I hate wedding consultations. I hate having to "sell" my wedding cakes. It's not because I dislike meeting with the bride/couple. It's because I'm not 100% that it's worth my time to do it.

A few months ago, I made arrangements to meet with a bride so she could have a couple cake samples and we could discuss decorating possibilities. She was thinking of doing a cupcake tower so I researched good pics and printed some up. We decided to meet at this small restaurant (similar to Denny's) at a certain time. Well, I live pretty far out in the country so it was about 1/2 hour drive to get to this place. I can't have people come out here because my house is a real mess (I have 3 boys, 7 yo and under running around here). My kitchen is very clean but you have to come through the rest of the house to get to it.

anyway, back to the story. I arrived at the allotted appointment time and waited around for 1/2 hour before I decided she wasn't going to show, called her on the number she gave me to leave a message and let her know that I'd been waiting and sorry I missed her, yadda yadda. I still to this day haven't heard from that one.

So, Friday, I met with a couple. We'd been discussing their possible cake over email, very friendly people, sounded like they really liked what they saw. They even said this in one of their emails: "Thanks for the excellent information. So many of the cake shops we've worked with were difficult to deal with, so you're a nice change!" I was really excited to possibly make their cake. It sounds like a beautiful cake that I would have been happy to add to my portfolio.

Everything at the consultation seemed to go smoothly. They loved the cakes and seemed impressed by my book, etc. Everything was really positive but then they mentioned at one point that they'd met with another decorator the day before... ok, so I'm not used to competition but I live out in the country and there isn't much competition. I'm not sure where this decorator would be from... so anyway, I left the consultation feeling fairly confident that they'd pick me but a little worried because I'd driven way out there to meet with them on a major baking day (we have farmers markets on saturday to bake for) and had given them sample cakes also. I was starting to get bad feelings about it.

So I just got an email from them, "Jennifer, We really enjoyed meeting with you and were very impressed with the cake flavor and decorating, but we've decided to use another baker for our wedding. Thank you for all the help, and being willing to meet with us."

I just don't understand this. If they were so impressed with my cake flavors and decorating, why did they choose another baker? and if that baker was better than me, why did they waste my time meeting with me at all? Why not just cancel the appt?? I'm all for shopping around but geez, not when you're wasting everyone's time. For something like this, should they be meeting with one baker at a time, and if they like the baker, go with her instead of wasting people's time??

I've heard of people charging for consultations but have shied away from that because it could discourage people from wanting to get a wedding cake from me at all but then...I'm about ready to develop an attitude. I really don't need to be doing this job at all. I can make $20/hour interpreting. Why do this? Well, I do this because I love to do it. I also love interpreting. I only do it one day a week at this point but am seriously considering picking up more hours at other doctors' offices. My time is very valuable to me since I do have my 3 kids and they are the most important thing. I have to make time for homework, sports, school, changing pants, kissing owies, etc etc...I might just have to start charging for those consultations just to make it worth while.

Do any of you charge for consultations and if so, how much?

Sorry for such a long post, I just needed to vent

I feel for you! I had a mob call me a couple ofweeks ago, and let me know the only reason she was calling me was because the baker who did her older daughters cake had raised their prices. Told her younger daughter that there's no way her cake will compare to older sis in looks or taste. I couldn't believe the mob actually told me this! I was peeved, but didn't think she'd call me back. Last week she called and wanted samples, and said the ONLY reason they were getting samples for me was because the groom wanted cake from this other bakery, and they were trying to talk him out of it because I was cheaper. I was really peeved then! Called a few days later and cancelled the samples on me. I thanked her for letting me know, and let her know that as of Oct 1, my prices went up! I don't want to be known as the cheap option here! I wasn't that much cheaper than the other bakers around here, and thought I would price myself a tad lower til I started getting wedding orders. Nope! Changed that! I don't think I'm going to like doing tasting at all after this experience! I think they are almost all out for a deal!

Could you look into what I'm doing? Every second month or so (maybe more, depending on how busy it gets!), I'll be having a mass tasting event at a banquet facility.

They get to show off what they're doing (facility, champagne fountain, etc), I get to do my cake tastings as a few larger cakes, the brides get to try a bit of everything.. and I'm just driving a few miles up the road for an evening or weekend afternoon once every month or two.

I'm in the middle of nowhere, and it may sound snotty, but I'm not going to go chase brides to get them to try my cake.. know what I mean?

We all look for deals too...it's hard to put down others for shopping around when we share the best deals and prices, even on here. There were 800+ posts about Kitchen Aid mixers. I'm guessing in some crazy bridal community, there are 800 posts about the cheapest baker that will do a good job.

When they waste your time and energy on tastings, that's another story. I know a lot of decorators that give a certain day of the week for tastings...like Sunday afternoons from 3-5 and they HAVE to schedule their appointments for that time. I think that would be the way to do it. You already have fresh cake from weekend baking and you can be prepared. It's hard if you have to meet someone at another location, but I'm sure it can be done the same way. If they miss their showing, charge for the next one. If they want you, they will come. If they don't, they wouldn't have showed anyway.

Edited to say-I should have looked above before I posted. It took me awhile to respond!! LOL

Im new at this but you should charge a fee...for all your time and work...they can go to your website and see your beautiful work but to have samples you need to pay for a consultation..I think it shows how confident you are that they are going to love what they are about to sample!! Im not as talented as you are and when someone wants to sample my cake I charge and they come and pick it up!!Sorry gas is not cheap...

I'm not in the business yet, just family and friends, but what if you charge a consultation fee that would cover your time and energy for a "wasted" consultation, but if the couple buys from you, take it out of their cake price? They might even be more likely to go with you if they know that the money they spent on your consultation would be taken off of the final price, instead of continuing to shop around.

Heather

I charge a fee for wedding tastings - 25 euros (about $30). For that they get up to 3 1-layer 6in cakes in the flavours of their choice, with the fillings & icings they want to try, plus a 1 hour consultation (so maybe a couple of hours altogether). For those who don't want to taste cake, I give them up to 1 hour of my time free to discuss their cake. If they go with me for their cake, then I credit the 25 euros to the cost of their cake. If they don't, well, at least I'm not out of pocket for the cost of the ingredients & time that went into those scratch cakes they tasted!

It's a sales call. It's the cost of doing business. I wouldn't pay a car salesman to test drive a car, and that's pretty much what they are doing.

I ENCOURAGE my brides to comparison shop. I WANT them to try other bakers/bakeries. So when they select me, they are absolutely sure and I have almost nil cancellations.....no buyers remorse here.

So they had a sampling with another baker the day before. Big Deal. That's the purpose of doing this tastings/samplings .... to get a sample of each person's work so they can pick the best one for their wedding.

You win some .... you lose some. I personally would not charge for samplings, and my samplings costs are higher than yours because I'm a caterer, too, so my samplings include 2 meats, a hot veggie, a rice or pasta dish, choc covered strawberries AND the cake.

I also wont' chase a bride all over the county. Either designate your front room as "mommy's client room" and ban all toys and activities from it, or try to find someplace closer to meet.

The couple you had the tasting with sounds as though they were pleasant and upfront with you. They were also quick to get back to you telling you that they wouldn't be using your services; allowing you to free up the date.
Meeting with wedding vendors is about a lot of things (price, look, like-minded approach, etc.). Sometimes one vendor is just about a "better fit" than another...but neither you nor the couple can assess that unless you meet.

Thanks for the responses, guys...

I guess that the thing that just really gets me is that I went out of my way to drive to town to meet them. It's 45 minutes from here. They live an hour from the same town, but on the opposite side so that's why I was willing to meet them in town. I really lost money on this one, big time. I was really confident that they were wanting me for their baker and were just going through the details to order when we set up the appointment so that's why I said Friday was ok. I not only lost money in the ingredients and the fact that I spent time going there, but I really did lose money because I should have been baking for the market. I have been absolutely exhausted lately as it is because I really don't get days off (markets take up 6 days a week, plus I interpret one day a week). I wasn't about to stay up past 2am finishing up my market stuff. All I got done baking-wise was a 1/2 sheet (order) and about 9 mini cakes for the market. I did no cookies, no scones, no tortillas, no quick breads...I probably lost about $50 in sales

Is it the couple's fault? No. I'm mostly mad at myself for having such confidence that they'd go with me and scheduling on a Friday. I should have found an alternate day to meet. I was also worried that they might give up if I wasn't flexible enough for them.

I just hate sales. I really do. I've never been a salesman and if I were to have to cold call customers, I'd never make it. I'd rather they just call me if they need a cake and let me make it and that's that. I know it's part of the job and so maybe I really don't need to be doing this job. I'm seriously considering just making it a hobby again, maybe keep my kitchen certified and let them come to me, raise prices, turn down orders when it's not convenient, have it my way.

it is frustrating when you have a great tasting with a bride and she says she loves your cakes, but then decides to go with someone else. but as indydebi said, you win some, you lose some!

may i ask what everyone's average booking rate is? im keeping track of how many inquiries i get, how many tastings, and how many tastings turn into bookings. i want to make sure my numbers are about average. about 75% of my inquiries turn into tastings, and about 60% of my tastings turn into bookings. is that about right? or do i need to improve my sales skills?

well, I've only done about 5 wedding cakes. I'm pretty new to this whole thing. I get interest here in there about wedding cakes. It depends on what you call an inquiry. I had a bride call once and ask me how much it cost for a cake that I had in my photos. I told her it was a $300 cake because it served 150 but that it really depends on how many guests are at the wedding, not really what the cake itself is. She was probably bargain hunting and comparing with wal-mart.

The thing here is that I really don't have competition to speak of. I guess I'm just spoiled. The only competition I really have is the several grocery stores around. Well, no...I just discovered that there is a new bakery/cafe in town that does wedding cakes...and they're in a much better location than me. I did win out over them though since I hear there service sucks. Before this weekend, 100% of tastings became bookings. Maybe that's what's so shocking to me...that they didn't book after tasting my cake. I think they must have chosen this baker from somewhere close to where they live or something because she certainly couldn't be from around here or I'm sure I'd have heard about her.

double post...

oops, was having technical difficulties here

Here are my numbers, based on my spreadsheet that I keep.

222 inquiries for 2007 dates (via The Knot, Respond.com, blind inquiries, referrals).

Since the info I get with an initial inquiry usually tells me number of guests expected, I am able to put a dollar value on every inquiry. (they tell me 101-200 people with a budget of $19-25 per person, so I figure 150 people at $20 each = a potential value of $3000).

So the 222 inquiries had a dollar value of $327,000.

For 2007, so far, I have 35 bookings with a total booked value of $54,000.
Booking to inquiry rate is 16.59%.

For 2008, I have responded to about 97 inquiries with a potential value of over a quarter-million dollars, and have booked about 10% of that (dollar value) already. I also have a few 2009 inquiries (and one booked!)

In the marketing world, if you get a response of better than 3% (for mass mailing type of things), that is good. So I am very happy with a 10-17% return on my "mass mailing" inquiries.

Once I get them in to taste the cakes/food, I have a high-90's booking rate. I had 9 "wedding canceled" and 5 "went with other caterer or friend". (this seemed to be a record year for "wedding canceled". I thought it was just me until another CC'er put a thread up asking if anyone else was seeing a high "wedding canc'd" rate this year. Whew! Not just me!). So I guess I can say only 5 didn't book (the 9 did book, then canc'd the catering because the wedding was canc'd.)

I don't really consider them a "potential" until they actually call for a sampling. I responded to 222 email inquiries for 2007 dates .... I consider those window shoppers and information gatherers. I get those inquiries "en mass". Most of the time, they've no idea who they are inquiring with .... they are filling out the form on Respond.com or the Knot aksing for info from "caterers".

If they like what they see, they'll call me and we'll go from there. If they don't like what they see or if I'm out of their budget, they will move on, which is fine with me as it doesn't waste my time on someone who can't afford me anyway.

So anyway .... those are my numbers, just to give you something to compare to. (Remember, I'm a numbers-geek! "Debi Does Data!")

I don't charge for consultations. But I do only schedule them on certain days and times. Unless it's something odd like an out of town bride who will only be here for 3 days, etc.

I have 3 kiddos. 8 yrs old, 21 months and 10 months. I wait to do my all my appointments until they are down for a nap. Usually in the evenings. Most couples love it because they don't have to rush from work to get some where. They can go home and change, eat dinner then head out to my house. We live out in the way north west part of the city. So for some brides it is a drive. The only down side I am seeing is the having to keep my house clean at all times. It's hard enough with all the samples and stuff and then picking up toys and school books. I just need to win the lottery to build a shop.

I love the idea of asking about a monthly open house at a receptions venue. That might save you a lot of time and heartache.

I don't charge for consultations. But I do only schedule them on certain days and times. Unless it's something odd like an out of town bride who will only be here for 3 days, etc.

I have 3 kiddos. 8 yrs old, 21 months and 10 months. I wait to do my all my appointments until they are down for a nap. Usually in the evenings. Most couples love it because they don't have to rush from work to get some where. They can go home and change, eat dinner then head out to my house. We live out in the way north west part of the city. So for some brides it is a drive. The only down side I am seeing is the having to keep my house clean at all times. It's hard enough with all the samples and stuff and then picking up toys and school books. I just need to win the lottery to build a shop.

I love the idea of asking about a monthly open house at a receptions venue. That might save you a lot of time and heartache. The brides will come. I have a bride coming next week who lives 2 hours away but wants the same baker her sister used. She's pretty serious about it. It was a great compliment.

I use to never do "cake tastings"...years ago...nobody ever asked. Now, that seems to be the thing to do. I use to meet my customers and go over idea books either at their house or another location.

Now...I started what many ccers suggested doing..."The Open House style Cake Tasting". It is AWESOME!! I have the BEST time doing it. When Brides email or call, I ask them if they are interested in a cake tasting...then I email them the directions. The first month before the tasting, I felt overwhelmed with 5 Brides! But, then 2 didn't end up showing. The next month, I had 6 Brides and 2 didn't show. Now, this month I have 7 scheduled ~ I will have to wait and see how many show up. At first, I felt like I needed to "track down" the Brides who were no shows and find out if they would like to reschedule. Then I thought better of it. I'm not going to waste my time any more than I already did. I don't know that I would want to do one of their cakes. If they didn't bother with calling to cancel, I'm not keeping their date open. No way. Personally...I have been blessed with all wonderful Brides (some I seem to "connect" with more than others but, they all have been nice.) Of the Brides that show up to the tasting, I had a 100% paid deposit booking rate. ~UNTIL~ one day I took a phone call from a "desperate bride" who needed her cake for 150 people in 2 weeks. I mean, who waits until 2 weeks before!?! So, I did a separate consultation, since I had just done my last tasting the previous weekend. What a waste of time and money! 5 minutes after meeting her I felt like I really didn't want to do her cake. She seemed moody and arrogant. I was kicking myself for wasting my family time for her. (If the situation were reversed, I would have been thrilled to have a Decorator see me at the last minute and would have been overly nice). She left that night saying she would send the deposit in the mail. A few days later, no deposit, I called her and told her that I was sorry but, because I hadn't got the deposit...I was assuming she didn't need my services and that I needed to book a different event that day. She said that was fine that her Aunt was going to make her cake. I swear...that was her plan all along I'm sure. She was such a snot about it. What a waste...never again. I'm sticking to the monthly tastings, and enjoying every second of them!
If I were you, I'd find a suitable location to do your tastings. I hold mine in my home, eventhough I have a licensed kitchen. It seems more personable then sitting around my licensed commercial kitchen (there is no comfortable meeting space there). Everyone seems to have a wonderful time. The kids and dh head downstairs to play when I host my tastings. And eventhough my house is almost always "company ready" (despite the 5 young kids), I always "go over" my kitchen and dining room area before they come over. If I got a feeling that somebody that was going to bake for me wasn't a neat freak like me, I would never even consider booking. I would to feel confident that my baker would adhere to all food safety issues. JMHO

hsmomma, the open house cake stating sounds great! Could you please share how you conduct it? Do they all come at the same time? Do you discuss details individually at that time? I had a bride once brought her friend who was also getting married at the consultation and I was a bit overwhelmed with discussing details back and forth with them.

I really like the idea of just baking once for samplings. If 5 brides come and 2 didn't, it's still okay, at least you didn't bake for nothing. If you have one tasting and they didn't come then it would be such waste of time.

I like the idea of doing a "party" type of tasting. I suppose you could make it a certain day each month. say, first Sunday afternoon of each month or something of the like so you'd get into a routine of it. I will have to remember this for the future when I have more potential brides. At this point, I only do 2-3 wedding cakes per year so it wouldn't really make much sense. Thanks for the tip

I love the idea of a monthly tasting party type experience. But I also want to share my favorite experience as a bride several years ago. The baker we chose had us make an appointment during his normal business hours. When we arrived, there was no special little table, no portfolio, no sample cakes neatly decorated. He whisked us right into the kitchen, took us on a whirlwind tour, showed us the massive fridges with the week's cakes, the highest-quality ingredients, all the while talking 90 miles a minute.

Then he kept working as he talked to us. Put a pile of cake scraps on a plate, put a dollop of his amazing IMBC on a plate, gave us a couple of knives, and just let us dig in. It wasn't elegant, but it was fun. I liked feeling like I wasn't a huge, planned imposition. I liked being worked into the bustle. I liked seeing him and his assistant working, instead of sitting across a table from me. No, I didn't get to taste every flavor he offers, but I did get to see that he uses the highest quality ingredients and what I did tasted fabulous, so I had faith that whatever flavors I chose would taste equally good.

Now, I work with brides, and there are a lot who wouldn't have been as happy with this approach. They're micro-managing, annoying, god-awful customers. I was a type who found vendors who made high quality products, in whom I had faith, and let them do their thing with minimal guidelines. That doesn't describe a lot of brides.

I always thought if I ever did cakes professionally, that I'd take the tasting approach used by my wedding cake baker. Sure, I'll carve out some time to talk to you, and you can eat some of my scraps, but if you want someone to make you 12 little miniature cakes in different flavors and icings, you're out of luck. I'm not willing to work that hard for your business. After 7 years in the bridal industry now myself, I'm more convinced of that than ever. The brides who insist on you doing that kind of work to earn their business are not the brides you want as your customers.

While that sounds like a fun way to do it, (and you're right on the other point .... I would be one of those people who felt like they didn't even take the time to prepare to talk with me, and it would give me the impression that I was an big imposition on their time), there are no non-civilian, non-employees permitted in my kitchen. YOu can't just let anyone run thru your kitchen. That's why if you have an area set aside for eating (i.e. coffee shop type of environment) you have to have a public restroom available because customers (non-employees) are not allowed to just stroll thru a commercial kitchen.