AI am thinking about charging a fee of $5/half hour for people showing up late for their cake. I am so tired of waiting around for hours for people to get their cake and not contacting me about being late. It's so rude! Does this happen to everyone or am I some kind of magnet for ignorant people?
I'm not sure where I read it, but there's a tale of the nursery who was having difficulty with parents coming late to pick up their child, so they instituted a fine system of something like 50c per minute late to discourage parents from doing it. The problem they found was that parents were more likely to be late, as they felt that it was well worth it for the amount of the fine.
My point is, make it painful enough a charge to be a real deterrant, and not just a way for them to justify keeping you waiting.
AThat is a good point. If I'm going to do it I should make it huge! At the rate things are going the late pick up fee could become my largest area of profit! LOL
Way back when...I worked in Childcare and we had a real problem with late pick ups. We started charging $5 per minute. Believe me it didn't take very long for the late parents to get the message. All the money went to the person who had to stay with the kids.
AI used to work at a summer camp and we had the same problem there. I always felt so bad for the kids who's parents were late. You would think after a week they would miss them enough to pick them up on time.
AThis morning's late pickup finally arrived. She loved the cake, she oohed and aahed, she put the 2-tiered cake [B]on her friend's lap[/B]!
AI dealt with this problem by giving customers a one hour pickup window. If the customer hadn't arrived yet ~45 minutes into the window I would give them a call letting them know that I would not be available after the window was over and asking when they wanted to reschedule their pickup for if they could not make the window. Since the majority of the customers needed the cake that day, they would invariably be there promptly.
I agree with Jason - give them a window, tell them you won't be there past the window, and pickups not made will need to be arranged for during the next business day.
Liz
AA one hour window is a much more sober, reasonable, realistic plan, to be sure. Also much better than my other idea of locking the door and throwing the cake in the trash! ;)
AWouldn't it be funny if they arrived to find my family sitting around the table eating their cake!
On Saturday mornings, I give customers a two hour window to pick up their cake. I tell them that I will be leaving to make deliveries and I have never had anyone be late. I guess there will be a first time. But, it is just rude not to call and let a person know that you are running late!
I have this same problem! I have started giving people a half hour window and telling them I have another appointment right after so they need to be on time. If there is only 10 min remaining in the appointment and they haven't arrived I call them and tell them I can't wait for them and reschedule to another time. I hate waiting for people! some are so inconsiderate! I had one girl not show up after an hour and a half of waiting I called her and she said she would be right there. When I asked how long because I had to leave in 10 for another appointment she said she was in the Costco lineup and had to make a couple more stops on the way! (Costco is about 25 min from me without factoring in two other stops) I told her she would have to reschedule and my next available time for pick up was 4 hours later. ( my appointment was taking my kids to the beach - - she didn't need to know that) Thankfully I have my commercial kitchen in my house so if I really don't have anywhere to be it doesn't bother me that much because I will just enjoy the time with my kids.
I simply stopped allowing pick ups, haha, my patience level hovers very slightly above zero.
I gave 1 hour of grace, then they rescheduled, at my convenience. I would call at the 30 minutes mark and let them know they had the option to reschedule or be there within half an hour.
A
Original message sent by as you wish
Wouldn't it be funny if they arrived to find my family sitting around the table eating their cake!
I would pay to see their faces!
AI hate being late and hate others being late, i had an order for this one girl and after finding out where she lived it was 45 min. Away but i was going to be in her area that day so i told her if she wanted to meet me at such in such place at said time i would save her a long trip. For her it would be maybe 7-9 min to come pick it up where i was going rather her driving 1 hour. She thanked me and said awesome etc. So im waiting and waiting i call her 10 min after she was already suppose to be their and she tells me " oh sorry my fiance took my car and i didnt know it". She then tells me she will be right there. Time passed i was waiting another 38 min. Besides what i had already waited. I was mad!!! She knew it too and I'll never do an order for her again. 1 how do you not know your fiance took your car and 2 if you have to be somewhere at a certain time then you will have to leave in advance so thus knowing in advance you dont have a car and still not even calling me at all till i called her when she was already late. Grrrrrr lol. It's just rude!!! I do love Jason's idea though. Thank you for letting me vent, i know where you are coming from.
A
Original message sent by brendajarmusz
I hate being late and hate others being late, i had an order for this one girl and after finding out where she lived it was 45 min. Away but i was going to be in her area that day so i told her if she wanted to meet me at such in such place at said time i would save her a long trip. For her it would be maybe 7-9 min to come pick it up where i was going rather her driving 1 hour. She thanked me and said awesome etc. So im waiting and waiting i call her 10 min after she was already suppose to be their and she tells me " oh sorry my fiance took my car and i didnt know it". She then tells me she will be right there. Time passed i was waiting another 38 min. Besides what i had already waited. I was mad!!! She knew it too and I'll never do an order for her again. 1 how do you not know your fiance took your car and 2 if you have to be somewhere at a certain time then you will have to leave in advance so thus knowing in advance you dont have a car and still not even calling me at all till i called her when she was already late. Grrrrrr lol. It's just rude!!! I do love Jason's idea though. Thank you for letting me vent, i know where you are coming from.
A
Original message sent by brendajarmusz
I hate being late and hate others being late, i had an order for this one girl and after finding out where she lived it was 45 min. Away but i was going to be in her area that day so i told her if she wanted to meet me at such in such place at said time i would save her a long trip. For her it would be maybe 7-9 min to come pick it up where i was going rather her driving 1 hour. She thanked me and said awesome etc. So im waiting and waiting i call her 10 min after she was already suppose to be their and she tells me " oh sorry my fiance took my car and i didnt know it". She then tells me she will be right there. Time passed i was waiting another 38 min. Besides what i had already waited. I was mad!!! She knew it too and I'll never do an order for her again. 1 how do you not know your fiance took your car and 2 if you have to be somewhere at a certain time then you will have to leave in advance so thus knowing in advance you dont have a car and still not even calling me at all till i called her when she was already late. Grrrrrr lol. It's just rude!!! I do love Jason's idea though. Thank you for letting me vent, i know where you are coming from.
I'm not sure where I read it, but there's a tale of the nursery who was having difficulty with parents coming late to pick up their child, so they instituted a fine system of something like 50c per minute late to discourage parents from doing it. The problem they found was that parents were more likely to be late, as they felt that it was well worth it for the amount of the fine.
My point is, make it painful enough a charge to be a real deterrant, and not just a way for them to justify keeping you waiting.
Freakonomics - and this was the first thing I thought of too :)
A
Original message sent by KoryAK
[QUOTE name="LizzieAylett" url="/t/761272/fed-up-with-late-pick-ups#post_7418875"] I'm not sure where I read it, but there's a tale of the nursery who was having difficulty with parents coming late to pick up their child, so they instituted a fine system of something like 50c per minute late to discourage parents from doing it. The problem they found was that parents were more likely to be late, as they felt that it was well worth it for the amount of the fine.
My point is, make it painful enough a charge to be a real deterrant, and not just a way for them to justify keeping you waiting.
[/QUOTE]
Freakonomics - and this was the first thing I thought of too :)
My daycare had this too, I think it was $5 for every 5 minute increment, so if you were 6 minutes late, it was $10.
A@ Annabakescakes, all i can say is wow!!! Wow to the entire family craziness an wow, wow to the way they handled picking up the cakes from you, that is just rude and insane and disrespectful. You handled it better than most people would have.
A
Original message sent by brendajarmusz
@ Annabakescakes, all i can say is wow!!! Wow to the entire family craziness an wow, wow to the way they handled picking up the cakes from you, that is just rude and insane and disrespectful. You handled it better than most people would have.
Once, he ordered a cake for a Wednesday, and then said it would be for Saturday, and then rescheduled for the following Saturday. It was already baked and decorated, AND PAID FOR, so I just stuck it in a box, and stuck it in the freezer. It is irritating, but he spends $150-240 a month here, and he is so stinking cute he makes my knees weak. And he smells SOOO good. I can totally see how he has all these baby mamas. lol :grin:
Once, he ordered a cake for a Wednesday, and then said it would be for Saturday, and then rescheduled for the following Saturday. It was already baked and decorated, AND PAID FOR, so I just stuck it in a box, and stuck it in the freezer. It is irritating, but he spends $150-240 a month here, and he is so stinking cute he makes my knees weak. And he smells SOOO good. I can totally see how he has all these baby mamas. lol
Love it! I can see the contract: "One hour pickup window, unless you make the baker's knees weak, in which case, come whenever you like and she'll be drooling at the window." 
A
Original message sent by mcaulir
[QUOTE name="Annabakescakes" url="/t/761272/fed-up-with-late-pick-ups/15#post_7419398"] Once, he ordered a cake for a Wednesday, and then said it would be for Saturday, and then rescheduled for the following Saturday. It was already baked and decorated, AND PAID FOR, so I just stuck it in a box, and stuck it in the freezer. It is irritating, but he spends $150-240 a month here, and he is so stinking cute he makes my knees weak. And he smells SOOO good. I can totally see how he has all these baby mamas. lol :D [/QUOTE] Love it! I can see the contract: "One hour pickup window, unless you make the baker's knees weak, in which case, come whenever you like and she'll be drooling at the window."
Exactly!
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