She Made Me Mad! So, I Responded.

Decorating By step0nmi Updated 29 Jul 2010 , 9:18pm by sweetheart6710

jmchao Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jmchao Posted 28 Jul 2010 , 9:24pm
post #31 of 43
Quote:
Quote:

The point here is that the OP has been emailing back and forth with her old friend for a month. The situation the friend described was already happening and so she knew she was short on funds, but she didn't tell the OP, who probably could have come up with a cake on a budget for her friend. I'm guessing the cake in question isn't an 8" round with a smash cake on the side but something fairly grand.

Obviously there is some friendship and history between the two...I bet she's not telling the cashier at the grocery store about her financial troubles and hoping for a discount. So if the customer was sharing her troubles as a friend with the OP, I don't see why the OP shouldn't have shared hers right back.




I agree...there is a previous friendship here; she's not "just another customer/client".

indydebi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
indydebi Posted 28 Jul 2010 , 10:03pm
post #32 of 43

I'm going with the responses that point out this is a friend and they've been emailing for a MONTH.....

Plus, as I alluded to in my prev post on this thread, it just pi$$es me off when others think they are the ONLY ONE with any kind of problem, or that they are the ONLY ONE who has had bad things happen to them.

I was talking to "a little girl" (not a customer) who was a whopping 19 years old who wanted me to believe she had gone thru "some tough times" in her life. I said, "Yeah, I know what you mean. The day my first husband fired a gun at me and then said "I aimed it over your head on purpose so I don't know what you're bitchin' about" and the day when he had me bent backwards over the kitchen sink, his hands around my throat, and my vision fading to black .... well, it just makes you appreciate the good times, doesn't it?" icon_rolleyes.gif

TUrns out her "tough times" in life was having to pay for her own used car when she had a minimum wage job and she had to change schools in her senior year.

Woo. Tough life. I don't know how she survived it. dunce.gif

BUt sometimes poeple need a slap in the face and a dose of reality to let them know that other people exist and they exist in a plane that differs from their "white bread world".

Hubby tells the story of a woman who came into the dealership to get her Cadillac worked on and was complaining to the rental agent when she was going to be given a brand new Buick to drive for the day, instead of a Cadillac. God luv the rental agent who told her, 'Lady there are children in this city who will go to bed without any food tonight and you're standing here telling me that a brand new BUick isnt' good enough for YOU." thumbs_up.gif

I've owned rental properties and I know the problems that come with them. But it's WAY different than losing your own job and having to live on less than half of a new income while your bills are still at the same level of your old income.

SOmehow, finding a way to feed my child seems just a little more "real" than having to replace windows in my RENTAL property.

Sorry for the rant, but this kind of thing just pi$$es me off! I am forever thankful for what I DO have (thank you Joyce Meyer!) and have little tolerance for those who THINK they have it tough.

PattyT Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
PattyT Posted 28 Jul 2010 , 11:39pm
post #33 of 43
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmchao

Quote:
Quote:

The point here is that the OP has been emailing back and forth with her old friend for a month. The situation the friend described was already happening and so she knew she was short on funds, but she didn't tell the OP, who probably could have come up with a cake on a budget for her friend. I'm guessing the cake in question isn't an 8" round with a smash cake on the side but something fairly grand.

Obviously there is some friendship and history between the two...I bet she's not telling the cashier at the grocery store about her financial troubles and hoping for a discount. So if the customer was sharing her troubles as a friend with the OP, I don't see why the OP shouldn't have shared hers right back.



I agree...there is a previous friendship here; she's not "just another customer/client".




Ding, ding, ding....this is just was what I was trying to say when I said she was fishing for a free cake. If the friend simply wanted to wait, she would have said that. "Thanks for the info - I'll get back to you". But she outlined a financial situation to the OP... I think looking for a big discount.

Tug Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Tug Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 12:00am
post #34 of 43
Quote:
Originally Posted by kansaslaura

Quote:
Originally Posted by PattyT

I don't know....I think I'd have done similar to step0nmi.

Her friend was clearly fishing for a free cake. The birthday date is coming no matter what. She's stalling and hoping for a discount.



I see nothing in the OP that hints at a free cake.




I agree. I don't see her asking for a freebie from what she wrote either. She's having a hard time and just letting you know what's going on. Let's just say she simply replied "I'll get back to you". Would you be upset because you don't know what's going on with her?

laboti Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
laboti Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 12:40am
post #35 of 43

look i know the filling i had a cust that came to a consultation and i gave the frosting and cake tasting well i spend about a whole day just getting things ready i put, time,effort, and money into the consultation, at the end we had an agreement and she picked the cake and everything so about a week later she called me telling me that they had to postpone the party because money and other issues, and the only thing i can tell you is that when we are on any business we are allways going to find "the customer" who is going to pull something like that!! just if she contact u again be polite and nice but do not give anymore discounts!!! good luck and god bless!!!

tesso Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
tesso Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 1:36am
post #36 of 43

I understand all about losing your temper and sometimes you just gotta bite back and therefore am sending you a cyber "hug".

bmarlow001 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
bmarlow001 Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 1:45am
post #37 of 43

It's a friend looking for a freebie... I get that all the time! grrr...

sweettreat101 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sweettreat101 Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 3:19am
post #38 of 43

I totally understand what you are going through. We are going through the same thing right now. My husband went from salary to hourly and now he's on his fifth pay cut. We are trying to survive on a 1/3 of what he brought home. Luckily I work part time. Since this was a friend she should have already been aware of what you are going through and not expect a discount or a free bee. The lady that backed out on my cake found a friend to make it for free. I would have been fine if she would have told me upfront that my price was to high instead of make me wait two weeks to find out she had someone else. And second she never planned on contacting me anyways she only did because the bride told her I wanted to know what was going on. Everyone handles situations differently. What I do with cheap friends and family is have them purchase all of the ingredients and bring them to me and then give them an amount for labor. This way they see how much it costs just for supplies and it makes since on what they are paying in the end. I had a co worker ask me on a Wednesday for a wedding cake for Saturday. I told her no that I didn't have enough time. She kept telling me that it's only two layers which I tried to explain that no it is actually four. She kept telling me now two. It took me 15 minutes to get her to understand that you need four layers for a two tiered cake. I finally gave in and emailed her a price of 65.00 which was to low in my book she never got back to me. So yes there are people out there that want something for nothing. Oh and she kept telling me that it was a simple design. Scroll work all around the sides. If it's so simple the you do it. LOL

step0nmi Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
step0nmi Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 5:50am
post #39 of 43

I appreciate all of your responses...really I do icon_lol.gif

It's funny how this thread was like half and half on the "ohhh you were hasty" and the "yea, that's frustrating" posts icon_lol.gif

Maybe my response had a little over reaction and haste in it...for the past couple of days I had been going through some birthday planning issues with family. But, what most people pointed out is that there wasn't ANY mention of this situation before this email and that is what made me mad. Her responses were sort of slow for a while and she didn't lead on that anything was wrong...I just thought it was because she has a new daughter!

This customer/friend also knew of my prices beforehand so that was another reason why I was surprised that she sent me this email. Like I had said in the OP I had given her a quote before and I had even told her in my initial email how much my prices were per serving. soooo yea....I don't think she's looking for a freebie...OR I didn't THINK she was icon_confused.gif

Thank you for letting me vent AND giving me something to laugh about when I came home today icon_lol.gif I wouldn't normally deal with customers in this manner but as I said, we've known each other for a while and I have talked with her about other things. Hey, I totally understand...if they can't afford it they can't afford it! I just didn't want to be lead on for so long icon_razz.gif

CristyInMiami Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
CristyInMiami Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 6:22am
post #40 of 43

I get responses like this all the time, even after weeks of back and forth. I personally take them as a polite way of backing out. I just assume that they won't be coming back and just get a cheaper cake somewhere.

However, I have had the case, where they tell me no right away and go check out other places and come quickly back to me. In this situation it usually has gone like this "I've talked to my husband and he said to go for it" etc.

michgowell Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
michgowell Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 5:15pm
post #41 of 43

best not to respond when you are mad...

hilly Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
hilly Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 8:58pm
post #42 of 43

I think it sounded like the friend was just explaining why she couldn't pay for that right then. It sounded very polite in my opinion. There are people who can afford nice cake and there are people who just can't fit it into their budget. She may not have realized how much a custom cake would be.

sweetheart6710 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sweetheart6710 Posted 29 Jul 2010 , 9:18pm
post #43 of 43

I don't think she was looking for a freebie, just a LARGE discount hahaha.t what I have experienced is, people are so used to buying a box cake for $1.16, and frosting for $3.60 out of a can. Like we use that kind of stuff for truly custom cakes. lol I'm the youngest of 7 kids, so we were poor growning up. We got box cake, and powdered sugar/milk/butter icing (only a few $$ to make). Honestly, ( and embarrassingly) I didn't realize cakes could be made from scratch :\\ Cake came from a box hahaha. Even though she knew your 'customer prices' she probably just thought it cost you $10 max (or so) to make, and had what I like to call 'sticker shock' even though you were probably very fair in price. Either she will shop around and realize the deal you are giving her, or she will order with Walmart.. her loss.

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%