So I had a bride calling for a cake tasting 4 days ago for saturday (!!!) I squeezed it between all my appointments because the wedding is going to be the first saturday of May.

So she comes in with 2 people, they all eat and love the cakes, so when I ask her generic questions about the wedding, she doesn't know anything!

she doesn't know the budget for the cake, what design she would like, no invitations yet, nothing!!!

But she wanted a price! How am I supposed to give you a price if I don't know what you want?? 

I explained it 3 times, she kept on asking a "final" price.

Im speechless.

Sorry, just need to vent!

I hope she was charged for the cake.

It actually sounds like those three just wanted free cake.

AI'm having a tasting event Sunday, and if anyone comes who is just out for free cake, then I didn't screen them well. Yesterday, I received a message in reply to my announcement for people to contact me if they'd like to attend, and it was a free cake seeker. "Oooooh can I come, I'd love to try out your cake!" There was even a heart and a kiss emoticon after her message. Ok. So she got the standard reply of thank you for inquiring about the tasting, can you please tell me the date of your event, style of cake, number of servings, etc. I would like to provide you with an estimate of what your cake will cost before we proceed, etc etc....of course, no reply from her. I just can't afford (monetarily or sanity wise) to entertain looky loos.

I make 4" double layer cakes for testing and charge $10 per cake/flavor whether it's fondant or buttercream. That way they can take it home and share with others who might be interested. If they order from me they get a certain amount of credit (not full price though) towards their wedding cake order for each item purchased! If not, then at least the cakes were paid for. :)

AYeah, I would suggest screening your potential clientele from now on. It's a waste of everyone involveds time to get all the way thru the happy stuff,only to find out they want the moon for pennies..

after lots of frustrations I now do exactly the same. If someone phones me for a consultation/tasting I tell them I prefer to give a quote 1st, as this saves us both from wasting time. Once they are happy with my pricing THEN  we arrange a meeting. Since doing that I have actually booked 99% of the people I meet for a consultation.

Do you all offer cake tasting only for weddings? 

I had a call today for a tasting.. she wants 1/2 sheet cake, no decorations and the tasting..

I only offer a free tasting if the cake is over 100 servings, anything less is $30, but that is applied to the order if you book.  I also limit the number of samples based on the number of servings they are planning on buying.  I have an online form that they have to fill out before we settle on a consultation and I use it to weed out customers that are a bad fit - whether that's a booked date or a budget that won't meet my minimum price.  Qualify those clients before they walk in the door and you will save yourself a lot of work.

I've started doing free open house tastings but limiting those to two people, and paid appointments for $20 for three or four. I don't apply it to the cost of the cake, either. I've only done it for a couple of months, and so far the people who have paid for the appointments all booked, and about 3 out of 4 of the open house people have. The "free cake experience" people are generally the ones who are shopping for a bargain, and the people who are willing to pay have done enough research that they're ready to book.

I also tell people to bring ideas abotu what cakes they like, colors, guest count, etc. so that it makes them think about those things before they arrive. You still get people who show up with no clue, but it doesn't happen very often.