i am beyond frustrated to be honest......
i know she feels i'm taking advantage of her "wealthy" sister but my word...it's STILL SO CHEAP. i'm basically making next to nothing on this "order" as usual....let me tell you that when i did her daughters cake last year....who was turning 5...i worked my tail off and and it was about as perfect as i could get it...and her daughter looked at it and said...."theres a small crack there".....YES, a 5 year old pointed out a small crack....now you see what I'm dealing with!!!

Ha! You are more than making next to nothing you are paying her for your services! In fact her wealthy sister and her are taking advantage of you! On top of the fact they are super picky. Since they are so picky let them pay full price and go somewhere else. It's not worth the heartache!

Areyou still committed to making this cake, Can you not cancel, I can'tbelieve the comment from the 5 year old. Yes, I would probably have noticed the crack as a 5 yr. old I was very observant, but good manners instilled in me would not hve allowed my mentining a crack outloud. I feel for you.

I am with cakeandparty girl, lolobell, this girl is not your friend if she can do to you what she and her family have already done and then not talk to you? please! that is not a friend. I am with all the others too on saying that your prices are either too low or more than fair. With the way this sister has already treated you I would be charging no less than $500.00 for everything she wants you to do. Don't know how long you have before this cake or "fake cake" and cupcakes and cookies is due, but if I were you, I would call this sister up and tell her that you had already given her the price of what you would do this shower stuff for and you are not backing down from that price as you are not going to be making anything on it anyway and she has changed her mind on it 3 times already. You tell her that if she only wants to pay $150. for what she has asked you to do then she had better start looking elsewhere quickly because more than likely she is not going to find anyone to do what she wants for that price. If she still wants to pay what you are charging for it then I would tell her that she needs to come over today, and sign a contract stating the amount being paid and because the time is already at hand she needs to pay the whole thing up front now!! Remember, lolobell she and your prior friend are not people that are friends they are users. If you don't hear from them again after calling and talking to her then count your blessings.

well, as of midnight..i had words with my friend...I'm a bit of a "low patience" person and i will listen to just so much. i told her to go ahead and research online at what a cake like that would cost...i told her to do so and then call me back...that a few other comments i made created quite the tension filled moment!

she did
and told me she "ASSUMED" i was overcharging her and "ASSUMED" (gosh, i hate that word) that fake cakes were "cheap"....she was surprised to see the prices....i told her the only difference is the baking. that it costs money to decorate them and lots of it. i told her that she needed to talk to her sister about what they want from me and they need to make up their minds by thursday. the shower is a week from sunday. i have to do some cookie wedding favors for another friend this week so i don't have time to deal with them anymore.

her sister has stopped commenting to me and left it as "just do what we discussed, i will pay your price...and told her sister to stay out of it and let it go.

i sent them both an email reminding them that i have done countless orders for them before with no issue...and that if they don't want to spend the money, they need to think about what they are ordering prior. i also stated that basically i am making ZERO money on this order...and that it will be my last where they are concerned. that i am not a professional and their desires for grand and perfect all the time are beyond my scope. i told them that doing a cake this massive, fake or not is ridiculous and makes no sense...

i cannot wait until this is over....OH, and i also told them about the size of the tiers and how they might look.....the sister said..."nope, it will look great, it's what i want." OKAY LADY!!!!!

business and friendships don't work...

Actually they do work when friends are not attempting to rip you off. You should let this one goooooooooooooo.

Migraine? I got one just reading... tell you have one too. You do this for FUN, certainly not for profit at $150. CUT HER LOOSE. You will NOT enjoy it, and it is not worth it....

Oh, lolobell, I think they're used to getting good "deals" from you and still be upset about them. Was this the cake you sold to them for $50 and they were upset at the price and on top of that the little brat pointed at a flaw!?? It's a very nice cake. Not sure about the size, but it looks big enough that in my area, it would be about $300. It's perfect.

http://CakeCentral.com/gallery/1933756

You should have really stopped at that one.

Dear God...I am biting my tongue here, shaking my head and cringing at this situation. Oddly enough most of us have encountered it at a certain point of our careers as cake decorators. What is it with 'friends' and business??

Its the short cut to insanity. Trust me.

Have they paid you anything yet? No? Then I would suddenly have an urgent cake order for Sunday week...so - sorry, can't do yours, I need the money from a paying client.

lolobell, If you have an order come in for next Sunday and have not heard from these girls then I would take the order. When they call then you tell them that an order came in that you were not going to turn down and you needed to work on their cake and that they would have to get their cake from someone else. Remember you are not losing a friend by doing this, she was never a friend to begin with. and if she was then somehow she lost her definition of what it is to be a friend along the way. If they spit and sputter, but we had our order in long ago. You say, "no, you didn't. because every other time you turned around you were changing what you wanted and I never had a deposit from either of you. If I had, had a deposit I would have saved the date".

I guess i am most upset about the assuming.....i do cakes etc for friends all the time and never have a problem...so you're right...it's not typically friends and business that don't work...it's this one. considering it's not the first time. the cake i was telling about for her daughter...i had to send step by step photos as i worked on it...and she changed this 3 times. loved the end product but still had critical comments. i have to remind her all the time.. "i'm not a professional..i do this for fun"

I am going to complete the job...i have money and time already invested in this and I promised so i will do it. however, i have made it very, very, very clear that they are to never ask me again. they argued that saying this will be the most "grand" they will ever want...i laughed, out loud and said "whether it's this or one cookie you will be far to picky and demanding. making you happy is exhausting." there was silence after that...and parts of me was hoping that would have put her over the edge and made her "fire" me.....parts of me what to do it just to see if i CAN!!!! i like the challenge of my first fake cake...haha....i'm crazy apparently!! both of them reluctantly agreed with me and said they won't ask me in the future but that disappoints them greatly. oh well........the only way to salvage any of this friendship is to never ask me.

my husband, who is a very calm person.....saw the fire in my eyes at one point and tossed a post it at me while i was on the phone with her...and it read........... "simmer down........it's food." i set that one down....then he tossed me one more that read.............."deep breath....make yourself clear and hang up...let go...it's food" hahahaha......he was glad however that i won't be doing anymore of their 'orders'.....he thinks they are ridiculous!!!!

worst thing...i'm supposed to attend this shower...ask me how much i want to do that....?!

Can't wait to hear how this turns out! You must tell us. While I understand you taking this last order, be aware that they will come back to you begging when they need something...crying that they'll never act that way again...especially when it's the spoiled child's birthday again. OMG, where else could they get a 2 tier cake for $50? (I saw that picture and the comments). They aren't stupid. They knew where to get a cake for cheap AND boss you around! Remember this moment if you start to cave!
Good luck!

THANKS! i will for sure keep you all posted...and post pictures! although, i still am having trouble posting anything....have you tried posting a picture lately?

anyways......i will not cave. once i set my mind....well....it's hard to break it. ask my DH!!!! if i don't enjoy the project...that sticks in my head. i will never WANT to do anything for them again so there will be...no....caving!!!!!!



especially come february when it's her daughters birthday!!!

What 5 year old notices a crack in the cake?!? I did the worst job on my daughter's 4th birthday cake, like, a total rush job with actual frosting coming through, and all she kept saying is what a pretty princess cake it was.

yeah, that would be most kids.......but when you have a mom who is as picky...not to mention an aunt....and thats what you're surrounded by....then you learn mighty quick....
i will never forget that moment....when they brought that cake over to her and in front of the entire party she says..."miss marianne....there's a crack right there." her mom laughed....as did many others....i didn't!!!

my daughter when i presented her with her wizard of oz cake this past may.....jumped for joy and said, "oh, mommy, it's perfect" which of course it wasn't....but she thought so!!!!!

i knew when that child complained that i would never make her another birthday cake.....and i meant it. children are the easiest to please...it's the parents that are the stinkers...usually!!!!!! thats why i love making children's birthday cakes....when their faces light up!!! i have never had another child point out flaws....ever.

lolobell, I think that no matter what you say that these people will be back and ask you to do another cake for them. Carmijok is right, you need to remember this incident and the other one and put your foot down and tell them. I told you that I would do no more cakes for you. Do you value my friendship so little that you would dare to ask me again after how you have treated me the last 2 times or so? If that doesn't shut them up then just say a firm no, I am doing no more cakes for you and if you dare to I would suggest even saying this. "my husband has told me I could do no more cakes for you" because he sees how you treat me in the process of the cake. He doesn't want to see me go through that process again. I enjoy doing cakes for people that appreciate them and know a good cake when they see it. You are very critical of what I do, do and you think that you should not have to pay full price because i am a friend. When I quote you a price you are ok with it and then you start badgering me and trying to get a lower price. I have already given you a break on my normal charges so this is just a plain insult when you do that. I just don't enjoy doing cakes for you anymore. I valued your friendship, but obviously you don't value mine. If you do then go find another person to make your cakes for you and show me by your actions that you value my friendship. End of story. I am betting that if you told your husband what you told them that he would back you up all the way. I am sure also that he would get a big laugh out of that and be happy about it too.

okie dokie...

pictures are up.. shower is over. i am exhausted. managed to get the fake cake (i hated every second of that!!! they are NOT as easy as one might think to do)...cupcakes and cookies without having a nervous breakdown!!! haha.

i value each and every one of the comments made by all of you.
thank you for taking the time to talk me through a stressful situation.

never again...unless i get paid...oh, like $10,000!!!

thanks again to all of you.
MAR