Had a relatively last minute order from a nice guy and his daughter, its the buttercream "dance" cake in my photos. He picked it up today. Then called back and told me it looked awfully small to feed 30 girls. I told him that I use a chart for my servings, and that I use a party, not a wedding, chart, and the (Wilton party) chart had 8" and 6" as 32 servings. My tiers were a full 4" tall, if not slightly more, as well.
Am I missing something or is he just probably not used to ordering that type of cake? He did say on the phone with me he has never ordered a cake like this before so maybe he was just not prepared for what it was going to be like? Since it was relatively last minute, there was really no sketch or anything like that.
I promised him he'd have enough cake, so hopefully he will, as long as he doesn't give the girls mongo slices. I've never before had a complaint of "not enough cake" usually I hear that people were wrapping up slices to take home.
Yes, folks (especially GUY folks!) are used to cutting a cake like a pizza, so they can't visualize cutting 32 "pie wedges" from a cake. Print out some cake serving charts (or the page from my website) and make it a standard handout with every cake you sell.
Maybe its the guy thing. I've never had anyone complain before. I hope that once he starts slicing, he will figure it out....he will, right? I told him that if he cuts it like a "regular cake" that every slice would be huge enough to serve two girls.
Wilton party is usually what I go by and I haven't had any trouble. Wilton says 32.
But wait, I just checked Earlene, which is what I use for weddings, and she only says 22! Uh oh... But I always use an 8" and 6" to serve 25-30 people and I've never had any complaints.
So..say he says the cake didn't quite go around like he wanted....should I offer a discount or anything?
I use wilton too and usually bump it up an inch if I can... tomorrow I have a double layered 9" and double layered 6" going out to feed 35... I have never had a problem with servings, just people wanting the LOOK of a bigger cake....
I use wilton too and usually bump it up an inch if I can... tomorrow I have a double layered 9" and double layered 6" going out to feed 35... I have never had a problem with servings, just people wanting the LOOK of a bigger cake....
Yeah, I'm almost thinking when I was describing the two tiers over the phone (I know I said 8" and 6") he may have been picturing something bigger.
too late to do some cupcakes? If you are really worried about it throw some of those in... I have done this before, but I rarely do because it takes my costs up and profit down.... CC's are fairly cheap to make if you have leftover icing... just a thought.
I wasn't worried until he called...I've never had any problem with it before...seems like the most common party is 25-30 people and I often make those tiers for party cakes.
I should probably email him to make sure all went well but on the other hand, sometimes when I am afraid it didn't, I just don't say anything and let the customer take the initiative. LOL. I was thinking the cake was a cool design for a tween dance party too and then he was like saying it looked too small. I don't know if he was expecting like some huge cake for 30 people? I charged $3/serving so maybe he figured for $120 he should get more cake.
Oh well.
You may want to give the customers a cake cutting chart when they order the cake, so that you can coordinate what you both consider a "serving" size and they know how to divvy it up.
I don't think the average person really knows what a cake serving according to Wilton or another well known chart is supposed to be. Rather, they think of a cake serving the big wedge that they get in a restaurant or buy by the slice in a bakery.
Have you ever made an 8 inch cake, then tried to cut 30 servings out of it? It's not as easy as it sounds ~ and if you're unfamiliar with how you are *supposed* to be cutting it, impossible.
I know with my family, our preference is for a rich, delicious cake but very small slices of it - and I think I'd still have a hard time getting 30 slices out of an 8 inch cake.
I think you just really have to take into consideration that there are a lot of people out there that don't really know what they are buying when you tell them "serving size". Us Americans have issues with our concept of serving size across the board - that we continue to have them when it comes to a piece of cake shouldn't be a surprise 
Ahhhh ok.....that makes more sense. Clearly I need more coffee this morning.
I actually had someone complain to me a few days ago. She wanted to serve 8 ppl and I told her a 6" would feed 8 ppl and maybe a bit more. I told her the size I go by will feed 10. She said it is awfully small and isn't sufficient for 8 ppl and wasn't happy about it. I'm thinking even if you go 2x2x4, you can get exactly 8...right? This was the first time I had someone complain. Others have told me they had extra leftover too.
If/when someone complains the serving size is too small then advise them they can always purchase a larger cake so they can serve as big a piece as they want.
I once (yes, in over 5 yrs only once) had someone want a cake to serve like 10 and ended up ordering (and paying for!) a 12x4. Just be SURE they pay for the bigger size.
Definitely agree. Thanks for the advice kakeladi! :)
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