Do any of you charge a fee for cake requests that are last minute??

I had a girl who was going to order a female anatomy cake then a week ago said she wasn't wanting it anymore. I just got an email saying she wanted it again. And for tomorrow night!!!!!!!!

Should I do it for the same price as we agreed before or should I charge a fee because I am going to have to stay up all night and work all day tomorrow to get it done!??

thanks!

wow.. you are a very nice person to re-accept that cake order. IMHO i wouldn't have take the order twice due to time issues, but they are different for everyone. however, I would charge a fee for last minute order like that. Imagine how many hours it is going to take you to cook, prep, and decorate that cake. Yah. charge her a big LOS fee.. (Lack Of Sleep)

Absolutely! A 20% fee at least. If she backs out,then you get some much needed rest. A win-win.

I usually charge a 10% rush order fee, but this is super last minute - and very inconsiderate of your time! I either wouldn't have taken it, or would have charged 20% as well.

you should tell her about the upcharge ahead of time too, or she's liable to cancel again! (PS - hope she didn't supply a picture to copy.. I'd charge her extra for that too!)

~diem

I just had this discussion with my daughter today. I think the 30 min shows have people losing appreciation for the real time involved. Just today I said no, next time more notice.

I don't take these orders. It's never worth the stress on my mind/emotions/body to do this sort of thing. Party cakes must be ordered at least a week ahead of time and paid in full at time of ordering, wedding cakes at least a month ahead of time and paid in full as well. This is because if they had ordered the wedding cake six months in advance they would have paid a 50% deposit and their final payment would have been due one month before the event and if they ordered a party cake a month before they would also have paid a 50% deposit and final payment is due one week before the event. If they try to order with less time than that, one, I'm probably already booked, and two, it's not worth my stress.

Just my two cents...

Cat

Yes, I think you should charge the last minute order. Make sure you let her know and have her paid in full before you turn on your oven because she might cancel again.

Charge it!!!!

I would double the price. And tell her she has until the end of the day to bring full payment in CASH or she is out of luck.

Reading through this has been SO helpful for me, I just wish I would've found it 2 weeks ago...I have recently taken 2 last minute orders and regretted both. The first one came out fine but the second one ended in a disaster because I got physically sick from the stress...in hindsight it just wasn't worth it...in the future if I ever take a last minute order again...I'll definitely be charging extra for it.

Thanks everyone!! I ended up telling her I would do it for 25% more but that I couldn't do it unless she brought the money over in the next hour or two (we live in the same neighborhood) and she ended up not having me do it. The only reason I was going to take the cake order back was because I thought it would be fun and she is a friend of mine but I definitely wanted to have extra compensation for having it be so last minute!! and I NEVER start a cake til it is paid for!! Thanks again everyone for your advice!!