I have a cake I'm delivery on Saturday. My contract states 4pm. I contact the client to confirm point of contact, delivery location and time. She asks if I can deliver at 5pm instead. I asked her when her guests will be arriving and she says 4pm.   I'm already nervous about this delivery. I've got bows that I'm putting in the center of each buttercream tier (when I get there) that I'm praying will stay on with royal icing and lollipop sticks.  I just don't like the idea of navigating the guests and setting up the cake while they're watching me.

idk -- it doesn't bother me -- I just think of it as work and that I can't/won't be bothered by any of the guests and I don't look at them either -- it's as if they're not there --

but the big question is why does she want the cake an hour late into the event -- is it a surprise party?

oh just to make a splash with the cake or something? i tell you wearing a chef's coat really helps mark off the boundaries when delivering -- what do you wear?

Those are tough, I hate being the center of attention so it's always weird to walk into a party and present the cake in front of everyone. Good luck! 

I just had the same request for a cake I'm delivering in a couple of weeks.  She wanted it an hour after the party starts.  I told her I need to deliver it sooner because it will be well chilled for delivery and will need time to come to room temp before the serving.  I think I'm delivering it just before or just as the party starts :)

I really like to get my deliveries over in the morning but this party is not at her house so she won't be there to take it.

I spoke to her on the phone and her fear was that the cake wouldn't be good if it sat out. I assured her that it would be perfectly fine. I plan on wearing a chef's coat, but I still didn't want the attention or the added stress of people watching me. She's ok with me delivering an hour before her guests arrive, since I explained everything. (PHEW!)

You lucked out on that one! We had a delivery to a party at a pool/waterslide place a few weeks ago. 90 degrees out, party was WAY out far behind the pool area. Had to walk through grass, around sprinklers and around the pool to get there, all while carrying a giant tiered Pokemon/Minecraft cake covered in doodads precariously attached with buttercream. My husband (my delivery assistant lol) was sweating bullets carrying this thing. He was only 5 feet from the table when the entire group of kids came RUNNING at us and nearly knocked the cake over. What a delivery. 

OH. MY. GOSH. @hippiecac ‍... I would have died! I think my husband gets more nervous than I do when delivering a cake with me. 

Mine does too! He delivered to NYC for me this morning and was not happy, lol. 

oh another thing to prevent this going forward -- I usually deliver 2 hours in advance of the event so that gives me time to fix any issues -- so that's important time to safeguard -- like you already know -- and this is a selling point to the client who wants a late delivery -- don't tie our hands so that we can deliver the best product as safely as possible --

 but for cheesecake cakes and cream cheese icing I advise that I deliver late aka right on time for the event so the cake has some display but it tell the bride's that they need to serve early -- and I advise the party planner or mob so that hopefully nobody starts freaking out that the isn't there yet kwim

When people told me this, my response was always, "It sits on your counter or it sits on mine .... makes no difference to the cake."

@indydebi  I literally laughed out loud when I read your response!  

That's a great response @indydebi ‍!