i had my daugther school call last week and order 6 double sheet cakes. i did two last week i had three tuesday and one wednesday. i want there today to put up my board from friday. and it was not there. they threw it away. i did not charge them a depoist because it was the school.so i called the pta person. and i asked her what happen to it.and this is what she told me it'sin the garbage. you can go get it from there if you want it back. i told her no would you want me to serve your cake on something from the garbage? so she said let me see what i can do.( i had to get these boards just for these cakes 30 by 30 4 all toghter), so she just called me back and told me not to worry about the other cakes this has become a big deal . so my thing is i made these cakes already. i don't think i should give her money back. what do you think?

tiffany

Don't give the money back! Was the school aware of what the boards were for? If they knew they were yours, why would they throw them away? You still need to get paid for your time/effort/supplies/etc! You did what was asked of you...right?!

yes they was told i needed them back

No refund! They ordered that many cakes and that is what you made, if they no longer want them - oh well

Ok I understand that you were trying not to be mean but you need to be a little tough here. If you can't talk to that woman than go over her head. Let them know that you made the two cakes and asked to have the board returned. Let them know that they threw them away and you already made the other two cakes that were ordered. If you were paid in full already forget about it and keep the money and tell her that she can have the cakes if she wants them or they will be going in the garbage. And if the cakes are for wednesday why are they made already? Are they decorated as well? If so that is a cake that will sit for three days. If you didnt get the money send the school a bill for the cakes. How much did these boards cost? What kind were they?

Keep in mind that the PTA isn't the same as the school, either. Were the cakes for the school or for the PTA? If they were for the school you should talk to the principal with questions, because they'll be approving the payments for things like that. If it's the PTA the school really has nothing to do with it, other than giving the PTA officers input on things. Payments that come from PTA funds are separate from school funds. If the PTA is being difficult (and lord knows I've run into some good PTAs and some REALLY bad ones) the school really can't do anything about it.

Since the cakes were paid for I'd deliver them anyway. I'd just take them to the front office and have the secretaries there tell me where they should be stored, they run the school anyway!

the three cakes for tueday are done. not the last one for wednesday. the boards are wood something that my husband got from home depot.i got paid for all the cakes with one check.and the cakes was for different events at school.

I'm so glad that you got paid. DO NOT RETURN ANY OF THE MONEY!!!! I mean that. Its not your fault they don't want them now. Tell them they can still have the cakes but will have to pay for the boards they threw away and give them the receipt. Did you have a contract. Because you should always put in the contract that the boards have to be returned.

the pta wrote the check. and the pta knew about the boards. the pta person is the lady who clled and said not to bring the cakes/

I want you to think for a minute about where that PTA money comes from. Little kids sell pizzas, candy bars and who knows what else to make every penny that you were paid from. Would you be able to not deliver the cakes, keep that money and sleep at night? I sure wouldn't.

That being said, I am the PTA president at my son's school and I can tell you that usually when I drop something off or arrange for something, I don't stay and babysit it. In the case of a cake, you probably had 40 or 50 people in there throughout the course of the day and it could have been anyone that did it. It would be impossible to make sure everyone knew. I am not saying that it makes it ok but I would nicely ask to be reimbursed for the cost of the board since it was an honest mistake and use foam core in the future!

I hope you don't take that the wrong way, I just know how much work goes into being in charge of the PTA and how irritating things can get. If there was a function that required cakes, you can bet that the lady you talked to was in charge of it and ready to pull out her hair.....and she is doing it on her own time with no pay. I also bet that not one parent volunteered to help but they all came on the day of the event to complain about what she could have done better!

Please don't hate me, I have just been there for two years now. My hair is much grayer and thinner now! lol ;D

when i called the lady all i wanted to do is make it know to her that my board was gone. i was still going to do the cakes. then she called back and told me not too. i sold them 6 cakes each cake was 12 by 18 side by side for 215.00. because after she gave me the cake she called and told me each cake should feed 100 people when i told her the new price she told me we can't pay that . so i said i will eat the difference.i did not even make anything off of them after supplies.

I know how that feels, I have probably lost about $500 in cake supplies and office supplies (printer ink, envelopes, etc) this year alone. I have also probably spent over 400 hours working on this and that. I just keep remembering that the closer I am with the staff at my son's school, the easier things will go for him in the long run. Sam is special needs and it is so much easier to have a meeting at school with friends as opposed to faculty. Even though this sounds like complaining, it isn't. I enjoy it all and it is worth it when I walk down the hall and a bunch of 6 year olds run up and give me hugs because I am "Sam's mom" and I am the lady that always arranges the fun stuff! lol

Your kids will remember that you went above and beyond too, just remember that.

SIX 12X18 cakes for $218.00????
Honey, you are selling yourself too cheap! Those should be AT LEAST $50 for a 1-layer cake. More for a 2-layer.

these cakes are 2 12 by 18 side be side. the two cakes are also in my pictures the 8th grade and the dare one.

So essentially, you are making a full sheet cake and selling six of them for $218? Or 3 full sheet cakes for for $218?

Either way, you are not charging enough...The grocery store here charges $96.00 for a full sheet cake. A grocery store! That would be $288.00.

Besides cell phones in public places, this is my biggest pet peeve. Do not undersell yourself and especially the grocery stores. They can afford to sell for less because they buy in bulk.

That being said, I would tell her, she has already bought the cakes and you cannot cancel the order on less than a week's notice. Deliver the cakes WITH an invoice for the disposed cake board. Then send her to Walmart the next time she wants a cake.

i'm selling six of them.i'm making two 12 by 18 and putting the side by side.per cake

Next time you should just include the price of the board with the price of the cake. No one ever expects to have a return item from a sheet cake.

Did you accept the $218.00 price because you didn't want to lose the order? Sometimes you're better off sticking to your guns and losing the order than taking on an order too cheap and having these kinds of problems.

when she first gave me the order it was for 5 12 by 18 cakes and 1 11 by 15. then last week she called back after she gave me the cake and after i got my supplies.telling me about she needs a bigger cake to feed 100 people. and the three today was to feed 300 people.so since i got my supplies already i said fine i will do it. my gift to the school. never again

haileysmommy--
I want you to write 100 times in frosting "Never again".
And have it to me by 5:00 today.

It's a good thing that we can learn from our mistakes.

So sorry to hear about that... This is why I no longer "donate" to my kids school. Normally I would just do it because my kids wanted me to or asked me and of course I would say okay to. But we got a new PTA lady and she is a mess!!!! She expects every one to donate their time.... I'm so busy with work and making cakes and a 5 yr old who has severe sinus issues, lactose and acid reflux that I have no free time.

Some times it's best to just eat it up and move on. You just have to decide if you want to deal with this lady again. Anoter poster had a good about meeting with the faculty as friends. Very good point. That's why when I do manage to find some free time I just bake something small for the teachers and staff and I dont bother with anything else. The teachers appriciate it.

K8 had a good point about her stopping the check. I would advise you to go to the bank where the check is from and have it cashed there. DONT take it to your bank and deposit it because you never know. Stop what your doing and drive to the bank and have your check cashed there. After that just deliver the cakes to the school like you agreed to.

I agree with k8 about the PTA. I'm the VP of our PTA this year at a brand new school (read: no playground) and I'm in charge of Fundraising! Can we say PRESSURE? Luckily, we have a great group of officers and everyone has done wonderfully and our kids now have a good start on a playground, through a lot of hard work and fundraising. That being said, I don't think OP should feel at all guilty because the money came from little kids selling candy bars, etc. She was asked to provide cakes as a service and the price was agreed upon. It should have been a board-voted decision as well, not just one person's decision to spend that much money for that purpose. OP is not taking little children's money away from them and I think it's completely unfair to suggest that to her and ask how she could sleep at night. She's upholding her end of the bargain, and giving quite the bargain at that, I might add. I completely agree with Mac that she way underpriced her cakes, but I might have done the same for my kids school, to cut them a break. Anyway, my vote is complete the cakes and deliver as originally ordered. I would also contact the PTA president and let her know you will be doing so. If she refuses to accept the cakes, leave them with the secretary and tell her if PTA doesn't want them, she's free to put them in the teacher's lounge. Believe me, the teachers will love you for it! Let the cost of the boards go and chalk it up to lesson learned. Next time, like others mentioned, use disposable products and write the cost into your price quote.

Stand firm!

Wow, thanks for the lessons ladies...reading this thread just taught me a bunch...I would so hate to have to write out the "icing" standards LOL

Mac that was soo funny!!

I agree with Mollie - fulfill the order as agreed upon.

She ordered, she paid, you baked...now deliver.

Chalk it up as an expensive lesson learned and try to let it go. If you can't let go of the expense of the lost boards, send a letter to the PTA officers/directors asking for reimbursement. Just remember to keep your letter short, polite, professional, and use a spelling/grammar check before sending it.

thanks everyone.i did bring the cakes. but when i got there the lady already had two cakes there. so she told me to bring the cakes home. she did not want them. so i brought them to other schools in the area. and when i went to pick up my daugther eceryone was telling me how bad these cakes was.i told them i was sorry but i could not do anything about it. since she change her mind. as far as the board i know i will never see them money to replace it. so i forgot about it. but it will never happen again. thanks to everyone who took there time to reply to my question.

thanks tiffany