I KNOW this topic has been discussed before, but could not find it. Is anyone willing to share how they word (on your website) asking clients not to bring their children to consultations/tastings?

I had two consultations this afternoon. The first BTB brought TWO 2 yr olds with her. And the second BTB and MOB brought a 4 year old. The second appt was also a tasting and the kid was grabbing cake and stuffing it in his mouth! OMG!! my nerves are on the outside of my skin.

I love kids, but am totally distracted by the kids "exploring" my shop and commercial kitchen.

Please help!!!

i would say something like:

"please refrain from bringing children, under the age of __________, to your tasting appointment, due to safety and sanitary reasons. thank you for your cooperation in regards to this matter!"

it's to the point, and what parent could argue that?! and this is coming from a mom of a 3 1/2 and 1 year old, who are with me all day long. yet, i still know time and place of certain things!

Imagine the adults these kids are going to turn into...Yikes...

I haven't had to make any rules like that thankfully....yet, anyway. As far as kids grabbing cake...hey...if the parents end up losing their tasting pieces due to a greedy kid, its not my problem.

Here is my confirmation email to the bride, to confirm the appt date and time, along with directions and a few 'words of wisdom' on what to expect. I found that since they were "warned" ahead of time, that when people WERE forced to bring children, they were diligent in the parenting part, making sure their kids behaved. THe email is kinda lengthy, but because I spelled everything out for them right up front, I rarely had no-shows (just a 2-3 a year) and no kid problems.
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This is to confirm your sampling appointment at --------------------. Directions are attached. If you run late due to traffic or other circumstances, we ask that you just give us a call to let us know that youre on your way. (At 15 minutes past the appt, with no phone-call, I consider it a no-show and I pack up and go home.)
  You are welcome to bring up to a total of four people (seating limitations).
  Since this appointment can be lengthy, we dont recommend bringing children as a catering facility is not a very entertaining place for them to try to sit quietly while mom/dad conduct a business meeting.
  You should plan about an hour for this appointment.
  We understand that you have a million and one decisions to make and we try to keep it simple for you by offering a no-pressure sampling. My assumption is that you are information gathering, so I do not expect a decision, a commitment or a check on that day.
  I DO expect you to walk away with some good information that helps you make an informed decision as you compare Cater It Simple with other caterers in the area.
  If you have some photos of cakes youve seen that you like, please bring those with you.
  If you have a specific color you want used in your cake design, please bring a color swatch that you can leave with us (a scrap of material, ribbon, or one bride even brought us a paint card from the hardware stores paint dept!! )

Please help us keep our samplings free. We are not a restaurant where we can just go back into the kitchen and scoop out a sample of whatever dishes are cooking. The foods and cakes for your sampling are prepared just for you and there is a cost to that. When couples cancel at the last minute or are no-shows, this affects our expenses in running a business. We understand that sometimes things come up and appointments need rescheduled . We just ask that you let us know when that happens so we will not prepare the foods for you and/or we can go ahead and schedule another couple in your time slot. We will happily re-schedule your appointment for you. Your consideration is appreciated by us and by our future brides!

It was very frustrating!! This was my first consultations that they brought kids, so now I am forced to make some rules.

Debi, thanks so much! Do you mind if I "borrow" some of your wording? Very direct, but non-confrontational.

I wouldn't have published it if I wasn't willing to share it! Cut-n-paste to your heart's content!

THanks!!

Here's mine, although Indy is the champ at this stuff. My tastings are at my home, so I have the access to a dvd player. Since posting this, I've had no munchkin attendees.

"Children under 12 will more than likely find this process less than entertaining, and I recommend they stay at home. If you must bring a child, please also bring a DVD to entertain them so that we can focus on the business at hand."