Another Clueless Cheap Customer
Business By costumeczar Updated 20 Jun 2009 , 1:44pm by marmalade1687
This one was funny...I got an email from a woman who complimented me up and down on my website and my "obvious talent" and said that she wanted a specific shaped cake for a birthday at work. She went on for a while, then said that if I had a pan that was shaped like the thing she wanted she'd hire me, but since "the occasion doesn't merit a large expenditure" she didn't want a shaped 3-D cake, but only the shaped pan one. 
I guess she figures that since a Wilton pan has the design molded into it, all you have to do is ice it and it's the shape of the item. 
Oh, now I get it! The shaped pans give you a pre-decorated cake, requiring less work and therefore a lower price! I just thought the logic was funny.
LOL... "Unfortunately Wilton owns the copyright on those pans, not to mention they take longer than making a 3-D cake to bake/ice/decorate thus I'm unable to make your cake at this time. I can recommend (annoying bakery up the road) who would be happy to make a cake fitting your budget with an edible image on top."
Some people's kids... I'm curious too how you responded...
I've never used one, but it's a good start for someone who has no artistic ability what so ever. It resmebles one of those "color by numbers" things. Like my friend who lives in TN, she made a "Lightening McQueen" for her son's 2nd birthday! It looked awesome! She says it was super easy to do.
Sorry for not finishing the story...Nothing much to report, really. I emailed back that I just carve all of my cakes from regular shapes so I didn't have the pan she was looking for. I said that it sounded like she wasn't looking for a 3-D cake, and that I didn't even know who I could refer her to since it was such a specific pan. She emailed back and thanked me for trying.
Anticlimactic, I know, but I just liked the idea of a pre-decorated cake popping out of a shaped pan!
I also find that when people start out with very sugary compliments, they are sweetening me up for something (sorry, couldn't help the pun! 
). I wait ten seconds, and then comes the..."I'm in a bit of a bind and need a cake for tomorrow...or we forgot to order the wedding cake, and now we need one for next week...could you possibly help?"
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