Thanks guys!!! Its nice to know I'm not the only person to get the CRAZIES!!!!!!!

I had a lady call today that wanted a special cake for her daughter's 20th b-day................2 tier to feed like 10 people I told her the price starts at $50........I thought she was gonna have a stroke!!
"I hear your cakes are really good but I cant believe people pay those prices"GIVE ME A BREAK!!
I sent her to Wal Mart!!

Littlecake the food gel is watered down w/water.

Thanks for all the support!!!

that's what we all need to do...go to places we hear great things about...ask for samples, complain the prices are too high for top of the line products and ask them to accomodate our little budgets and big dreams..lol

what is up lately with the people wanting tiered cakes for a tiny party????

i get that at least once a week.

do they seriously think they can get a tiered cake for the same price as a quarter sheet?

my cheapest is 59.00 for a 8 and a 6...

i got that just a couple days ago....thet asked...i could tell they were budget shoppers...i told them i'd be happy to make it for them if thier budget allowed.

one of them almost had a baby on the floor and said she'd NEVER pay 60 bucks for a cake.

i'm serious...i'm about ready to get "my duff on"...and send em all to wal mart!

Your handpainted cakes and cookies are amazing! YOu offer something they can not get at Walmart! Don't back down. You will find those that appreciate your work and are willing to pay for it. : )

I just had a bride this week tell me a Bakery she went to gave her a lower price. My response, I've had their cake and it's really good, if they will give it to you for that price that's a real bargin

She ordered from me - go figure.

I have NEVER (and I mean never) balked at any baker's price for anything I've ordered from them. I remember ordering cakes from the same lady back before I started decorating...I used to get 1/2 sheets from her all the time. Nothing special, no torting...just a Happy birthday who-ever and a decent border. Maybe an edible image or whatever. They were always like $75, and I'd tip her, too.

What's WRONG with people today?? Get this:

I just took an order for a lady's (grandmother's) 80th birthday. She's another officer's wife, yada...yada. Ok. So she tells me she wants a hatbox cake with lid propped open on top with flowers spilling out. With a draw-string bag next to it, and a layer of "something" under it to look like it's all some frilly gift-boxes sitting together. Very explicit about the colors, filling, frosting, and flavors. Extremely (did I say "extremely?") vivid in imagery as to exactly what she wanted. TO SERVE 50 PEOPLE.

You wanna know what her "budget" is? For the cake?





$75.

--Knox--

What! $75??? Some people.... so what did you tell her?

knoxcop.............your so funny!!!!!

Knox, and everyone out there doing cakes for less just to get into your portfolios..


PLEASE, PLEASE....make sure that they KNOW you're giving them a discount! if you give them a bill, you can write whatever amount on there and then deduct with a big .."DISOUNT" that give you the end price!

because the next person that comes along and wants that same cake is going to balk at paying anything more thant that 75 dollars!

I STILL do that, when I want a new pic..lol so I KNOW how tempting it is! but I've gotten smarther and write in big letters the original price and the discount..and I do tell them WHY I discount.

I never tell them it's my FIRST cake, I just tell them I need the photo for my webpage..I also try to take the pic without the name on the cake..

I read this whole post and most of the other one that dealt with the same topic. I can understand your frustration. I used to work in retail (a supermarket cashier and also in a couple of large department stores, most notably, Macy's in both clothing and cosmetics) and I know unless it's my own store, I never want to do it again. Even when I worked in an office as the receptionist/secretary, I still had to deal with all sorts of people - in person and on the phone. I know how stupid some people can be and you need a lot of patience to deal with them, but I always TRY (don't always succeed) to to give the benefit and think about where they might be coming from.

Who wouldn't want to get a great deal on something?! How many of us shop around for that printer we're going to dedicate to only doing edible images? I've heard many on this board say they got a great deal by going to e-bay. Of course people want to pay Saturn prices for a Cadillac. It's human nature that people want to get the most for their money especially with the cost of living today. My husband just told me yesterday that they're finally raising minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. I couldn't believe it. I'm 37 and when I started working at age 16 I was making $5 and change an hour. You mean to tell me it's taken 21 years for that small increase!!?!! No wonder people are watching their pennies.

I mean don't we all shop around for our supplies? Do we just go to the most expensive supplier and figure, "Well their prices are higher, so they must have better equipment/service, etc."?

As for calling to check on prices, I know it's annoying especially when you have them posted on a website, but I've had it happen to me where I've checked the website then called a company and they've said, "Oh, I'm sorry but that hasn't been updated in a while. It actually costs XX." I'm like what the.... Guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Also, some people might just want to hear a person at the other end of the line just to get a feel for whom they're dealing with. Just look at the post regarding SugarCraft. How many CCers just don't want to deal with the woman because of her 'winning' attitude even if they're not having merchandise shipped?

Also, believe it or not, there still are those people out there who don't use a computer. I realize it's shocking, but I know quite a few, especially older people who don't want to be bothered buying something that will be obsolete in a couple of years.

Regarding tasting. I always thought that was a good idea, even if it's not for a wedding cake. Would you buy a car without test driving it? And this is an item that can't be returned. Is it that cost prohibitive to keep a batch of cupcakes in the freezer for those who want to taste the product before purchasing it? (You can always let them know that fresh tastes better then frozen, but at least they'll have something to go by). In a restaurant you have the option to send it back or have something changed. Not so with with the cake.

Anyway, while I understand everything that was said here, I thought I'd try to give equal time to all those who aren't represented on this board - the customers.

By the way, if I knew back in '93 what I know today, I would've done almost everything differently regarding my wedding. I won't get into it now as this is long enough, but I just wanted to try and be fair.

-Grace

P.S. No, I don't have a store. Nor do I sell cakes to anyone (yet). But I have been a customer and I've also been on the other side.

Grace, your post has shamed me...not much but it has touched me.

You are right.

and yes...my prices have risen since I put up my web page, but I always honor those prices when they tell me that they saw it there.

also, I can't offer tastings because my place is too small, but I will tell my client to order a smaller cheaper cake if they are not sure, but thank goodness that most of my customers are actually someone that had my cake at someone's party..(crossing fingers!)

and the reason I get a little crazy..( at least in my head) is because I am EVERYTHING and everyone in my little shop, and the phone seems to be ringing with "price checkers or the competion" when I'm most busy.

I have to come out of the back, remove my gloves and apron to answer the phone!!

but , I thank you for your post, and It will make me have more patience ..even for a day..lol

You're welcome RB (I think). Not trying to make anyone feel badly, just trying to make people aware that there might be reasons behind why others do the things they do. Of course, there'll always be the stupid ones who do things 'just because'.

I wish you all the best in your business and hope one day I can do the same (have my own shop/business). You're very talented and I know how annoying it is to be interrupted in the middle of doing something, especially when it's something delicate, needs a lot of concentration, a steady hand..........oh, sort of like decorating a cake perhaps.

(Let's just chalk it up to the flying monkees)

yeeeeeeeah..that's it..those "FLYING MONKEYS!" NO CAKE FOR THEM!

no but you're right and usually I love my customers, but when I get a little stressed I just don't want to stop..lol

RISQUE': (flying monkeys, dude!)

--Knox--

Grace, you are right to mention seeing things from the customer's point of view. Maybe we all need to blame Stephi Stewart, the lady who wrote the book "fire your wedding planner" because she is probably one of the most popular ladies out there with brides-to-be. I know for a fact that I've learned a lot of good advice from her about shopping around and asking for deals, because brides are taken advantage of from vendors if they aren't knowledgable. When I was a bride, I never would have considered asking a cake person to reduce their price....however much their cakes were is how much they were! And now that I see all the work and even stress that goes into making a cake, I know they are worth every penny. I also want to say, that when my daughter was turning 1 (she is now 22) a friend made the Care Bear cake and charged me $5. So I have always thought that cakes made from home were less expensive than store bought cakes. Boy was I wrong!!

SweetTreatsbyCarol, I know what you mean about being taken advantage of as a bride-to-be. lol. I didn't have the backbone to stand up to a few people I should have and I can be a bit more aggressive than my hubby!

His father got us the hall in Brooklyn - I wanted something in either Long Island or New Jersey (i.e. something nice). His father also offered to get us the limos, but neglected to tell us we were paying for them. Yes, we did ride in a Rolls, but my dream, and my hubby knew this, was to have a horse and carriage. That was the only extravagant thing I wanted for my wedding. Also dealing with Bridesmaids was fun - there were eight (because my hubby has a brother, two male cousins and lots of friends) and my sister-in-law kept telling me there was no way she'd wear a comb in her hair and it wouldn't stay in, etc. so I gave in and ordered small head pieces. Turns out they were small; too small. Everyone was uncomfortable except for my s-i-l whose mom cut it in the back so it wasn't noticable. She also told me she had a friend who dyed shoes. The first batch of shoes were done wrong (seven pairs dyed peach and one aquamarine), then the next batch was done and received two days before the wedding and the colors didn't match the dresses well. Oh well. I tend not to take advice from my s-i-l too much.

Anyway, I can go on and on, but won't. The only thing I will mention is that to this day I went by word of mouth and used Alba (Brooklyn, NY) for my wedding cake. Yuk! And even though DH and I made our own centerpieces, bought and wrapped our own favors, I bought plain white dyable shoes and appliques and made my own shoes and did my own calligraphy - our wedding cost us $15,000. That doesn't include the hall, or my dress and headpiece (my mom pd $440/dress and $350/headpiece due to crystals glued onto veil which the woman told me I wouldn't be able to do myself and afterwards realized I would have), and my m-i-l bought the silk flowers - went to a place I liked, then went to a place she liked and got a better price, but I hated the flowers.

Well I'm ranting again so I'll stop. But I understand why people shop around and want the best price they can get. Nobody wants to be taken advantage of and that includes the vendors and you bakers!

Knox, that's actually a great idea.

Even I shop around! So why am I complaining...................because I'm a big winey baby!!

I give away alot of free samples ...........Hell I give away alot of free stuff!
(I'm a sucker for a sob story) Actually thats my best advertisement!!

My shop is a store front but its a made to order place so you HAVE to order to get anything. People dont understand that concept so I keep cookies or cupcakes on hand so when they start to complain I shove one in there face(freebie) it calms them down everytime!!!

Im just like you Risque... ....small shop and Im everything...baker,decorater,dishwasher,trash taker,accountant,phone girl,daycare...... my little girl from 9 months until now went to work with me everyday(THANK GOD for preschool)

I really do love my customers (most of them LOL) they pay all my bills!!

Thanks everyone for letting me rant! I love this place!! My husband is sooooooooo jealous !!

I understand that people want to shop for bargains, but they also have to understand a lot of times when you shop for bargain prices, you get a bargain product. One reason I don't particularly care for shopping at WalMart, stuff gets broken or wears out in no time.

There's a customer for every shopping "genre", meaning the bargain hunter and those who wouldn't dare spend bottom dollar on anything, you just have to decide who you are going to cater to. For those who want that extra special, non-run of the mill product, they are willing to pay extra. Think of MAC makeup, people continue to buy their products at their prices, or Aveda, etc... I can go on and on.

Even Duff is now a "brand". That's where the answer is, making your product into a brand that represents quality, taste and artistry.

Sorry for the longwinded reply but just my 2 cents.

I posted this site over in Cake decorating_ but you Ladies might like to read it, too...
http://www.artisticsugarworks.com/html/but_it_s_just_cake___.html

I have a small store front in a small but high income community and I still get complaints from one or two people who can afford to pay but still have in their mind set on supermarket prices.

If they complain about the prices of the custom cake that they want, I tell them to go to the supermarket and get the same sheet cake that everybody else orders.

I love those customers.