Okay, I was stupid and didn't know when to say no, so I agreed to make a birthday cake for tomorrow even though I have a wedding and groom's cake for Saturday (to feed 300 people). She wanted a Rolie Polie Olie cake (which I had never even HEARD of until she asked for it), but she wanted it in the SHAPE of him. I agreed.

Well, long story short, since Olie is quite a lanky fellow and the cake needs to feed 20 people, the cake board would have to be HUGE to accomodate his limbs and antenna. So I thought I would do a small Olie cake on top of a sheet cake. That didn't work out very well, and after much frustration and exhaustion (from working on the wedding cakes as well) I ended up just making Olie out of fondant, because I ran out of time (I baked the cake Monday with the other cakes and froze, but I didn't start on decorating until about two hours ago )

I feel terrible, because she asked for the cake to be shaped like Olie, and I didn't do what she wanted. I'm going to offer her a hefty discount tomorrow when she picks it up, but I still feel like a failure.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else?

I think it turned out great!! Looks like Rollie Pollie Ollie to me.. I am sure she will understand and besides she is still getting a great looking cake!! Don't be so hard on yourself, that is quite a tough cake to accomplish, and you did great

Big hugs to you,
Beth

I think that cake is ADORABLE!!! I can understand feeling bad because you didn't do exactly what she asked and if she's upset then offering a discount is fair. You should still be proud of a job well done. Some lucky child is going to get a yummy and BEAUTIFUL cake!!

thanks you guys... I can always count on my CC friends to lift my spirits! I guess I'm just tired and stressed... you all know how it is!

thanks again, y'all.

I think it is adorable and beautifully done kiddo! And yes, a couple of times I got an order last minute and had to do what they wanted in a different format because I was strapped for time. Like you, I gave a discount but afterwards I thought, had they given me more notice I would have done a better job of meeting their wishes. I think you did your best in this situation.
Hugs Squirrelly

thanks Squirrelly! I guess I never should have agreed to it when I had so much else going on... but she said if I didn't make it they would just get a cake from the grocery store and put a toy on it! I couldn't have that!

So I guess this is better than what they would have had anyway.

I think it looks great and I think the customer will be glad to have it. I've seen the cakes she is talking about and your cake is just as cute if not cuter. She'll be thrilled! It looks terrific. The polka dots are perfect for a 1-year old too! Great job.

I love it! It is much better as it is.. great job!

I think your cake is wonderful! It's very colorful! She still would not have gotten anything like that from a grocery store!!!
I say GOOD JOB!! I think she will still be happy!

Looks awesome, love the colors, Im sure she will be happy with it!

Thanks you guys - hopefully she'll agree with y'all.

Ditto on the cake!! It looks great!!! Don't worry they'll like it!!!!

I don't think it's a bad idea to indicate that the change in shape of the cake was primarily because the shape needed to feed 20 people and RPO's silhouette was simply not going to do it. What with him being half legs and arms and antennae.

So this was your alternative that still features the character yet can easily feed the 20 guests. It's a great looking cake and there's no way the kid won't love it. Considering the very short notice, even Mom should be pleased with the result.

And remind her:

You cant always get what you want
You cant always get what you want
You cant always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need

Did she already pay for the shaped cake? if so i can understand the discount/refund but surely you are only going to charge her for the sheet cake and that price would seem like a discount anyway. If she complains, then you can tell her that the cake she request AT SUCH SHORT notice wasn't doable after you had time to think about it and it needed more prep time. dont apologize for this design, it is great, fun and colorful, and she has enough serving now too. let us know how it turns out.

no, she hasn't paid for it yet... I'm just going to charge her my normal sheet cake price with a little skimmed off. Thanks everyone for making me feel so much better about this cake, I'm not so worried about whether she'll be upset now!

She'll love it. It's way too cute not to LOVE!

..your cake is adorable! I wouldn't even bring up the idea of a discount.....show her the cake and just see what she says. I'm guessing she is going to love it, regardless of the shape of Olie!!

i think it is just beautiful

I think it's absolutely adorable. Really excellent.

I can't imagine they would complain.

For the record, my neice and nephew LOVED him and I had to sit through some of his cartoons and they aren't that annoying, he's actually kinda cute.

I love it too! Don't worry, I agree it too adorable not to love!

i dont think a discount is needed...once she sees that cake, she'll forget everything she asked for!

IT'S A GREAT CAKE!!

just tell her the board would have to be much bigger than the cake and it would have looked silly...or something like that...

anyways, whatever you decide to do..discount or not, i'm sure she'll love it!

Let us know what she say's because I think it's adorable!
Judy

Like everyone has said...the cake is fantastic!!! I'd be very happy with it.

As Ollie himself would say " Golly Gee Willicars That is one great cake"
Yeah I have a 3 year old son! And you guys are about my only adult conversation through the day!

But, seriously, I think the cake is great and who would guess you didn't know who Ollie is. You captured all that is "POLLIE"

Your cake is GREAT!!! I wouldn't offer the discount until you see her reaction, then take it from there. I might tell her that after researching Ollie, he needed a more colorful background to capture the true character.....which by the way, you did a GREAT job!!! I think she'll LOVE it!! I've ordered things before, expressing my opinion, and they come back way different, but so much better. I think this is the case here! I think it looks way better than it would have with a huge body (to feed 20) and sprawley legs and arms. I wish I had so much creativity! I'm more a copier than a creator. I can copy just about anything, but don't ask me to come up with it on my own....BIG MISTAKE! It just doesn't happen!! You should be proud of your ability and know that your customer came out better this way too!!!

Let us know what your customer thinks. I think she will be extremely happy with the results.

great looking cake even if it isn't quite what they wanted. I think they will be happy....i did a dragon fly cake and was pressed for time so i bought little debbie jelly rolls and arranged them in a straight line and iced for the long tail looked and tasted great would have worked great for the arms legs and antenna...just something that might help in the future

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement! She came and picked up the cake a little while ago, and was really happy with it! I'm so glad, she said it was perfect.

Thanks again!