Your Most Difficult Customer? ( Long Rant )

Decorating By KayDay Updated 3 Mar 2006 , 4:03am by BellaRosa

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KayDay Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 9:56pm
post #1 of 42

Honestly, what do you do fellow cake decorators when faced with someone completely indecicive, hard to work with or just plain unreasonable? Have you ever encountered one of these? Get this scenario...little "buffy".....(which is my new terminology for all the spoiled young girls with a lot more of daddys money than they have sense ) who honestly think this world revolves around them alone. Now I know being the "BRIDE" has it's perks...but for goodness sake do you really have to be such a prima donna... 6 mos. before the wedding? But I digress...Little Buffy contacts me back before Christmas to consult on her wedding, she misses a couple of appointments. Then I figure she has found someone else and throw away her number. She then contacts me one day in Jan. to ask again about a consultation I set one up..then I have two deaths in my family on the same day on day of said meeting.. and do something rare, I call to cancel..well she seemed so upset that I had my best friend (who works with me and knows as much as I do) meet with her and show her cakes etc. She picks a cake she loves...simple black ribbon on white square fondant stacked cake, because she loves " CLASSIC". And says nobody in the areas cakes come close to ours as about all you see around here are older style stacked BC and tiers. And I am the ONLY one who does fondant.

Then she calls me 2 days later and has decided on a whimsy brightly colored cake...MMMkkk...I think this is a huge change, but figure it is her business. But am seriously thinking if this girl doesnt have more of an idea as to her own taste she might not even have the same fiance by the time August rolls around and I make a mental note to get the deposit as soon as I can. Anyway we set up a consultation at my home office since thats the most convenient time etc. for her, and I make samples etc, have everything ready and guess what? She doesnt show!!!! icon_evil.gif At this point I am giving up and thinking forget her. She then calls a couple of weeks later and acts as if nothing ever happened. I do drop a hint or two about kinda wondering what happened to her but dont really say much. She asks when I am available and I tell her that I am swamped and have a couple of weddings plus it was the weekend of the bridal show that I did, but that if she wants to come to the bridal show we will have samples and displays etc, and can consult there. She agrees and I tell her where it is going to be held and we hang up. She doesnt show for bridal show. So then she wants a short notice consultation for today and I can't ..so my sister returns her call to tell her we cant and her fiance gets rude and says something about us canceling on them and this making the 4th time!

OK, I almost blew my top, sis comes to me tells me what he is saying and I loudly say in the background, WE HAVE CANCELED ONCE! ALL THE OTHERS SHE DIDNT SHOW! And how is today a cancelation as I am simply saying we cant today? As my sister is trying to relay message...he hangs up!

So a few minutes later I get a snotty e-mail from her telling me how much money I missed out on and just generally being crappy and telling me it is MY fault that the didnt come to the bridal show as I didnt give her directions!...every other word mis-spelled ..daddy shoulda spent some of that $ on hooked-on phonics! And I stewed about it for a while then sent her one back stating that we had only canceled once and that as difficult as she was I could live without her business...and God help me I actually added a P.S. you might want to look into learning to spell before you rant at the next vendor..as they might take you more seriously!...OK...WHEWWWWWWWwwwwwwwww...I am thru. I just had to vent! I have never in 3 years of doing this had one just like this...just wondering about your...bridezillas?


EDITED: Because due to anger my spelling is even worse than usual!
OK edited again..I hope I have gotten most of the typos so that this is clearer..lol

41 replies
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klg1152 Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:01pm
post #2 of 42

Sometimes not getting the business is a blessing - consider this one of those times.

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TandTHarrell Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:09pm
post #3 of 42

okjust closed my mouth and finished lol, because of shock!!!!!!!

do not worry about your spelling my spelling stinks, gramma we will not even got their.

i havent had anyone that rude then again i have only been doing cakes for 7months.

maybe this was a blessing in disguise
o well her lost

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KayDay Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:13pm
post #4 of 42

Thanks! I am trying to look at it that way too..but I am such a customer nut...I always get told that I go above and beyond..and I have had some difficult ones before but I always managed to make them happy. I truly do this as much for the happiness in what I do factor as the money..and I really hate it when someone makes that impossible...I really feel for whoever does her wedding!

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Cakey Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:15pm
post #5 of 42

That Buffy is LAME. LAME LAME LAME. I would have charged her for missing the appointment where she was supposed to taste things and didn't show up! icon_mad.gif I love the fact that you e-mailed her and burned on her about her spelling icon_razz.gif Hopefully she'll get a dictionary as a wedding present. But more than likely, I think you're right and she won't have that fiance much longer. Pretty soon they'll be in a situation where he's confronted with the truth, not just her version of it, and he'll stop defending her retarded actions. Too bad he couldn't have heard the truth from you! I think you're right that you're better off without her.

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KayDay Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:18pm
post #6 of 42

Yeah, I did also wonder if the guy even KNEW how many she had missed! I doubt it!.

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Helendelk Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:21pm
post #7 of 42

Try having your sister in law be a "little Buffy " as you say... HAHA I go thru that everytime she wants a cake for the niece... She even made a comment of why she didnt choose the lady bug theme. Comment was "I didnt think you could handle making a cute enough lady bug"
Ok how hard is it to make a lady bug?
So she decides to go with Winnie pooh after changing her mind 5 times! 5 ! icon_eek.gif
I asked her are you sure this time because I already have one cake made and tomorrow is her birthday she said yes I want winnie the pooh so .. ok I drag out the decorating stuff again and make a pooh bear.. (If it weren't for my niece I would told her to go else where and get her a ckae if she didnt think I was talented enough.. But trying to keep my tongue tied due to being family I just kept my mouth shut ! We own a candle company as well and she made the comment at the party that we hadnt given her a candle in a long time. I said well you havent bought any and with being a company we usually expect some type of business off freebies.. She raised her voice and said I'm FAMILY I shouldnt have to pay for candles or cakes or floral arrangements.. I smiled and said well due to recently getting our Federal tax number ... Oh this felt so good saying to , "Our company no longer allows family to be a tax right off... HAHAHAHA!! FELT GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and her face was priceless...
Oh to top it off the winnie pooh cake I made... I added a BRIGHT BLUE small cake for her to destroy for her 1st birthday (NOTE: made it that color for a reason HAHAAHA so her momma would have fun cleaning her up)... Well I get there and they had the NERVE icon_mad.gif to go buy her a little cake to eat and never gave her the one I made.She just said well I wanted to pick out her first birthday cake. Again didnt say anything just tried to keep peace but I was fuming ! I did however tell my motherinlaw after we left.. Don't expect me to make her a birthday cake in April go buy it at a bakery!
Cause I might be tempted to add exlax to hers..lol
So see even family can be BRIDEZILLAS .. Im just glad I wasnt around when this girl married into the family..HAHAHAH!

Sorry about the book I guess I had it buried inside and never felt like anyone else would know how GRRR it is when ppl do you this way... Thanks for sharing your story and letting me vent with you! icon_biggrin.gif

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DeniseRoy Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:22pm
post #8 of 42

WOW!!! I have only been doing cakes about 9 months mainly just family and friends. I was hoping some day to do a wedding cake. If that is what i have to look forward to i think i can wait a while longer.

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Cakeman66 Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:26pm
post #9 of 42

Just remember one thing, word of mouth can make or break a business. And if you send a snotty e-mail, then she can re-write/edit it (or have someone do it for her), to make you look very bad as a business person.

You can't help it now that she's not the brightest bulb in the socket, but maybe you can learn a few things about future customers. Say maybe get the Fiances number at the beginning, and make sure you contact both seperately, so more than one person knows what's going on.

Sometimes there's nothing worse than a bad customer, but we can all learn from them.

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KayDay Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:30pm
post #10 of 42

Helen I truly sympathize and feel for you..the ex-lax comment has me cracking up! It made me feel better too to know someone else had felt this way. And Denise don't let this deter you from wanting to do wedding cakes on the whole ..although some have been a little difficult...I have seen far more who's face lit up when she saw her cake and warmed my heart to tears when they said "OHHhhh...thats even morwe beautiful than I imagined!

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subaru Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:39pm
post #11 of 42

You ladies are so nice. I'm afraid, very afraid, that if I ever encounter one of these, they just might leave wearing the cake. Not really......or m..a..y..b..e............, well, let's hope we never find out!

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KayDay Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:41pm
post #12 of 42

Well...if she is dishonest enough to alter the e-mail I sent her, she could actually have done it with ANY of my e-mails, since we had been corresponding since way back...I honestly never done anything to be offensive to a customer EVER, but this time ..I feel good about it...and I honestly think that I am well established enough at this poin that she isnt going to hurt me much. Most people know what kinda service I provide. Out of more than likely 75-100 happy brides over the past few years...one unhappy one isn't going to upset me too much.

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Kelly10176 Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:44pm
post #13 of 42

lol you know what I'm going to say about it {privatly of course}

HOLD your head up high. You did your part and then some. And you can't please all of the people all of the time.

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KittisKakes Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:46pm
post #14 of 42

HA! You guys are a riot!! Fortunately I haven't had one that bad, knock on wood!! icon_biggrin.gif

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Kelly10176 Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 10:49pm
post #15 of 42

i have icon_rolleyes.gif
..and they aren't fun but what people tend to forget is what goes around comes around..so you you can lay your head down at night knowing you did everything you could

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mommachris Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 11:00pm
post #16 of 42

Kayday...
oh, honey you sure dodged the bullet on this one. Be glad, GLAD,GLAD that you aren't actually doing this little girl's wedding. What a pain in the behind it would have been. She never would have been happy and it would have been all your fault.

Hmmm...suppose she'll remember to show up at the wedding since she seems to have an appointment issue icon_rolleyes.gificon_rolleyes.gificon_rolleyes.gif

mommachris

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KayDay Posted 20 Feb 2006 , 11:03pm
post #17 of 42

lol momachris..I feel the same way...I have had those before that it was a joy to work for and a few that left me afterwards wondering did I charge enough ..due to having to deal with them! Luckily far more of the first kind!!

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ge978 Posted 21 Feb 2006 , 1:10am
post #18 of 42

Kayday: I love the humor you injected in the midst of your angry typing icon_biggrin.gif
I have had my share of difficult customers & I have learned a few things.

1. Always go with your gut instinct. If they are difficult on day1 they will be difficult any day. In fact they tend to get worse as time goes on.

2. The customer is not always right. I had a woman make a scene at my shop because her cake was too moist(not undercooked or wet)! We told her if she wanted dry cake to get it elsewhere. She wanted a full refund after bringing in less than half the cake & I didn't give it to her. I never heard from her again. However, one of her best friends called me a week later for a cake for her daughter & she loved it.

3. Always remember to find humor in these situations & be able to laugh because it makes for a better story icon_biggrin.gif

It looks like you have 1-3 pretty much covered. You bent over backwards for her & she would have never been happy. The whole thing would have been more trouble than its worth. I try to make my customers as happy as possible, but there is a limit to what we can endure.

Now, is this the post where we are drinking jack & coke or am I in the wrong place icon_biggrin.gif

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briansbaker Posted 21 Feb 2006 , 2:49am
post #19 of 42

OMG.. I would have personally taken a few samples to her and shoved them right up her @#$ icon_evil.gif
I hate rude people, I hate snotty people.. Glad I stick to small cakes you know the usual family and friend things.. I DO NOT LIKE making cakes for strangers.. great business.. But until i can learn to deal with rude people.. tapedshut.gif

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ge978 Posted 21 Feb 2006 , 2:51am
post #20 of 42

Briansbaker...You had me cracking up with your post...tell us how you really feel icon_lol.gificon_surprised.gificon_lol.gif

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briansbaker Posted 21 Feb 2006 , 2:53am
post #21 of 42

hmmm... tapedshut.giftapedshut.giftapedshut.giftapedshut.giftapedshut.giftapedshut.giftapedshut.giftapedshut.gif
If I did that, Mrs. Missey might send this forum to the Naughty Section!!!

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KayDay Posted 21 Feb 2006 , 3:29am
post #22 of 42

OMG..you guys are killing me..... icon_lol.gif ..but this has made me feel so much better, You always gotta kinda regret losing a customer...but when they are like this one..I think it was a blessing! I am gonna go get Briansbaker and take her with me to "buffy's"..hehe

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briansbaker Posted 21 Feb 2006 , 12:51pm
post #23 of 42

Ha Ha You know I have a signature that fits me to at T! icon_lol.gif

A woman is like a bag of Tea.
You don't know how strong she is until you put her in hot water
. icon_twisted.gif

And KayDay I would LOVE to go with you to little miss "buffys" icon_wink.gif

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Kelly10176 Posted 21 Feb 2006 , 1:08pm
post #24 of 42

*perk* did someone say jack and coke?

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goodcakefairy Posted 22 Feb 2006 , 1:52am
post #25 of 42

In defense of my favorite vampire slayer, here are some other name suggestions for cakezillas:
(done in fun)

Muffin
Paris McWannabe
Pwecious

and finally, after KayDay fired off her email-
Little Miss Has-No-Cake

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mikaza Posted 22 Feb 2006 , 1:56am
post #26 of 42

I love that "Little Miss Has No Cake"

It reminds me of those kids books with Little Miss Giggles and Little Miss Forgetful...

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goodcakefairy Posted 22 Feb 2006 , 2:00am
post #27 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by Helendelk



She even made a comment of why she didnt choose the lady bug theme. Comment was "I didnt think you could handle making a cute enough lady bug"
Ok how hard is it to make a lady bug?

We own a candle company as well and she made the comment at the party that we hadnt given her a candle in a long time. I said well you havent bought any and with being a company we usually expect some type of business off freebies.. She raised her voice and said I'm FAMILY I shouldnt have to pay for candles or cakes or floral arrangements.. I smiled and said well due to recently getting our Federal tax number ... Oh this felt so good saying to , "Our company no longer allows family to be a tax right off...

I added a BRIGHT BLUE small cake for her to destroy for her 1st birthday (NOTE: made it that color for a reason HAHAAHA so her momma would have fun cleaning her up)... Well I get there and they had the NERVE icon_mad.gif to go buy her a little cake to eat and never gave her the one I made.She just said well I wanted to pick out her first birthday cake.




OK, I hate this woman for you. What a witch! What she's actually telling you is that nothing you will ever do will be good enough for HER. Trust me, no one knows ugly passive aggressive family politics like me. I think your response about the tax number was BRILLIANT. And the blue cake was the work of an evil genius. (It's a compliment.)

And telling MIL that you won't be making next year's cake was a good pre-emptive strike. After all, she didn't feel you were qualified to make a ladybug cake, right? (you tell her with a straight face) Wouldn't want to take chances on another cake.

GCF

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goodcakefairy Posted 22 Feb 2006 , 2:05am
post #28 of 42

My most difficult customer wasn't actually a customer, but an in-law of my first paying customer. I made two sheet cakes for a retirement party for $35. It was a family friend, hence the EXTREMELY low price.

So I bring the cakes in, very nervous, but the customer loves them. At the party, the daughter in law of the retiree SPITS THE CAKE out and says, "Well that's just Duncan Hines Mix." tapedshut.gificon_evil.gificon_mad.gif

You see, her mom makes cakes, so she's an expert. I smiled, wanting to snatch her slice back and say, "Well, I won't insult your delicate tastebuds." I took solace in the fact that no one in her husband's family likes her.

With gooooooooood reason.
icon_twisted.gif

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traci Posted 22 Feb 2006 , 2:16am
post #29 of 42

KayDay,

I think you are lucky that you are not doing her cake! A whimsey cake would have been a pain to do and I am sure that she would not have been happy with anything!!!

As far as brides go...I have really been lucky that all of mine have been very pleasant to work with.

I can't blame you for wanting to rant...she totally sounds annoying!!!! icon_wink.gif

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mikaza Posted 22 Feb 2006 , 3:50am
post #30 of 42

Well, this one makes me smile when I look back at it now...but I almost wanted to tear my hair out while it was all going on...

I had a customer who wanted a BIG TALL cake. 5 tiers...and they wanted 7 inch columns between each tier. Let's do the math...5 tiers at 6inches each, plus 4 columns at 7 inches each...that brings us to 58 inches!!! When I tried to explain that they might want to reconsider (since the room they were getting married in did not have vaulted ceilings, and they planned to put the cake on top of a 4 foot high table...)---they just kept insisting that they wanted it SUPER TALL. Some people just dont get it. I was going to go along with it just as asked, but then I decided at the last minute that it was just a bad idea. I substituted all 4 inch columns, with only 2 inches for the top layer...and of course the cake was still incredibly tall--and they loved it and had no idea that it wasnt the 7 inch columns.

They also 'informed' me I would be doing the floral arrangements a few days before the wedding--which was news to me since (1) I had never agreed to and (2) I had never done that before.

The MORNING OF the wedding, the groom delivered around 500 cream roses...and then asked me if I could "please color the frosting to match the roses"

...as if I hadnt just spent the last 60 hours or so working on the cake....

some people just dont get it icon_cool.gif

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