The Nerve Of This Chef "friend"--Long Vent
Decorating By Mac Updated 25 Nov 2008 , 12:32am by Karema
I agree..this "friend" is in the wrong. He clearly did not expect you to return to his shop and find out that he was/is passing your GREAT works of art as his own.
Yes, he paid you the money that the client gave to him, but he is the middle person....he isnt paying for a cake that he wants to eat. Some one else came to hi for a service that he could not provide. You would think he would say where he got the cake from.
For him to remove your sticker that clearly shows that he was passing your cakes off as his own.
Did you at least give the lady your card? I would have......I would advise you to not put your card under the cake...that's a little childish.
You should let him know that you will no longer be taking 3rd party orders and if you do the client has to come to your home/shop to pick up cake.
I worked for a bakery that used waxed paper doilies under all their cakes - they were pre-printed with their business name and telephone number. I've seen ads for these in Modern Baking magazine. Perhaps you could look into something like that. It looks far more professional than taping your business card under the cake.
This chef friend does not have a restaurant. He is a personal chef for clients and has a catering business (Not legal, I might add).
OHHH ... well, in that case, the next chocolate cake he orders needs a new ingredient ... Exlax! (just kidding, sort of )
I really hate to hear that someone did you that way, especially someone who was considered a friend.
It sounds like he was strengthening his business by using your delicious cakes. If he is located in a high customer traffic situation, his deception has been multiplied many times over. It gives the possibility that he is gaining entrance to people's homes by using you and your talent. I agree that you should be concerned.
Do you think you will be providing cakes for him in the future?
-Debbie B.
I have always put my business cards on cake boards.
I actually have a seperate kind for that in one of four neon colors. They have the same logo as my main except I have a statement in bold across the bottom:
Please cut this card out and turn it over to see your discount on your next purchase.
The back states:
Thank you for placing your order with me. I appereciate your business. This card entitles you to the following discount on your next order with me. This card can not be combined with others for a larger discount, and only one may be used per transaction.
The pink are $5, the yellow are $10, The orange are $15 and the green are $20. When I buy cake boards I just set the cards out and do them in order so all the colors are applied equally.
I caught someone doing exactly what happened here because the customer called them and asked why my business card was on their cake. The guy had no idea what she was talking about, and I had no idea the guy was doing this. She went in with the board and cut the card off in front of him.
He was mortified and did the "I bought boards from her" and she asked "and you left HER card on them" to which he has some other excuse. She called me on the spot and asked if I had done X cake for a customer and did I know he was selling my cakes as his own.
He called on the other line cussing me out. Saying I had no right to put hidden cards on boards to set people up (which I didn't. I do it as an added surprise for my customers and to bring me return business.).
I let the gal know that I didn't sell him just the boards because Michael's is right down the road from him and he could purchase them there and that I sold him a cake and if she was the receipient of the cake she was more than welcome to use her card with me for her next purchase.
Turns out the guy was in the pastery chef program at the local college and was using my cakes for selling so when he graduated he'd have a client base set up and ready to go. He never thought that people would notice a change in skill level on the cakes (they barely review cake decorating but he knew with his degree and chef's coat he could do anything on a cake).
Honestly if he wanted to apprentice in my shop I'd have been more than willing to set him up a work station and paid him to practice what he was going to school for if he would have told me upfront and given him a cut on what he sold. The being sneeky and dishonest is what irked me.
I have always put my business cards on cake boards.
I actually have a seperate kind for that in one of four neon colors. They have the same logo as my main except I have a statement in bold across the bottom:
Please cut this card out and turn it over to see your discount on your next purchase.
The pink are $5, the yellow are $10, The orange are $15 and the green are $20. When I buy cake boards I just set the cards out and do them in order so all the colors are applied equally.
What a fun idea for your customers.
It appears it worked for your good on more than one level.
-Debbie B.
i don't understand how product branding is considered tacky or childish.. do you think that the maker of m&m's is being tacky when they have information on the inside of the wrapper..or hershey's...or the wrapper around the big mac...or the pens at the bank? probably not..it's all about product branding. i know my customers are going to cut their cake, and more than likely, there will be other guests there who may be interested also in purchasing from me. since i think it's tacky to hand unsolicited business cards to a client when they pick up their cake or when i deliver, this is a way for at least one card to be circulating at the party.
i've had several hostess's comment what a great idea it was.
i don't understand how product branding is considered tacky or childish.. do you think that the maker of m&m's is being tacky when they have information on the inside of the wrapper..or hershey's...or the wrapper around the big mac...or the pens at the bank? probably not..it's all about product branding. i know my customers are going to cut their cake, and more than likely, there will be other guests there who may be interested also in purchasing from me. since i think it's tacky to hand unsolicited business cards to a client when they pick up their cake or when i deliver, this is a way for at least one card to be circulating at the party.
i've had several hostess's comment what a great idea it was.
I totally agree. I've had situations where I've wanted to kick my own butt because a customer came back and said people were asking where she got the cake and she wished she had had some cards to give them. But when I delivered it, I didn't think it was etiquette to offer her some cards to hand out. It's a grey area really... some people are totally with it, and some people would think you were being a pushy ignorant person. When someone really wants my info, usually they get it from the first customer from the sticker on my box, but not always. Sometimes the customer forgets it's there. Or the one I hate... when they say "Oh, just go to her website its..." and they give it out wrong and send them to a soap website. Hehehe. I always want to kick myself in those instances. (Not that I get mad at the customer, it's not their job to do my advertising!)
Well, did the chef friend know that it was not okay to resale as his own? You should never assume that customer will not claim credit.
I make 80% of my profits from customers passing my cakes, cookies, pies and breads off as their own. I am okay with that. For the last 3 years a lady from work needs a coffee cake to take in to church every 1st Sunday of the month.
Hands down! Easiest $25 I make. She totally lets people think that she makes it herself. I have no problem with that.
She calls me her secret ingredient!
Lots of people have me make pies for funerals, and homemade cookies for Christmas gifts. And they are passed off like they made them. I love these customers; most of them are just grateful that they dont have to make the items themselves.
But those people are not reselling your items, that's the difference. The "chef" is making money off her talent, and that's what is wrong.
Well, did the chef friend know that it was not okay to resale as his own? You should never assume that customer will not claim credit.
I make 80% of my profits from customers passing my cakes, cookies, pies and breads off as their own. I am okay with that. For the last 3 years a lady from work needs a coffee cake to take in to church every 1st Sunday of the month.
Hands down! Easiest $25 I make. She totally lets people think that she makes it herself. I have no problem with that.
She calls me her secret ingredient!
Lots of people have me make pies for funerals, and homemade cookies for Christmas gifts. And they are passed off like they made them. I love these customers; most of them are just grateful that they dont have to make the items themselves.
Are you decorating all of your cakes, cookies, pies and breads? What about the coffee cake you usually do? I think that's the difference for me. Dessert vs. art. Mac made a sculpted/carved cake and that's what drew the customer in (who wanted to photograph it) - the novelty/customization and not the flavor.
Most of us love the actual decorating part and like to be acknowledged for the work (hence the many "I didn't get comments" or "someone stole me cake pics" threads) and would feel slighted if someone claimed our work as theirs.
If you have an established agreement, that's another story. I guess because I know that Mac has really been working hard to promote her business and establish her client base. It makes me wonder how many people have asked him about the cakes but he didn't pass along the info or go to her...
I understand the point you guys are making, but what I am saying is was there an agreement before where Mac told chef "Hey, I just want to make sure that it is clear since I am building up my business, I want 100% credit for all cakes that I make."
Maybe he thought that it is okay with her not to put her name out there. Now he knows. But you can not assume that your customers will not take credit for your work, especially if you are going third party.
IMO, that is a risk that you take going third party.
As for making money for other peoples talent, anyone who is in business will mark up the product. Do you think that businesses care items at cost? My boss makes money everyday from my talents.
.......Maybe he thought that it okay...not to put her name out....
Uuuummmmm I doubt that when she puts a name sticker on each one.
This guy is clearly not your friend. Nobody has touched on the fact that he badmouthed you by saying you use canned frosting on your cakes. I think he was being deceptive by removing your sticker, was marking your cakes up and taking the credit for them. Which is fine with me, but he should have told you that is what he was going to do.
CarolynGwen, I love your idea of the neon colored cards, would you mind if I incorporated that into my business?????
I really think that this would deter him from doing it again. I would be FURIOUS if this happened to me. A "friend"??? Not in my book.
CarolynGwen, I love your idea of the neon colored cards, would you mind if I incorporated that into my business?????
Royalty fee of $100 is my rate for using MY idea on every board you use.
I so don't care if you do but thank you for asking. The reason I chose the neon cards was because they are impossible to miss. White background cards blend to easily.
I was at a party once where I had done the cake. They were cutting it & my friends were chanting quietly "not a green card" & they were all trying to peek over shoulders to see who could get a glimpse of the color first.
If you do a cake for him again, make sure you add a little extra $$$ since he's reselling it anyways!
You know, someone made a really excellent point..what if he IS selling it for a higher price? That means that you can easily raise your prices if he's making a profit doing this.
My other thought is...does he have a portfolio that his customers look at for these cakes YOU make? And if that's the case, he's using your cakes and talent to further his business beyond just reselling them.
I was at a party once where I had done the cake. They were cutting it & my friends were chanting quietly "not a green card" & they were all trying to peek over shoulders to see who could get a glimpse of the color first.
That is soooo funny!
I agree with others, start putting your card underneath, too.
Oooh, I so love the neon cards idea with the discount. I would love to see his face when someone would ask about MY card being on the board...Ha!
As for the "agreement"...every time chef would get a cake from me, he made a point to tell me that he always tells the client where he got the cake. That he didn't take credit for it. In fact, he said it so many times that was what made me think he was taking the credit...ya know, guilty dog barks first!
He has been OVERLY friendly that last couple of times I have seen him and has tried to talk with me about the last wedding he catered. His hired staff cost him quite a bit of money...drinking from the client's bar, smoking behind the bar while serving drinks, cussing, over-heard talking about the party guests. So he ALMOST didn't get paid the rest of his catering fee. I guess he is getting some payback. But no, I will not do anymore third-party cakes for him.
And c'mon guys, it was a SCULPTED cake! If it was just a dessert cake, it wouldn't bother me. He can re-sale my chocolate cakes or snowball cakes all he wants and take credit for them. But he didn't--heck, he can MAKE those himself. It was the SPECIAL cakes that he took the credit for.
No, he hasn't added my cakes to his portfolio--or at least, not the last time I saw it.
And c'mon guys, it was a SCULPTED cake! If it was just a dessert cake, it wouldn't bother me. He can re-sale my chocolate cakes or snowball cakes all he wants and take credit for them. But he didn't--heck, he can MAKE those himself. It was the SPECIAL cakes that he took the credit for.
Even that much is quite gracious of you! I'm not sure I'd agree to that much! (Except like someone mentioned, people buying from her and just passing it off as home made to family and friends, that would just make me chuckle as long as customer X was honest!) See, it would be different if you agreed to it up front, but to take credit while out and out lying to your face about it is pretty low... but are you surprised? I don't know why so many people are willing to weasel their way into success dishonestly, full well knowing they can't back it up when they get there. I suppose once he got successful he figured he'd just hire someone to do the work. (Or, you know, keep using you!) So, he's like the Milli Vanilli of the cake world. (Gasp... just dated myself there, didn't I?)
I feel sorry for you though, other than the cake issue. This person was supposed to be your friend, so ultimately, you lost a friend over this whole issue!
Good luck with the whole situation!
So, he's like the Milli Vanilli of the cake world. (Gasp... just dated myself there, didn't I?)
"Girl you know it's true!"
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