shes out of her mind if she thinks shes not paying the entire amount tonight
If she shows up only with the 'final payment'
I would clearly tell her that no she needs to pay the ENTIRE amount right then and there
and if she wont
well then 'too bad so sad sucks to be you no cake for you' is what you tell her.
She has no respect for you and what you do.
Oh, she did only pay the final payment. She dropped it by the house and left it under the doormat. She didn't ring the bell or anything. She called and said that's what she was going to do. I don't know how I missed her phone call, 'cuz I was home. But when I called her this am to say the payment wasn't everything she owed, I haven't heard back. No response to the email, where I added everything up for her, too, to demonstrate that she hadn't paid in full.
I don't understand. I showed the wording of my contract to my DH and he says there's no room for misinterpretation.
Seriously, if you put something on lay a way, for example. And they give you the first month no payment. Do you assume that the first month's payment is a discount off the total?? NO! You just don't have to make a payment that month. You still have to pay off the WHOLE INVOICE. I don't honestly know how this will play out, but I'm no good at this. I can just see a huge confrontation or some lady going around town telling everyone how I refused to do her cake 2 weeks before the wedding!
I am no professional baker, I am learning cake decorating just so I can make cakes for my family. But, looks like you will be working for nothing on this job. IMO, call her and tell her to pick up the money back and you will not be able to make the cake and to find someone else. If I were you, I would do it. There is no guarantee that you will get your complete money and it is a pain to deal with people like this one.
Good luck,
I would drop this account like a hot potato!! No bride UNintentionally acts like this...she obviously does not have the money or is going to stiff you in the end. The cake is WAY TOO IMPORTANT to a wedding and anyone with "good" intentions would never, never, never act like this. Leave this alone before you get burned! Good luck and don't let your desire to get another order"in" be the cause of a sour stomach for the next month!
please DONT make this cake
call her and tell her to come get her money back because due to her lack of payment IN FULL you will not be making her cake
Im not yelling just trying to emphasize the words- sorry
i bet she left you a check too instead of cash- id bet money that its rubber.
please, please please don't do this cake.
Let her talk all she wants, i bet shes got more than one vendor that shes treating the same way.
I didn't mind the payment in check, as I have time for it to clear. But any time after today is cash only.
Wanna hear something funny? I just glanced down at the check and the numbers say $283.75 but she wrote it out longhand as "three hundred eighty three and 75/100"....so I doubt I can cash this anyway.
If I don't hear from her before 9pm tonight, I'll email and call, leaving the following message: "Hi XXXX, it's Stacie Rusk from XBakery. I'm calling/emailing to let you know that your cake order has been cancelled due to non payment. Please call for an appointment to pick up your check and ribbon."
After that I have no idea what will happen.
Holy cow!! there's no way a bank will cash that check if there are two different things written on it. This client is going to be more of a PITA then any amount of money you will be making. I can just see her calling afterwards demanding a refund of some sort because "something" was wrong with the cake. I'd soooo cut this one loose. I won't even book a date for a bride until they've signed the contract and made the deposit. I let them contact me after a consultation. I don't believe in chasing people down to book with me. I hope everything works out. This is really a weird situation.
I'd bet money (cash) that the check with the wrong amount on it was done that way on purpose because she doesn't have the money...you know, like you leave off the signature on one to gain time on actually paying the bill! Lots of ways to delay, I think this is one of them. This girl/woman/bride is playing money games with you.
No way would I accept a check from her for anything only cash, by your deadline!
I hope you just tell her no, looks to be like she will be a nightmare to work with.
" Ooops there goes another rubber check" ! Stay away from this order...it's not worth it! 
THATS THE OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK. SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING...
She should no better than that!! 
, see if she would have given you the right amount from the get go or even written a check correctly I would have said okay if she wants to pay for half the cake, then she shall recieve half the cake, and when she complains tell her behind that is what she paid for and if she wants the other half than she can pay for it and get it on her anniversary!!!
By the way print out those emails and save them in case she does try to be dumb!! That way you have evidence that you did email her and whether or not she responded. Also write down the dates and times that you have called her and make a copy of that check before you give it back, just to cover yourself. Put it somewhere safe and hold onto it for a few years because some people like to wait a while to pull crap out of you know where! 
I totally agree that this chick is stalling. I think your messages have been clear and I would definitely not work with her. This is a disaster waiting to happen. You are a business, not a charity and there is not a business alive that would put up with this.
BTW...send a letter that needs a signature on delivery for your own protections cancelling the account and why.
And by leaving it under the mat without so much as a hi, she was tryingto avoid you! Don't do this order, teach her a life lesson. When i was getting married, i went through a job transition and wouldnt get paid till a week after my final payment was due...i didnt write a hot check or duck out from talking to them, i called and explained my financial situation, they were so nice too! And understood, but people should be honest, i am sorry, but this just doesn't sound good, BEST OF LUCK!
Well, she called and apologized, said she misread the contract and would be right over. I told her about the other check and she said she'd write me a new one with the full amount included.
I told her that was fine as long as she was here tonight, any time later and it had to be cash. (after all, my contract says I'll accept checks 2 weeks before, I had to stick to that).
She showed up about 20 minutes later, apologizing and thanking me for being understanding. Said she probably flaked on the check because of the bachelorette party that was that night.
I"m going to deposit this bad boy tomorrow. Meijer has limited bank hours inside the store, and yes, I'm going in there on Mother's Day!
If it bounces, I'll start a fight (and will cancel that order and take her to court!). But for now am just enjoying my minor victory and allowing myself to breathe.
Thanks to all of you for your support and advice. I don't know how I'd get along without my CC family!
Ok, this is the first time I've come across this story. Has anything else happened? I would absolutly not do this cake. She is a flake and needs to learn a big life lesson. This is her problem not yours. Don't stress yourseft out over Little Miss. It has always been my mantra that you should never mess with the people who handle your food. Please tell her to take a hike and then go do something nice for yourself. Keep us posted. 
.
LOL! THAT IS SO DANG TRUE! Why do people want to get on the bad side of someone with their hands in what you eat! LOL! Not that I would ever do anything but PEOPLE why would you mess with the person baking your cake? You are not going to taste the LOVE!
Just adding my 2 cents worth to agree with everyone. Hubby was in banking for 25 years and says the 2 different wordings on a check *IS* the oldest trick in the book! Likewise the slipping it under the mat deal .... to avoid you face to face. I believe she knew EXACTLY what she was doing and only when you gave her notice of a canc'd cake, did she come around to do the right thing!
We want a post-wedding update on this one!
With the groom being a chef, you'd think he'd be aware of what folks in the food industry are up against .... but then again, you may be dealing with the ironic here ..... you know, the cobbler's kids have no shoes!
My understanding is that banks will take checks with two different amounts, but they go by what is written. Normally when someone is trying to "pull a fast one", they write the correct dollar amount in the box, but when they write out the amount, it's for less. When I worked retail, we were instructed to make sure checks were written out for the correct amount because that's what banks go by. This was about 8 years ago, so regulations could have changed by now.
Oh man! I just caught this thread! Karateka! That is definately A LOT to go through for ONE order! I don't consider someone a customer until they sign the contract. And if they don't follow the contract dates....the monies they paid are MINE because I have lost money holding that date! I send one, ONE, follow up email and if there is no response it goes in my "dead" file! When you finish this cake you will be looking at it like it's the biggest PITA in the world.....that's when you'll revise your contract and be a firm business woman....that's exactly how I figured it out and learned to "harden" up!!! 
My understanding is that banks will take checks with two different amounts, but they go by what is written. Normally when someone is trying to "pull a fast one", they write the correct dollar amount in the box, but when they write out the amount, it's for less. When I worked retail, we were instructed to make sure checks were written out for the correct amount because that's what banks go by. This was about 8 years ago, so regulations could have changed by now.
I worked in a bank for a couple of years (2004-2006), in the encoding department and the rule was to go by the written amount.
I don't know if the rule/law is still the same; but in your case given that your customer is so flaky I would request a brand new check.
Actually, I would have canceled the whole thing long time ago. Too much drama already...this chick has no respect for you, who does she think she is?!
Something I've learned here in CC is that with people like this you're not loosing a customer, you are avoiding a headache.
Well, I don't really have an update yet....I deposited the check at the bank inside Meijer yesterday when they opened at noon. I checked the bank website today and there is no mention of the deposit as yet. So I guess I'm waiting.
Wedding is May 24, so I don't have to shop for supplies just yet. I'll give it a few days and cross my fingers. Believe me, you'll hear what happens, I won't leave you hanging....
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