I have just had a response from an unofficial quote I sent last week.. the original quote was for a two tier wedding cake to feed 60-70 serves - when asked about decoration or a theme her response was 'not sure yet' so I quoted the base rate for a basic two tier fondant covered undecorated cake @$220. She has responded by asking if she could arrange a tasting.. this is a first for me. I definitely want to incorporate tasting sessions into my business, however, before I even consider factoring this aspect into my business I want to gather some opinions on how other bakers go about this. I'm thinking about enforcing a minimum serve of 100 before offering a complimentary tasting and asking for a refundable deposit (refunded when the tasting appointment has been attended). My belief is that any potential order of under 100 serves is not worth risking the time and financial cost of offering a free cake - this is not me trying to be snooty or disrespectful to those who are engaging in a smaller wedding, it is just me trying to be practical and realistic in business.
Any feedback and opinions would be appreciated
Most have a minimum order for "free" tasting, others do a fee applied to cake order tasting, other offer discounted or full price cupcakes for small events. It is really what your market will bear. I think everyone hates to absorb the cost of them, but it is the price of doing business.
I think you have to match your service with that which is offered by others in your marketing area. Or at least, be aware of it, when selling. "No, sorry I don't do free tasting because that would drive up my prices for all customers. I do however offer_________________."
Thanks for your feedback. After googling the topic some more last night, I stumbled across another cake forum and a member suggested maybe place a fee on the tasting for orders below your set minimum and offer to credit the tasting fee towards their order if they proceed with booking. I think that's a great idea as I am at least covering the cost of my ingredients and offering the potential client something in return for payment.
You're going to get more and more requests, so think through what you want to do and then enforce it! I do complimentary tastings, but my minimum order for doing anything is 100 servings. I have a 90% booking rate once someone has tasted my cake- so the tastings are definitely worth it for me. I only do them once a month by appointment, though, so I think I weed out a lot of people who are tasting 'on a whim'.
I just started doing the 100 servings minimum too...I wasn't before, and it was getting really stupid.
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