Getting A Little Boring Around Here....
Lounge By Jinkies Updated 16 Apr 2017 , 9:32pm by SandraSmiley
Just post it, it's what the lounge is for!!
Alright but I'll forwarn you I talk about bathroom breaks haha ;)
i may may not get it posted until later or tomorrow. It's Friday so as most of you know that's finishing order time. I had some cookies that were supposed to be simple well they whooped my behind today lol so my hands and neck are feeling the pain from my 2 hours of wasting time trying to do them a certain way and I just needed to do what I know how to do and be done with them. We also have a cake that goes with them left to do so work work work :)
Ok.....I guess this is probably the thread to leave this on before I unsubscribe and steer clear of this site. I'm a newbie (and maybe I should have mentioned that before I clicked and submitted my first post ever), because I spoke about the unspeakable (cue scary music).....puh......puh.........PRICING! (cue blood curdling scream!). Seriously, I saw the thread about "How much do people think a cake costs" and thought, hey, I'm dealing with an issue right now and I'm curious to hear how some people deal with those who come to you because they think they can get a deal. (oh, and I also wondered what others were charging for some of their cakes) Man, was THAT a mistake! Oh, a couple of people very nicely gave me some input, which I was very grateful for, but one person decided that ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH WITH THE PRICING STUFF...and delivered a pretty snarky post to this newcomer. In retrospect, I should have meandered through some of the threads to see if what I was posting.... cake customers expecting favors (on a cake site) and pricing (on a cake site...on a thread about "what people think a cake costs"). But I didn't. I jumped right in and thought that this seems like a good bunch of people to chat with about this situation. Sadly, no. Some of the posts on this particular thread were spot on.....if you're sick of the questions asked, just move on. Why the snarky responses? It's a cake site, no? Maybe a great big sign stating that questions on pricing are absolutely and without exception forbidden!! Unfortunately, it's not a cake site I want to be a part of when you sit there scratching your head and wondering what made someone post something so negative to your question. So, thanks to those couple of people who responded to the question I posted! Adios! (THE END)
I'm sorry you're leaving -- and I'm sorry for the bad impression --
best to you in caking baking and all of life --
please consider re-considering and come back and post -- think of us and when I say us i mean you too -- so think of us as one big family where just like any family misunderstandings occur then add in the flatness of the written word where there's no voice inflection where it's easy to get in jams -- so maybe think about giving us the benefit of the doubt? and another chance and I can promise you it will probably happen again -- so you'll be prepared for it next time and just like you say, move on, pass on by... to the next post --
there's a lot of passionate people here and it can go wonky sometimes but there's tons of good stuff in between -- just think about it -- you are Most Welcome here but there's a thorn or two on every rose kwim -- some of it is interpretation some of it can be snark but still we're a big sweet family...most of the time
c'mon
You're being awfully judgmental for asking a business question (NOT a caking question, a business question) on a caking site. You don't belong in the business world if you can't even take advice the right way. Reading too much into an honest answer makes you too sensitive to run a business. Wanting to walk away because you didn't get the answer you wanted? Wasn't sugar coated enough for you? K8 had it right, just as others could be keep scrolling if they didn't like the question, you could keep on reading if you didn't like the response....
If you can't take the heat...
@babscakes You took offense from one of the nicest members on this site, who is more than willing to help in any way she can. You obviously need some tough love, you just are not ready to hear it. You need some thick skin to run a business. And yes, taking money for service is a business...
@babscakes I am so sorry you had a bad experience, on your very first post. Unfortunately you asked the "HOT BUTTON" question. I was following the thread you speak of, and ask you to reconsider, don't let one "bad apple" spoil the whole experience for you. There are a few on here for whom questions about pricing make them see red, and those same folks can be very helpful with every other kind of question. I am not excusing the behavior, just trying to put it in a different prospective. Its hard to do, because the bad stuff tends to stand out in our minds, but look at the responses you got from others, you got good advice, from well intentioned people. Most of what I know about caking, I learned here on CC, from strangers willing to help newbies, hobbists and seasoned veterans.
We are a cake site and all questions concerning all aspects of caking are welcome!!!!
I wish you all the best!!!
this makes me tired --
please stop taking sides -- that exacerbates the hurt and mushrooms the mishap all the way around -- it happened -- it's between two people -- is it not as honest for babscakes to be non-sugar-coated about her opinion and her feelings?
and for the record -- in general, not specific to this misunderstanding -- it's ok to be kind even if you are in the business forum
I had to go back and see this horrible response that was so bad it would drive someone from the site. I couldn't find it, but I found some good advice that people don't like hearing because it's not unicorn-y enough. Maybe we should place "trigger warnings" to warn people that they're about to encounter some solid business advice, and that hearing it might make their business profitable. That way they can avoid it and continue on in a comfortable state of denial.
And I'm waiting for @Webake2gether to post, because some of the stories she's told me about her town are the craziest things I've ever heard.
it would be good for the old extreme buzzkill words and phrases to go die somewhere -- let's fedex that tired worn out baggage to the outermost galaxy
No one's picking sides. I am on this site to learn and reap inspiration. I love reading the questions and answers so many are so willing to dish out, freely. What I would hate to see is someone trying to walk on eggshells attempting to answer a question. Or worse yet, not answer at all. This very post originated about being 'boring.' Perhaps so many are afraid to answer because the answer cannot (and should not) be sugar coated so we don't hurt anyone's feelings. Everyone is free to ask ANY question they want and everyone should be free to answer that question, if they so choose, without someone whining about how they didn't say it nice enough. Take what you want and leave the rest. Let's stop with the pussification and not hinder the honest answers some of us need. There is no need to edit every answer so it comes out, as @costumeczar put it, unicorn-y. It's not all rainbows and sunshine.
@Heath hey heath, the turn this thread is taking is why the population here will not increase as fast as it could --
god forbid the business forum people should be afraid to step on toes -- do I have that right and i guess it's whining that scares them -- whose pooping rainbows now -- hahahahaha
and ironically the dispute is not between two business people --
utter boredom are 'unicorn, puppies , rainbows' and all those old tired buzzwords designed to disguise a misunderstanding --
There may be some other glitches going on with the website still that are keeping out "new blood". I was a registered member for years but only ever lurked...when I decided to come out of lurkdom with some questions a few weeks ago, I kept getting error messages that kept me from posting. I sent help requests to the appropriate email box and even created a whole new account, but continued having the same problem. I don't know what is different now,but for the first time today I was able to post. Woo hoo! There's a chance something similar is happening to others.
Perhaps so many are afraid to ASK questions because they do not wish to be verbally attacked. No one wants things sugar coated either, we come here to learn, to share and yes sometimes vent.
@640CAKE Its funny, no one on that thread reacted as you have. They may have shared your opinion, but did not resort to a personal attack, instead they provided great advice. Its not walking on egg shells, its having a civil conversation.
@babscakes Stick around for 1 more day, checkout Friday Night Cake Club, in the Decorating Forum, see some of what CC offers.
Oh yes, @Webake2gether There is high drama where she lives! Who needs soap operas when there's As the Cake Turns.
I was a regular for a long time and then life just got in the way and I never really got back in the habit of coming here! What I've noticed is that there are rarely comments on cake photos or even people favoriting photos like they used to! That surprised me. I posted the Elmo cake I made for my granddaughter's 2nd birthday (it was pretty fabulous btw...lol) and no notice at all! Hey folks...we all want our egos stroked!
There's my 2 cents worth and blatant appeal for compliments! lolol
Just kidding! 
Oh my word I'm going to write a book one of these days documenting all this crazy that is my life. All I want to do is bake cakes and mind my own business but that is not a possibility here if it's not one thing it's another. I will forwarn you I've had a rough day and I'm not feeling really friendly lol and this is more of a rant of the garbage that exist where I live. Everyone is always starting some drama here Oh they're copying me (insert whining baby voice) people are so mean, we take what you say as a personal dig, you don't tell me how great I am and idolize everything I do!!! It's all about me me me me and I'm so great and blah blah blah. The politics of cakes here is disgusting the more we stay away from it the more they try to dump their crap on our doorstep. one of these days they are going to get more than they bargained for lol. I always turn the other cheek and believe that one day when all of them are long gone and their doors are shut we will still be standing bc we didn't get involved that doesn't mean we are pushovers bc I've made a few phone calls to let them know you either have respect for us like we do you or let me find out your bad mouthing us and you'll be hearing from my lawyer. Go bake a cake and leave me alone!!
And to touch on the actual thread here I believe that sometimes we don't want to hear things so we become easily offended. Instead of finding constructive criticism it's instantly an attack and I've also seen where a post comes out of left field with an unecessary amount of hostility not pertaining to the actual thread so it goes both ways. My suggestion is if you don't want a business answer don't post in the business section. We should all strive to be ladies and gentleman with each other but sometimes the truth doesn't feel good but that doesn't mean we're out to draw blood bc we're being honest. I'm here to learn and get better at what we do not get all the praise and glory but to offer something better to our clients which is why I loge cc!! Also I love this site beyond the cake aspect it's a place where people get you and you can share the things that happen in yday to day life. Which is where I post mostly bc I don't have Much offer. I'm a newbie still only in this professional cake business 9 months baking and decorating for only about a year so trust me I know what I know by the many mistakes I've made and the helpful and yes sometimes critical
People here. I posted a pic of a cake we made with a raw board and got called out on it did I get all whiny about it nope I made darn sure to never have an ugly board again lol :)
Ok so I read this again and must apologize for the many errors I tried to edit my post but it didn't work!! Fixing that would be great haha!! I don't find people here to be critical I meant for that be in " " to note that advice is seen as being critical when really it's quite helpful which is what I learned with my raw cake board. She wasn't being rude or snarky or maybe she was but i didn't take it that way. Although I can see plenty of people being offended on here if she had said it to them. I took it as she is a professional who pointed out an obvious rookie flaw and guess what knocked me of my high horse and my know it all attitude lol which was a great lesson to learn. So I'm done hopping of the soap box now have a great day/night y'all :)
Wait. What? You guys didn't get the memo? "Getting Easily Offended" - is the new "it" thing. "Must Praise and Lollypop, Never Constructively Criticize and Point Out How-To Better" - isn't that how kids/beginners learn how to deal with real world in the future?! (heavy on sarcasm, while reading that, ok)
Picture it, Italy, 1173.
-Hey, THAT is REALLY, REALLY beautiful! So-oo wonderful! You are SO talented! Don't change a thing!!! You don't need the research!!! Go, You!!! But.... Are you sure, it isn't gonna lean? I mean, you've only got a couple meters of foundation under this thing, and the soil here is pretty weak...
(Hairflip) -No! You are SO mean!
- Oh fine, do whatever. I'm late for war.
Well, as the story goes, the tower started to tilt at the second floor construction, undoubtedly with a loud sound of thousands of face-palms and i-told-you-so. The project was abandoned for years, until another couple of guys salvaged what they could, and finished it as well as they could, pretending it was meant to look that way.
It is still there, still leaning. Go look. A giant monument to hurt ego and poor research. Pretty, and impressive to look at though :-)
Ok, that was just for comic relief.
I see this site as a great opportunity for shared experiences in baking/decorating/business. I probably sounded like a newbie idiot at first, too, for there are loads of information here that can be disorienting. I probably still sound like an idiot a lot of times.
But do I come here to be snarky and offend deliberately, left and right? Nope. And I'm petty sure other people don't either. Yes, everyone is entitled to emotions, since in our own lives things always happen to us only and always for the first time, like a teenager falling in love for the first time, and having NO frame of reference as to how it feels and why it hurts. Learn. Accept. Improve. Move on.
Hair-flipping is the thing that came with the rise of internet forums, where people began to care deeply - personal-level deeply - about what total strangers say to them.
Take comments as a page in a book, not as a someone shouting at you, because it is likely that they are not. Perhaps, they are only trying to help, but in a fast, direct way, not the "everyone wins" way. Let you in on a secret: the "everyone wins, there is no losing" thing does not work.
Ok. I now definitely feel the need for more coffee.
:-)
Well! @LelekBolek I am EXTREMELY offended that you said this. I'm also offended that it seems to offend you that I'm offended. How offensive. 
Seriously, you're right, I have teenagers and they know kids who can't handle being disagreed with AT ALL. They all sit around in their little groups at school and validate each other's feelings, then when they go into the world and figure out that people aren't always 100% on the same page as they are they can't handle it. The problem is that if they go to college they'll be able to keep sheltering themselves from things that hurt their feelings (that's the big complaint, their feelings got hurt and you're not allowed to hurt their feelings) because it's easier to coddle them and not have to deal with their whining. When they finally go out into the world and get jobs they're going to have a rude awakening when people don't cater to their every mood. I find the whole thing bizarre, but I guess it's an outgrowth of the "everybody gets a trophy" thing.
I've been a member for a few years on here and I am a hobby baker. My definition of hobby baker is that it is truly a hobby for me. I decorate for family only and my cakes are always a gift so it has become an expensive hobby. I think I have only started a forum asking for help once. Usually if I want to try something, I look for tutorials or use google images for help. It is certainly understandable your frustration with some of the questions asked. Some of the questions asked the poster could easily have found the answer online but some people just don't seem to know how to find the answers. The pricing questions I really don't understand because if I were to sell my cakes I would definitely figure out my costs, time spent, etc etc. Makes no sense to me to ask someone whose costs might be so different from my own but hey that's me. For the most part, the answers are to the point and very helpful. However, I have also seen responses that did nothing but tear into the poster. This, in my opinion, turned many off. I know it did me. Were some of the discussion questions a little ridiculous? Absolutely but you can either scroll past (shaking your head and mumbling under your breath) or can respond but get your point across with some degree of politeness.
@jinkies right?!?!? Lol it only took me hearing it once I got the memo loud and clear. I didn't know the difference between raw and coated and the crappy little cake supply store here only sells raw ones why I don't know but whatever so being idiots we bought quite a few boards and had no idea they weren't coated until we did that cake!! So lesson learned :)
also I often browse the site and read posts that don't necessarily pertain to me at the time and I can't tell you how many times that has been a major help down the road. Learn all you possibly can you'll be better for it. People who habitually get the cart in front of the horse on here and in my real life make me mad it's like once or twice or once in awhile I get it life happens that way sometimes but come on at some point you have to get your act together or just quit lol. I also snoop people's profiles on a pricing question and if that's all they ever post I move on bc they don't get it and don't want to get it! Pricing is tough and changes periodically but it's not rocket science it requires a little effort to figure out and get it accurate but most things in life that are important require effort. If you want to sell anything you have to do it right if you want it to work that's it pretty simple right. if you want the easy way plan your going out of business sale now bc it will happen. Successful businesses or plans happen bc someone at some point worked really hard for it. My motto in life is:
You plan to fail IF you fail to plan
get what you can in order first plan for the unexpected and know everything you possibly can before you decide to run a business. Come here get a dose reality bc it's not all smiles and cupcakes it's hard work and people suck (sorry that's a nasty word but it applies to some people). People want to see you fail and will do what they can to put your out if your better than them customers complain other local businesses can and do undercut your or talk trash about you bc your not so and so from abc bakery. Oh and your ego will be deflated quick fast and in a hurry bc you can't please everyone!! Out cakes may seem like a masterpiece to us but in the real world it's just a cake to most.
Ive had one cup of coffee this morning and im afraid with one more I might try to over throw the world lol ;) I found this today and thought of this thread!!! I also edit myself quit a bit on here and don't usually say what really want to say but today I think my filter is broke uh oh!!
[postimage id="4346" thumb="900"]
haha. so offensive, you all. hairflip-hairflip, crawl into a hole, I-never, sob and mop.
Not.
Hey, but at least a lively discussion has picked up )))
When I was pregnant with my kids, I joined a new moms forum. Oh boy, talk about hormones flairing up, and "debates" getting ugly! I mean, clicks of hormone-driven women at each other's throats. I made some friends there LOL. Wonder if any of those angry newbie moms have mellowed some in years (and more kids) since those fights, and realized how stupid it was to tear each other to pieces over natural or medicated labor, breastfeeding, and such.
I swear, every time I hear "oh, I want my delivery go EXACTLY how I plan... with classical music, unicorns pooping, un-medicated, never a c-c, room filled with rose scent and me in the designer hospital gown" followed by "well, THAT all went to hell, and then deeper...", I know: somewhere, a Labor Fairy got her wings, and rolled her eyes.
Oh, and more than on one occasion, those ladies would burn each other at the forum's stake for.... get this... stealing their baby's name. Oh, for-flicks-sake, YOU DON"T EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER! You live on opposite ends of the country!
You are right, @costumeczar people all-too-frequently assume that everyone around them is 100% on the same page.
@Webake2gether - right on
:-)
Well, golly gee kids, all you cake bullies have totally hijacked my thread!
Seriously though, I have two thoughts here on this subject:
1. If a simple statement, made on an anonymous forum, has offended you so much, that you feel the need to post a swan song, on a separate thread, calling out everyone on the forum and announcing your departure- I would suggest that there may be other issues in play. Maybe someone is having a really bad day or stresses in their real life, etc. I myself got offended once, said so, was told I was being silly, apologized and moved on. No biggie...
2. We all deal with and complain about the local "cheap cake lady" who takes away our potential business and drags down the industry as a whole. If we are not vocal about it and calling that out but, in fact helping them, are we not part of the problem?
I haven't seen anyone being snarky to someone asking for help on decorating, baking or anything like that. People get irked when someone is selling cakes when they shouldn't be (illegally in some cases) and maybe, as people who love this industry, we should call them out, idk. I usually pass by those threads but it's something to think about. I always feel really bad for the bride who is ordering a cake from someone they think is a professional when, in fact, that person has never even done a tiered cake. I'm not sorry about that. Doing it for family or friends, who know you and your level of skill, is a totally different scenario and I will try and help those cakers all day and I think most of us do that.
@Webake2gether Where the heck do you live? I never realized people had bakery drama with other businesses in real life. That's awful that you have to deal with that.
@LelekBolek What's in your coffee today? You're on fire! 
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