I rent a kitchen by the hour, and it's not cheap, so to keep my costs down I don't do office work while I'm in the kitchen, I return calls if I'm home by a decent time and if not I email them when I get home (sometimes at 3am, when a phone call would not be good).

Can I explain this to a customer who is upset I didnt call by the deadline she gave me?

I really want to tell her that if I had called at her given time then I would of had to charge her 10$ for our phone call to cover my expenses.

Does she really want to pay me 10$ every time we talk on the phone?

She instructed me to NOT EMAIL her, so I didnt and didnt call either because I missed her "deadline" and she said she would find someone else if I didnt call by noon (didnt read the email until way past noon anyways).
Well sorry lady I was busy working on other peoples paid orders, orders that they placed with more then a 1 1/2 weeks notice,not to mention I worked 18 hours that day with barely a bathroom break.

So now she emails again today upset that I've left her scrambling for another baker, well she emailed Thursday with a noon deadline and it's Tuesday so she's had 3 days (not including Sunday) to find someone else .

The thing is I can do the order and had all intentions of emailing her back that night when I did all my other emails but she told me not to, and since I missed her deadline I didnt call the next day either because she said she would find some one else.

So what do I do, suck it up ,apologize ,kiss some butt and get the order?

Or (what I want to do) explain to her I was simply following her wishes and not contacting her via email? I was unavailable to take/make phone calls during the day and after I missed her deadline I assumed she would follow through on her threat and find another baker?


Is this all my fault?
Do I charge my customers more just so I can take phone calls during the day?
Should I stop working on a paid cake for a customer who ordered well in advance to work on a order that's last minute?

Sorry it's so long, I have the cake part down it's the people part I have trouble with...

I would contact her and say that you were following HER instructions - do not email, call by Noon on this date, or, as she said, she would find another decorator. Since you were unable to comply with her restrictions, you assumed she would go ahead and find another decorator, like she said she would.

Do you have a website or business cards? If so, that's where you can state your 'office hours' are from X:00 to X:00 - so that's when you return emails and phone calls.

You are not at fault if you comply with the customer's (or potential customer's) wishes on this part. She set the guidelines and you followed them. Her loss. DO NOT beg forgiveness, apologize or even take her as a client. She's a hassle waiting to happen.

Here's what I would say:

Your initial email to me (attached below) included the specific instructions that I was to not email you back, and that you required confirmation by way of a telephone call by noon on Tuesday, September 29th, or you would find another decorator. Due to business constraints, I was unable to contact you within your requested timeframe. Hence, I assumed you would go forward with finding another decorator.

Unfortunately, I am now unable to take your request, as I am completely full for that date/weekend.

*** and make sure you include her original email to you as proof.

Good luck.

(Can you tell I work for lawyers??)

It's not your fault at all. I would do what you're wanting to do...explain. Maybe....offer an apology of sorts that ya'll's schedules didn't allow you to respond within her boundaries.

who is that that keeps repeating that quote...something like...an emergency on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part....whatever it is...now, it is appropriate. I'm sorry, but she sounds like a goon.

Dear Customer,

As a one-woman bakery, I often do not have a chance to check email until the end of the day. By the time that I read your original email, the "deadline" you gave me to reply had already passed, and you expressly said not to contact you after that time, so I respected your wishes and did not contact you. The majority of my orders are placed well in advance, and there is ample time to sort out the details by phone or email. When I read your original email, I debated whether or not I had time to add your last-minute cake to my already over-full calendar, but when I read through to your deadline, I realized that you had already answered the question for me, and assumed you would be going with a different baker.

Thank You.

CutiePieCakes-Ontario.....I like that response!!!

CutiePie - great response! Firm but professional.

I emphathize with you. Not sure what to say. Sorry you had to encounter this type of behavior.

i can understand working from a kitchen that is a paid by the hour kind of arrangement, but in my opinion, a call was necessary...don't get me wrong, not necessarily that day, but definitely the next day to apologize for the delay and give a professional and simple explanation of the delay.

think about it from her angle: it's not her concern that you rent by the hour...all she is probably thinking is that she ordered a cake a week and a half in advance (most people would be proud of themselves for planning that far ahead!), had a deadline with the designer, and the designer blew her off, not bothering to even call and explain the circumstances of why.

now this may not be the actual way it is on your end, but i have been dismissed by other professions and it has ticked me off. i made sure i lost their number and told others of my experience.

i'm not concerned that santa's flux capacitor goofed on the way to my house, that mrs claus burnt dinner and had to remake the main course, or that the elves lost track of time in the workshop...i just expect my delivery on time when i need it!

The problem with living in a technical age is the ASSUMPTIONS people are now making. They ASSUME you read their email the second they send it. They ASSUME when they hear their voicemail that you are NOT driving in the van or babysitting your grandchildren, or otherwise in a time/place that you can reply to them THAT SECOND.

Setting a noon deadline ASSUMES that you get the message prior to noon. That's inconsiderate and rude.

Hubby and I have noticed that with cell phones, people think CALLING a restaurant at 6:00 to scream "HOld my reservation! I'm on my way!" is the same as BEING there at 6:00 for your reservation. It's not. People think CALLING a business at 5:55 to say "Don't close! I"m only 15 minutes away!" will make a business pay overtime to their employees or will enable an employee to leave on time to pick up their child at daycare on time. It won't.

My response:
"Since your message basically said, "respond by noon or forget it", and since I never even GOT your message until after noon, then as instructed, I "forgot it". My assumption is that by 12:05, you were booking another decorator. Thanks for checking with us and let us know how we can help in the future."

(Ok, maybe I'd soften it a little bit but it depends on who else has pi$$ed me off that day! )

Tell that person to kiss you a@@...no, I'm joking. She limited herself! And your schedule does not revolve around hers. People need to get a grip. DO NOT apologize and NO, I don't think you should have called her the next day to apologize for not getting back to her. She told you that she would move on if she didn't hear from you, so thats what she needs to do.Texas_Rose & Cutiepie Cakes gave you great responses.

And I just have to say one more thing (of course) my problem with clients acting the way she did with the deadlines or else, and then getting mad, is they think you are in the SERVANT business, not the SERVICE business. There is a HUGE difference. I'm polite to my waiter, cause he's a person, not a servant! Oh, yeah, and I think you dodged a huge bullet!

lees_luv, that's it. Thank you.

I meant the quote applies to the situation not that she should quote it to the annoyed person needing a cake.

or
I love you but your emergency is not my crisis!

It may be a good idea to put an auto-response on your email (and voicemail) stating that you will respond to messages in 24 hours - that way you SHOULDN'T have to deal with people expecting you to call/email them back instantly!

What I would do in your shoes:

#1 - I would not take calls while putting in labour time in a rented kitchen - your time there is money and you need to utilize it to every hour of it.

#2 - I would definitely have an explanation on my voicemail that I return calls between such and such a time. I would also have it on my website.

#3 - I would have a) replied to her email when I read it since it was after her deadline already or b) I would have called her the next day I explained why I didn't meet her deadline.

As Indydebi said, people assume we're always reachable and should always be able to take/make a call.

I personally always believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt. Even though her email sounded demanding, I don't like to assume people are just being arrogant or b*tchy, maybe she was having an off day and meant to sound more urgent than demanding.

I would be professional, call and give an explanation as to why I was unable to meet her deadline, offer to do the order if I could and if not offer to assist her with future orders. This way I could feel good that I acted professionally and did what I could to satisfy a customer (potential customer) without compromising my integrity.

That is my (rather long) 2 cents worth.

Mensch hates people.

i take every last minute order i can, but i turn about 10 away every week.....you can't do everything....don't worry about it, they'll learn to order earlier if they wanna get in.

don't grieve over every order you miss......they try to make me feel guilty about 50% of the time...you just can't be emotional about it....i just tell them sweetly i can't.

she put in the contact restrictions herself, it wasn't your fault she didn't want you to email her.

if it doesn't work to take phone calls during your precious kitchen times...don't take them, it's your business....run it the way that works best for you.....

they will have you bending over backwards while tapdancing and juggling fire if you let them....i've tried that...it gets old fast.

Thank you everyone for your input.
Here is what I have saved in my draft folder, is it ok?
I know I don't have to explain myself but it's what came out when I started typing.
Should I hit send?


I apologize for the lack of communication.
I am a one women operation I handle everything from order taking to baking all the way down to mopping the floors.
The end of the week is incredibly hectic as the majority of my business is for the weekend.
My Sundays and Mondays are generally reserved for office work , I had every intention of following up with you and completing your order then. However since I was unable to comply with your deadline I was under the impression you went forth with your plans on finding another decorator to work with.
Once again I apologize for the miss communication, it was never my intention to lead you on.
Thank you,
Jessica




P.S.I went back and re-read our email correspondence it turns out this was the 2nd time she threatened me with finding another decorator. The 1st time was a day after she sent me her first email, that one included a deadline of "by the end of the day".

Lol.....thinks she can strongarm you into cheap cake or something. Guaranteed.

This is the 2nd time she's threatened to find another baker

She does not deserve you as her baker. Do not give her the time of day anymore.

Ditto the above - use the wording Cutie Pie suggested. Since she's threatened you twice, don't even look back. I know it's hard not to take it personally when someone says you're unprofessional, however, consider this: anyone wanting to enter in to a professional business relationship (buyer/seller) would not use threats as a tactic to get what they want. Being called unprofessional by someone acting unprofessional? Gimme a break.

One change - it's not "miss communication" it's "miscommunication" Unless the communciation is single and not yet married.

You're very welcome. One thing you learn in a law firm is how to tell people to go to H@LL so that they'll actually look forward to the trip!!