources that we can't match, we have to charge more even just to cover ingredient costs! I don't mind the taste of certain of the grocery store cakes because even some small "specialty" bakeries don't even taste as good, but don't ask me to make what they make at the same prices or lower!! And no I will not throw in this or that because you think I'm desperate for customers or need to build up my portfolio!
The Wal Mart, Costco, Sams club and even the local grocery store in my area make excellent tasting cakes. Maybe it is a regional thing. On occasion I am sure there is a dud but for the most part they are pretty good.
I am lucky that I can make whatever cakes we need but if I couldn't I wouldn't feel embarrased about being cheap and having no taste and ordering a cake a from a chain store or local grocery.
I mostly make cakes for family and friends. Sometimes they refer customers to me, most pay without comment. The few that complain about the price I refer to Wal Mart or wherever they can get it cheaper. Most of the time they still order from me, if not I don't get all freaked cause there is always someone else who wants a cake and is willing to pay. There are bigger things to get all puffed up about. After all (dare I say it) it's just cake. 
I like the taste of Superstore frosting and I was actually trying to figure out how to make it so I could copy it. I know I'm weird. Lol. But don't feel bad about buying a grocery store cake. It's not a crime
You're not so weird...I love DH milk chocolate frosting...I eat it straight out of the package! I prefer it over chocolate BC, that's for sure! If I could make that frosting I would!
Hey, Thanks!! As a grocery store cake decorater, I want to say thanks for keeping me in business one more week! It's like I tell me special friends... there's what I do at work... and then there's the work I want to do.... and there's a difference.
No shame! You are supporting the lowest paid cake dec's out there! Thanks!
This really why I am probably never going into business. I love to decorate and finally feel confident. I just enjoy making a cake as a gift for people. I know it is expensive. I like knowing I can give this to a person and so far I have not had anyone take advantage of me. If they try, I am suddenly busy and just can't get that cake for them like the planned. I have learned how to say no. But I want my close friends and family to get quality home baked cake from a doctored mix and decorated with love.
Hey, Thanks!! As a grocery store cake decorater, I want to say thanks for keeping me in business one more week! It's like I tell me special friends... there's what I do at work... and then there's the work I want to do.... and there's a difference.
No shame! You are supporting the lowest paid cake dec's out there! Thanks!
Id bet this and as a person who buys these cakes is what ge978 was posting about....
i think it gets a little overwhelming and actually offensive around here when comments like "so and so customer wanted me to do this and that for such and such price! well they can just hop it on over to the grocery store and get their frozen, no taste blah blah cake"......which personally Im sure the first part of the complaint wouldn't cause any havoc......but then add the second and those who work in these bakeries or are actual customers of those bakeries on this site....get offended!!
I...like the cake part of a cake from the grocery store 
..not so much the icing....but I like the cake!! I want to buy it...but cant buy it because I cant help but sit there and think damn 35 bucks! I can make it myself
I'm not in the business of selling cakes, I make them for family mostly. Having said that, in the past I made homemade cakes in the 9x13 pan for my kids birthdays, no fancy stuff, just spatula iced and wrote happy birthday with the candles. It was not that I couldn't afford a grocery store cake, I just could not stand the sickly sweet icing. Hometown bakeries (who had delicious cakes) went out as I was growing up because they couldn't compete with the grocery bakery. A person can only do so much with a budget these days and you gotta do what you gotta do. I am glad you spoke up on this subject.....lately there have been quite a few ego threads that I roll my eyes at.
Thank you everyone for understanding what i'm staying and keeping this thread friendly.
Im not embarrassed about buying a grocery store cake at all....in fact there are several of the stores that do some really cute stuff and it tastes good too. i just wanted to point out the customer side of the cake business.
Cakenicing4u wrote:
Hey, Thanks!! As a grocery store cake decorater, I want to say thanks for keeping me in business one more week! It's like I tell me special friends... there's what I do at work... and then there's the work I want to do.... and there's a difference.
No shame! You are supporting the lowest paid cake dec's out there! Thanks!
Thats actually part of the reason I started this thread....I appreciate all of the grocery store decoraters too. I'm glad there is somewhere that I can go to pick up a cake on a day's notice and have it look nice. So yes, I and I'm sure many others appreciate the work you do 
[/quote]
I honestly don't know what I would do without grocery store cakes, I buy them all of the time! In fact, there was no other option for me before I started making my own cakes. Even then, sometimes I am just too darned lazy and don't want to deal with it!!!
Grocery stores have airbrushes, red icing that tastes good, and spiderman toys in stock. What more could a mother ask for? LOL.... besides, publix cakes are really considered high end around here. My old job bought a dark chocolate cake, filled with raspberry, and frosted in cream cheese icing from publix for the owner's birthday (even though I hate that man, the cake was good!). Yuuuuummmmmyyyy! 
I think sometimes what gets misunderstood as big egos, is the frustration at the rudeness of people in general. Just the other day, I had a girl call asking for the price of a 1/4 sheet cake with spiderman on it. I asked her how many people she needed to serve since I offer 5 dfferent sizes of sheet cakes and don't call them 1/4, 1/2 etc. She repeated slower and louder, "I need a 1/4 sheet cake", I again asked her servings and explained why, got slower and louder, "don't you make a 1/4 sheet cake?" I said no. Finally she said maybe 20 people, now we're getting somewhere. I told her $20.50 plus tax, to which she replied, "Oh, well I thought you'd be cheaper than Wal-Mart" I explained that all my cakes are baked fresh from scratch, the icing is home-made, etc. and I can not match Wal-Mart prices. She replied, "Oh, well I only called because I thought you should be cheaper than Wal-Mart."
OK, now why not just call, ask the price, say Thank you and hang up? I don't care if anybody buys a cake at Wal-Mart, but why do you have to insult me on the way? People in general have just lost their sense of common courtesy.
<Climbs down off her soapbox!>
-Lori
GE978 --- Were you watching me at the grocery store the other day?? 
I just finished a gigantic piece of pep. farm chocolate cake! Ate the last piece right off the styrofoam!!! (I know you all know what I am talking about!) Just had to wipe off some chocolate frosting from the enter key on my computer!!
There are probably alot of us who've worked in grocery store bakeries. That was the hardest job I've ever had! Making icing in those gigantic mixers and trying to quickly finish a huge amount of orders-- standing on a concrete floor! Let's give a little credit to those individuals. Grocery store cakes have their place!
I really don't think we're downing grocery store decorators... at all, Or well I'm not. Like I said, the store here does the best they can with ONE decorator and a thousand orders plus having to keep the freezer section full. I myself ordered my wedding cake from a local bakery and it was sooo good, and then a month later my best friend married my brother in law ( yep i'm a match maker too ha ha) and they ordered cake & cupcakes from the SAME bakery and it was horrible. I've heard it go both ways from the place sometimes it's great sometimes it's awful, but just like with anything... when people are doing it it doesn't always turn out perfect. I do agree with the person who stated the problem is with the people who are always looking to save a buck and get something custom made perfect the best cake in the world and expect you to do it for the same price as a big chain. In most cases it's just not possible. As for bomb cakes, I made my daughters first birthday cake I was sooo excited and it turned out amazing LOOKING. however I had not tried the scratch recipe before and lord have mercy you could have used that cake to mop up the FLOOR it was so dry and coarse and just horrible. Her smash cake was a box, because after spending ALL that time doing the big cake from scratch there wasn't time to do hers the same way... the sad sad part is she didn't really like either cake so all of us grown ups split her tiny little cake... so much for pretty... sometimes pretty isn't enough. SOO all in all i'm saying even when you have a pretty cake it might not be the very best and well like my niece said I don't want a cake made JUST for me I want the EXACT same little mermaid cake that JEANIE had at her party... hence a trip to walmart... lol
I think we're all trying to be supportive of each other, and sometimes when people get emotional or upset, which people do... especially when it comes to something most of us are SOO passionate about, it's easy to get carried away and I hope that we can all cut the other person a little slack for the things we say in anger, frustration or just plain old irritation.
Jen
I'll be the first one to say I'd never pay my prices for my cakes. haha. With three kids and a fourth on the way, there's no way. This year, my kids haven't even gotten a fancy cake, they were just as happy with me baking a cake and letting them help ice it and put candy or fruit all over it.
Anyway the only thing I get upset about is the people who decide that since they are on a budget but they want a 3D cake or something, that they should be allowed to buy a "gourmet" cake on a grocery store budget. That's not fair to the decorator to expect that, and its not right. We can't just go into the Mercedes shop and say "I only have a Ford budget but I really want a Mercedes, and I think I deserve one for a Ford price." They'd show you the door real quick! I think that is what most decorators on here complain about....not that people are buying grocery store cakes (and I happen to like that whipped icing that comes on those things! Yum!) but its that people are complaining about the fancier bakers' prices. I know full well there are some things I can afford, and some things I can't...but its not for me to gripe at the people who sell the things I can't afford.
I worked for Baskin Robbins 15 years ago decorating ice cream cakes....31 flavors.... I am a sugar addict, not good for the waist line but boy did I love going to work
I am among the many that buy chain cakes from time to time, its nice to eat something you didnt make once in a while!!
I worked for Baskin Robbins 15 years ago decorating ice cream cakes....31 flavors.... I am a sugar addict, not good for the waist line but boy did I love going to work
I am among the many that buy chain cakes from time to time, its nice to eat something you didnt make once in a while!!
When its my birthday, I often request an ice cream cake!!!! Yummy! Birthday cake doesn't even taste good if you have to make your own!
oh geee ge78 -- I know how you feel.
there's one big-box place, I just adore their carrot cake.
and yep
budget$ are a royal pain -- but something we all have to deal w/ and that means compromise.
so -- don't feel bad -- the important part is the time spent w/ family building memories and enjoying each others' company -- that's what will be remembered long after that cake is "fertilizer".
I was thinking the same thing about their carrot cake. I LOVE it!!!!!
I have found store bought cakes to be quite moist. I don't by them myself but I have had them at other gatherings and am quite impressed. I did read on here that the batter comes premade or at least the dry ingredients. I just don't like the "whipped" topping icing but the cake is pretty darn good.
Amy
I, too, only make family cakes, but, I too, also will not hesitate to order a store made cake. Last time I did, a little old man brought out my fresh strawberry cake and it was as my daughter wanted it. I was very grateful to him, even if it was his job and I let him know he did a great job. Now, when I did make my first and only "for sale" cake for a friend of my husbands I had to wait for payment as she researched the $40 (8 hours work) price I asked for. So, for now on I stick to family and in emergencies, store bought.
Anyway the only thing I get upset about is the people who decide that since they are on a budget but they want a 3D cake or something, that they should be allowed to buy a "gourmet" cake on a grocery store budget. That's not fair to the decorator to expect that, and its not right. We can't just go into the Mercedes shop and say "I only have a Ford budget but I really want a Mercedes, and I think I deserve one for a Ford price." They'd show you the door real quick! I think that is what most decorators on here complain about....not that people are buying grocery store cakes
You said this perfectly I agree 100%
I don't talk trash about grocery store cakes - heck, I bought one for my daughter's birthday this year because she insisted her party be the same day as my first day at the farmer's market - and I was just too exhausted from prepping and stressing over that. she was heartbroken, but the cake tasted fine. Grocery store cakes definitely have their place.
Some people prefer (and can afford) eating out and expensive steakhouses, and some prefer the dollar menu at McDonald's.
I'd rather have people think I'm the best because they've formed that opinion themselves - and not because I say so.
If I needed a cake that I couldn't make, I'd definitely have no qualms buying one from Costco or BJ's. I've done that for a few parties here and there. The cakes are pretty good and the price is right.
I also love (don't throw anything at me!) Peppridge Farms cakes from the frozen food section. For some reason I've always loved them and they're like a special treat. Like for my birthday, my husband's or when we had a cake for my mother. We never invited anyone over the house, but we'd have one of these after dinner and it was nice.
Of course, I agree with Kitagrl. I'd never pay over $100 for a birthday cake, unless it was a Sweet Sixteen or a 65th or something special like that. But I can understand people asking prices - it never hurts to ask. Who wouldn't want to get a deal - buy a Mercedes for the cost of a Hyundai?! Chances of it happening are close to, if not, totally nil, but why not ask. Of course then there's the old adage that you get what you pay for.....
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