Hilarious!  I would also like my cake covered in fondue . . . :)

Liz
 

Similar to yours, I was asked:

"Can you make a custom 3-tiered cake for less than $80?" Uh, no.

"Oh....(with a bewildered, why-not? look).....Ok then, can you make it just one level so I can save but make it really really tall because there will be close to 50 people to serve?"  

Sparklekat the only sad thing about your video is that the people it is aimed at will not get it.  But all us decorators will get a laugh.

So as I was reading all 54 pages of this thread I have this conversation with a  customer:

(Back story... I have been helping a local family with their adoption costs by doing fundraising cupcakes out of my shop. They finally get their child and a friend is hostessing a drop in shower for them. The new mother specifically says that she wants to get the cake from me because of everything I have done to help)

Previous conversation with hostess: (phone)

Hostess: Hi, I am so and so. Friends with so and so. I wanted to let you know they are bringing baby boy home today and see if you can make a small cake to serve after a dinner we are throwing for them.

Me: Great! I would love to. How many people are you looking to serve and when would you need it?

Hostess: It needs to serve 10-12 and I need it by 3:00 (It is noon now)

Me: Well I don't usually do last minute cakes but they are very special to me so I will make an exception. It will be $25

Hostess: I wasn't looking to spend that much on a cake for tonight, I will just pick something up at the store. But don't worry, I will still use you for the shower.

Me: Great. Let me know when you have the date and details.

Next Conversation (1 week before the shower date through facebook)

Hostess: I am so glad you are doing the cake for (mom & dads) shower. I have heard so many good things about you. ( I am the only baker to do custom cakes in my area). I ordered the these decorations from this party supply company. Can you make the cake match the decorations to that theme?

Me: Of course I can. Do you know how many people you are expecting?

Hostess: 75 people. It is a drop in shower so I was thinking about doing a display cake that the parents can cut and 75 cupcakes so everyone can have one. I would like blue butter cream on the small cake with the whale, turtle, and heart in fondant and little red fondant hearts on each of the cupcakes. How much is that going to be?

Me: I will only charge you for the cake itself. So $15 for the center cake ( I gave her a discount because I knew she was spending a lot on this party) and $1.50 per cupcake. So that is $127.50. I will throw in the fondant decorations free. That will save you $52.50.

Hostess: I wasn't prepared to spend that much on a bunch of cupcakes. I will take care of the cake myself.

Me: I am so sorry to hear that. But that is ALOT of cake and will take quite a bit of time on my part. Is there anything you would like to change so we can get it in your budget?

Hostess: I will just get a cake from Sams Club ( really? really lady? Not only are you comparing me to Sams Club, but you are going against something that new mom specifically requested)

Me: (after a bit of fuming) Can I just ask how much do you expect to pay for custom center cake and 75 cupcake?

Hostess: I can get a delicious cake beautifully decorated with fondant for $25  (Alrighty then lady. You have at it)

I then sent the mom a message telling her exactly why I wasn't doing her cake so she knew what was going on and that I would bring her a gift before the shower ( I am thinking a beautifully decorated elaborate diaper cake that she can sit in the center of the table for the shower)

I can see you point re pricing,you were doing her a huge favour, but if the new mum wants your cake then she;ll have to understand why you're not doing it. Her friend is obviously not able to afford your prices and it going for the cheapest option which is a shop bought cake.

What a cheapskate! Your price for her was already low and it's still too much? Not only that but the arsey, snarky, 'I can get a delicious cake beautifully decorated blah blah'.

I'm super peed off for you.

A

The problem is that people nowadays have twinkies as their standard of what "delicious" cake is, Olive Garden as what their standard of what good Italian food is, and a Hershey bar as their standard of what good chocolate is. She probably does think that a Sam's club cake is delicious, but most of her guests will too since they all probably have a palate of cement like her. Low standards result in people not giving a flip about paying for better quality.

A

So true!

Too funny!  Love "Get Out" - "Just Go". 

So I have this customer today.....it's his birthday today and he says he wants a batman lego cake - a BIG one - and make sure it has batman, robin, and the joker......oh and chocolate........and make sure it's BIG! .................it's my son.......he's only 4 years old today..........he believes in mommy..........

AStrubbette that sucks, but coming from her side, if she's been as generous to her friend as you have, she might be all spent out. Not that it means you should give her a freebie, but I can see where she's coming from too. Good cake is expensive, and $125 is a lot of money to me, as I'm sure it is to many, whether it's what the mom wants or not. If I was the friend I'd probably be upset that the mom I'm throwing the shower for is expecting me to pay so much.

Just saying I can see her side too, and really you've both been put in an awkward position.

I can understand the sticker shock. Most people don't realize how much a custom cake can cost, that's why I offered a discount and to throw some things in for free. I also asked her if there was anything she would like to change to lower the price. Remember... this is for 75 people! And she asked for specific things that I decided to throw in for free because I knew that she was already doing something nice for this family.

But what bothers me most was the "Sams Club" comment. I knew she was throwing that out there to be snarky after I wouldn't lower the price. Oh, and the closest Sams Club is an hour and a half away from us. So she is going to drive 3 hours and spend all of that gas money on a "$25 cake" when I was going to deliver for free

Haha if I get a chance I'll redo it with those points! ;)

Aomg, I actually had someone ask me "would you squeeze in a cake for my son's birthday if I passed out your business cards and referred ppl to you for cakes? I don't have much money to spend on a cake so just thought I'd ask"...uh first of all she wanted a 2 tier cake (8"&12") which would NORMALLY cost $475 for the design she wanted, and only wanted to pay $30. SECOND OF ALL I give several business cards with every cake that gets picked up and 90% of my customers are ppl who attended a party that had my cake and got a business card from the host of the party. so to knock off over $400 from a cake to do the same thing that everyone else does who pays full price for their cake.... no thanks! oh, not to mention, if you didn't have much money to spend on a cake, DON'T ORDER A HUGE FREAKING CAKE! sheeesh! lol the nerve of some ppl.

You pretty much summed up how I have been feeling. lol

I just want to say that I hope all you bakers are "respecting your ingredients". 

This seems to be the buzz word sentence from all the top chefs on telly the last couple of years.  It drives me bonkers.  I want to say "Nah, I bruise and bash the c... out of them so they no longer taste any good.  And can anyone actually tell me how I show respect to a carrot, for example that, I am about to chop into little pieces.

A

AIs that like asking for an awesome recipe, I noticed that a few times in the last few days and I had to stop myself from posting that I only had crappy ones.

ATo me respecting your ingredients means not ruining them with junk, or overpowering them. I have a very good friend from Sicily who taught me that in Italian cuisine, it's about using as few ingredients as possible, and that using quality ingredients is crucial because they are all you will taste. Personally it breaks my heart that people go to all the effort of making a scratch cake, then dump a box of pudding in. You might as well have just used a box mix to start with.

AMine too, cream cheese, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. That's it.