I got a message yesterday from a woman wanting a cake, spoke to her this morning. Her DD is turning 16 on Monday and she wants 2- 8" versions of the green/teal circles cake in my photos. (Fondant, with ball border and circle cutouts with #16 on top) And she actually will need to pick it up Sunday night because I work Mon-Fri at my 'real' job.
I'm irritated because she saw this cake at a friend's child's birthday in May and JUST called to order a cake that she needs in 5 days. I don't have any other orders, so I can get it done for her, but I will almost literally spend the whole weekend making the cake, frosting and fondant, cutting out fondant pieces and letting them dry, etc and to top it all off, tomorrow is my birthday, so I was looking forward to having a relaxing weekend with my family.
Here's the rub, I could really use the extra money that this order would generate, not to mention the benefit of having another cake out there for word of mouth.
I'm considering charging her 2.50 a serving, for a total of $100 just for the cakes, plus an additional $50 late notice fee, which I will make absolutely clear to her. I will tell her that I need at least 2 weeks notice to avoid this fee. I'm totally ready for her to decline at that price, but my time is worth something! Under ordinary circumstances, I would already have most of the pieces made for this cake!
Am I being unreasonable?? I work a full time job and have my own family. I generally only do cakes for friends and family, very rarely for "strangers". I realize that non-cakers don't realize how very much time it takes us to do a cake, but still, what is she going to do if I say no? No other bakery is going to give her a custom made cake by Monday!
What do you guys think?
i dont think you are being unreasonable. i would prolly do the same. some ppl geez
I think the late notice idea is a GREAT idea! People have no idea how much time/effort it takes and that ordering a cake at such a late time means that you lose your restful weekend or need to reschedule/reorganize your life! You're not unreasonable at all!
Poor planning on your part does not consistitute an emergency on my part.....Especially when I have birthday plans with my family.
Walmart makes great last-minute off-the-shelf cakes that have zero customization and look exactly the same as everyone else's cake. My understanding is they can whip one of these cakes out just for those people who have never heard the term "planning ahead".
One of the reasons the labor laws require "overtime" is for compensation for time away from family and for giving up personal, leisure time.
i don't think you are being unreasonable, you are sacrificing your birthday weekend to bake a cake for someon else that you have no emotional ties to. i'd do the same, actually i've done the same. charge it!
I say yes, charge her a pita fee. : ) If she wants it bad enough she will pay. Let us know how it turns out.
: )
Thanks for the validation!! I called her back and left a voice mail, telling her to please call me back by tonight if that works for her so that I could get started. She called back (I saw it on caller ID) but didn't leave a message. I'm kind of hoping not to hear back, I don't really want to do this one...but if she was just calling to say no thanks, why not leave a message? Who knows. 
I'm assuming she doesn't want it. I'll let you guys know if I hear from her.
In the past I've worked with people on their last minute cakes but it's getting to be TOO FREQUENT and I figure this will put a stop to it. I do feel sorry for the birthday girl who will end up with a generic cake for her 16th, but that's her mom's issue, not mine.
you know if you go anywhere ( for example the post office) and ask for a rush order you have to expect that it will cost more than if you had your act together and didn't wait for the last minute....was her dd 16th birthday a surprise that she didn't expect 
I say "All those in favor of instituting late fees, raise your hand!"
The ayes have it. Motion carried.
From now on if you give us bakers less than two weeks notice for a birthday cake, it's going to cost ya!!
mommachris
I also had a woman call yesterday wanting a cake for Saturday. She left a message saying "I think I may have waited too long..." Gee, you think? I just called her back and left her a message that I am booked until the middle of October, which is true. I was using my two cake-free weekends this month to have a garage sale and refinish my front door. Why should I change my plans because she didn't remember a cake for her daughter's birthday until 4 days before?
On the converse side, I have one loyal customer who booked her son's May birthday cake with me...in January. I love her. 
from a business perspective, i wouldn't couch it as a late fee - just make your price per serving slightly higher. she can either take it or leave it. don't make it sound like you are penalizing her up front - that's just going to annoy her. If you want to make the cake, charge whatever price you feel apprpriate to compensate you for your time. she hires you or she doesn't.
Oh I like that idea. Just give her a flat fee that is more expensive. And if she ever orders again remember to keep charging it, LOL.
Well I never heard back from her, which is pretty much what I expected. The $2.50 per serving was a little high for my neck of the woods, but this cake was a booger to make, I don't do that much with fondant, so it took me forever the first time 'round. I was trying to drive a point home with the late fee...and I guess she got the point. I would have happily done the cake if she had called me 2 weeks ago, and I don't want word to get out that I'm horribly overpriced, just that I demand appropriate notice.
I do wish I'd had a chance to discuss it with her rather than leaving a voice mail, but you can't have it all.
Thanks again for all your input! It's good to know that I hadn't gone off the deep end!
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