Jason, I think that you assume that people are logical and follow intsructions, when in reality everyone is too important to follow rules that are there obviously for other people but not for them. I only get about 5% of my inquiries from the contact form on my website, while the rest are either phoners or they use the email address on the other pages. Regardless of where they come from, they have the same questions. I could leave the contact page completely blank and it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference, they'd still have the same questions. I could write a step by step form to fill out and they'd still have the same questions. As long as people aren't robots they're going to do whatever they want regardless of how stylish and well-designed using the most scientific web design methods the instructions are.

The only thing I can say about this is how many custom cakes and wedding cakes do you do versus your predone cakes? I can't see doing someone's wedding cake or 30th birthday cake just through e-mail. I think you fail to realize that some of us are strictly custom and do not have a standard cake that people can just order on line. It is one thing to say "I want your 8" cake with pink roses that says Happy Birthday whoever" in an e-mail as opposed to "My 30th birthday is coming and I want a Diva theme". We all have a different thought on what Diva means.

Although its tempting to just stop answering the phone, it's a really bad idea for a custom wedding cake business. If I don't return phone calls within a day brides get mad. Not answering the phone at all would be less than excellent.

The GV transcription feature can be hit or miss, but we got the gist of the message roughly a third of the time (unless the caller had an accent, then forget about it). Luckily it's super-easy to play the message, a play button is embedded if you use Gmail.

The big draw for us was a separate business number, since I ran the business side of the bakery out of our home. We first tried using our home number with multiple mailboxes on our answering machine, but people would call late at night asking if we were still open (we don't have a storefront). When we got a GV number I set calls to go right to voice mail after 5pm (this was before I switched it to permanent voice mail).

The other great feature is that you can easily access your messages from anywhere, so when I was out of town on business or visiting family I could still follow up with customers. You can also set GV to ring multiple numbers and have different contacts or groups of contacts handled in different ways.

When we sold our business last year it took 5 minutes to transfer the GV number to the new owner and set it up to ring her phone.

Custom cakes really means custom. QTCakes1 is completely on the money. There is no #8 and change the colors, in my world. A seemingly simply cake turns into something else when they want this cakes border, that cakes shape combination, this other cakes dots, another cakes stripes with the fondant animals to match the invitations.

Now in theory picture examples with prices would be fine except most folks brains don't work that way. Their brains seem to overload easily. They don't know pan sizes and how many servings the industry standard say that size should feed. Why can't they have a 4 tier cake to serve 10 for $25? They can have a 4 tier cake to serve 10, but it will be priced by the number of servings it actually feeds which is 140.

My website is a template from Bludomain. And I don't find it hard to navigate. But I try to use what little of my brain that does work. The problem with customers understanding pricing, sizes and what not isn't just because they can't navigate my website.

I don't mean to place blame on anybody but this has only been an PITA issue for me since Ace of Cakes and Buddy the Cake Boss came on T.V. There are cakes with everything but the kitchen sink on them and not an actual price for those cakes to be seen anywhere. The customers that come to us for similar cakes don't know that those cakes cost thousands of dollars, but they want them replicated for Wal-Mart prices. Plus there seems to be a whole new group of folks that want what they want and want it given to them because they want it, they have people to impress.

Brides seem to do some research and have an rough idea of what a wedding cake would cost. Bigger cake, more ingredients and for the most part not a ton of extravagant designs and colors. Weddings are my target market and I don't plan on giving that up.

I've paid my dues more than once and I don't plan on taking a step backward with these elaborate birthday cakes that yield more headaches than income. I don't want to be the baker who gets passed around like a joint at a frat party, by these birthday mama's and their friends. I really don't care if they become another decorators problem.

Hahahahaha, cakelady! I didn't sleep all night, im exhausted, but that comment about being passed around like a joint at a frat party made my morning, ahhahahahahaha!

[quote="cakelady2266"]

I don't mean to place blame on anybody but this has only been an PITA issue for me since Ace of Cakes and Buddy the came on T.V. There are cakes with everything but the kitchen sink on them and not an actual price for those cakes to be seen anywhere.

I don't want to be the baker who gets passed around like a joint at a frat party, by these birthday mama's and their friends.


I agreee with the first statement. I WISH they would show their cake prices!

And as for the second, all I can say is that one is even better then "swinging the dead cake"!

Wouldn't it be nice if cake decorators could send in a signed petition to each of these shows asking them to include pricing information on the super cakes they make in order to FULLY inform customers.

Costumeczar....glad I could brighten your day.

QTCakes1....I got a million of them, remember I'm from the South.

I love storage wars and I think it's great that they put a price on the stuff they sell. I don't see it happening for the cake show though. I hardly watch anymore but are they still really popular?

But I promise one more email from "birthday mama" with a picture from Pink Cake Box or some of you ultra talented decorators on here, wanting a masterpiece for $25, I'm gonna lose what is left of my mind.

I watched one the other day that was "baggage wars" not real sure I'd want somebodies dirty clothes that had been stuck in a suitcase for awhile. Nasty.

But you know what I read some where that people have gotten money, and I mean several thousands. Of course why someone had 10K cash in their suitcase is a little questionable to me. Anyway, another person found a 3 carat engagement ring, someone found a rare painting, things like that. I am sure that is few and far between, but it can happen. And when did that become a show!?! I've never heard of it.

I will still watch my cake shows "Amazing Cakes" and the other one, what's it called "Fabulous Cakes", but that's it. I wish ALL of the shows showed the prices.

Someone was saying the producers of the storage shows plant some of that stuff in the units. I do know that after those shows came on I noticed a big turn out when local storage units went up for sale. I actually wanted to start bidding on them myself. I sure what folks are storing around here would be the same junk I've got in my attic.

Annabakescakes....that's a thought.

I watched the cake shows for a while, but they drove me crazy. All the "stuff" that they put on the cakes and did to them sort of took the actual cake part out of the picture for me. I would be a wreck watching them transport them too.

I have a favor to ask....I have started another post in the cake decorating business forum and I really need some good input. It's the post "how do you buy supplies" I'm sorry but I don't know how to link it to this.