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What is it with customers and the sheet cake mentality?

post #1 of 106
9/23/09 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 
I have been doing so many sheet cakes lately and I really do Hate them! icon_evil.gif However....they are money so I do them but I want to know why the customers keep coming back to sheet cakes.The last few customers I have gotten keep going back and forth by email and I send great pictures of different cakes and when you come right down to it my 9x13 cake is not much less than a small single layer tiered cake or at least a different style of cake and I get this answer.."Well I really don't want to spend that much on a cake but I'll take a 9x13 slab"(which I price at $50.00).I find them boring and hard to create ideas on a flat limited surface..I had a customer last week who wanted a slab..no changing her mind.She wanted to spend $50.00...No more!.Oh and she wanted Diamond Castle Barbie but had not candle,figures etc to give me to even make it remotely look like a Barbie cake...I don't supply dolls,figures,candles etc...So I ended up printing a 5x7 picture of Diamond Barbie and placed it on a fondant plaque to resemble something Barbie....I mean come on... icon_rolleyes.gif help me out here...I want to create...


"I makey no sheet cakey".... icon_wink.gif is what I should have posted on my site..LOL


Laurel thumbs_up.gif
Busy Bakin Kakes For Kids!!!

Mom to Mitchell 11 yrs and Delaney 9 yrs
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Busy Bakin Kakes For Kids!!!

Mom to Mitchell 11 yrs and Delaney 9 yrs
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post #2 of 106
9/23/09 at 6:30am
I feel ya! I hate them too! That's just way too much real estate to smooth and decorate.
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post #3 of 106
9/23/09 at 6:34am
I feel the same about sheet cakes. It's hard to figure out what to do with them. I think most people like them simply because they're easy to cut and transport. No messing with cutting guides or having the thought of it falling over. I've had to make a few and cringe at the thought of doing one. I can feel for you. Good Luck
Why does something that can be so troublesome, be so calming at the same time?!?!?!?!
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Why does something that can be so troublesome, be so calming at the same time?!?!?!?!
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post #4 of 106
9/23/09 at 6:48am
Boy, do I agree! Creative cannot flow as well on something like that! I hate to do sheet cakes!
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post #5 of 106
9/23/09 at 6:49am
I don't like them because they are hard to fit into my freezer. Especially since I do them in two layers, baked seperately. I've only done one in the last two years!!
You don't HAVE a soul, you ARE a soul...you HAVE a body. C.S. Lewis
I'd rather see badly done cake than well done styrofoam.
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You don't HAVE a soul, you ARE a soul...you HAVE a body. C.S. Lewis
I'd rather see badly done cake than well done styrofoam.
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post #6 of 106
9/23/09 at 7:36am
I just won't do them. I have done a few but now I tell customers that I don't do them.

I hate sheet cakes and no one here will pay for them anyway because they equate them with grocery store cakes. I know some people are surprised and some even seem offended but nope, not gonna change my mind.
It's your business, you shape it into what you want it to be. If you don't want to do them, don't offer it anymore.

I saw one website where the lady said she won't do plain, flat sheet cakes. She had some with like a half ball on top or something else to give them dimension.

I know there are people here on CC who do a great job with them but it's just not me.
Are you at a place where you can start eliminating the sheet cakes as an option?
The older I get the smarter my mother gets!
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The older I get the smarter my mother gets!
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post #7 of 106
9/23/09 at 7:50am
If I didn't do sheet cakes I wouldn't have any business icon_sad.gif . I think the thing with customers is not so much the price difference (although that's definitely a factor) is they are intimidated by a tiered cake. It's so easy to cut a sheet cake and it's what most people are familiar with. I think the disassembly and cutting of a tiered cake just looks a little scary to people and it may be that it doesn't appear to have as many servings, although we know we've made as many servings as they requested.

Maybe try explaining the servings and how really easy it is to disassemble and cut...that may have an impact and help people to appreciate a different design.
"One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others."
- Robert A. Heinlein
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"One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others."
- Robert A. Heinlein
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post #8 of 106
9/23/09 at 11:32am
Unfortunatley, I find that people equate "sheet cake" with birthday/party cake and "tiered cake" with wedding cake.
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post #9 of 106
9/23/09 at 11:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiddiekakes

"I makey no sheet cakey".... icon_wink.gif is what I should have posted on my site..LOL


Laurel thumbs_up.gif



party.gificon_lol.gifjudge.gifparty.gificon_wink.gif
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post #10 of 106
9/23/09 at 12:01pm
I hate doing them too! I priced them high enough to make people decide on a tiered or a round cake instead!
Jamie Chaney
hobby baker
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Jamie Chaney
hobby baker
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post #11 of 106
9/23/09 at 12:06pm
Heeelllloooooww is any body there? Picture the little girl in pig tails from the yahoo messenger...

How much would you charge for a tiered cake with the same servings?

If you price your cake by the slice(one size) and slide your pricing up of down for BC or fondant ect. Your customers will see they have more options.
You do figure the support costs into tiered cakes so it should be a little more but not night and day price differences.

I mean... It's the same cake batter just poured into different pans right? Why the different price???

Are your prices making your customers choose sheet cakes?
¢¾Sarah
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¢¾Sarah
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post #12 of 106
9/23/09 at 12:22pm
I just gave a quote this morning for a sheetcake and sent the customer into sticker shock. I don't know what she thought she would pay for a sheet to feed 100, with filling and fondant work. I was actually giving her a great price because she is a good customer and a friend of my BIL. She bought sheetcakes from me before, so I can't understand why she was so shocked.
MYW
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MYW
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post #13 of 106
9/23/09 at 12:34pm
hmmm simple answer ....... you got the WRONG sort of customers!! icon_biggrin.gif
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post #14 of 106
9/23/09 at 12:41pm
I say it is lack of education. People do assume flat slab cakes are for birthdays, and other daily occasions and tier cakes are wedding cakes. If I get my child a tier cake now, what will her wedding cake be like? More along the line of getting bigger and fancier for each occasion. I hate sheet cakes. I won't do sheet cakes and I only do them at home. Have fun with what you do. If you market you shop and do not include sheet cakes, I think you can make a go of it. You start or continue doing sheet cakes, you will always be known as the place to get sheet cakes. IMHO
yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. from the movie Kung Fu Panda
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yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. from the movie Kung Fu Panda
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post #15 of 106
9/23/09 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sadsmile

Heeelllloooooww is any body there? Picture the little girl in pig tails from the yahoo messenger...

How much would you charge for a tiered cake with the same servings?

If you price your cake by the slice(one size) and slide your pricing up of down for BC or fondant ect. Your customers will see they have more options.
You do figure the support costs into tiered cakes so it should be a little more but not night and day price differences.

I mean... It's the same cake batter just poured into different pans right? Why the different price???

Are your prices making your customers choose sheet cakes?



Yes but... With a sheetcake I can do one pan and one round of electricity. With a tiered cake I am making several pans and having to run my oven longer. That is the reason I charge less for sheetcakes. Not to mention I tort all of my tiered cakes so it uses more frosting or in some cases frostings and fillings.
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