I agree with Jason craft. I don't see anywhere where this person is asking for a "free" cake, they only said that they couldn't afford one of the really great cakes. If money is an issue then I agree with some of the others and find out what the budget is, if it is definately something that you just can't work with or they can't get it gifted to them from friends or that you just don't feel comfortable taking it on then simply tell them that you are already booked that day. No harm done.
Well, a party for 40 people doesn't come cheap and we can assume that as a 21st, there will be plenty of booze--not so cheap, either--so, what, a minimum expenditure of $200 to $400?
Life is about choices--even at 21.
If he/she wants an over the top cake, then the choice is no other food or booze, or maybe to ask all of the guests to pool cash for the cake in lieu of gifts.
It's all probably moot because today is WED. and the cake is need for SUN.
The easiest thing is to respond with a stock e-mail giving some simple price quotes about 40 serving cakes, simple to carved, but tempering it with the fact that it's too late to add ANY cake, let alone an "over the top" cake, to an already booked schedule.
And I DO think the request was for a free cake--just because (insert wide-eyed innocent, ain't I cute, pretty please with sugar on the top face here)....
Rae
I think it's pretty tootin' obvious it was a request for a free cake.
IMO that's reading a lot into the email...I prefer to defer judgment until I find out what the actual budget is. If it turns out to be $0, then I agree that the request is a little silly, but for all we know her budget could be $50, which might be enough for a small cake. Or she could get $200 as a gift from her parents to spend on the cake once she finds out how much it is.
Well, if her budget is $50 that isn't enough for a small cake from me because I have a $100 minimum. I don't think she was asking for a free cake, but it's clear that she was saying that she wasn't planning on paying what the rest of the commoners would have to pay.
This is an email from somebody inquiring about a cake...had to share...
Good evening,
My name is Chris, and I live in town. I'm turning 21 on this coming Sunday. I've googled just about everyone who is able to make a cake for my birthday. You work is absolutely exquisite! I want a cake that is unique for my birthday, I don't want it to look like an ordinary cake. But my only problem is, the pricing. I don't have enough money to get the kind of cake that I want. I'm having 40+ people at my party, and I was wondering, if it was possible that you could make a cake for me?? Please?? Just because. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much, please reply back A.S.A.P.
I'm her age, and she's out of her mind...
I have to agree with jasonkraft at least a bit. It can be easy to get testy and provide a negative response to her, but the world is full of people who get things cheaper or free just because they ask! Do I agree with what she did? NO! I would never do it, but who did she hurt by asking? Like someone else said, maybe getting told "no" would make her ask mommy and daddy for the money...you never know! If we only dealt with the people that are just like us, we wouldn't have many customers.
I say to send back the reply as earlier suggested with what a cake WOULD cost, and leave the ball in her court. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!
She's probably related to the bride who sent me a wonderful offer for me to "sponsor" her wedding by making a free cake for all of the "very influential people" who would be attending. I would also be able to go to the reception and give a little speech about my company, and she even sent me a flyer that described how much the advertising space in her ceremony program would cost if I wanted to also buy an ad.
You have got to be fricken lying your butt off!!!! I just don't believe you...or at least I really don't want to.
Okay, now that I am over the shock AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! How did you not just send a bunch of lol's as your response? 
I have a BIL who routinely drives through McDonalds and asks for free food. He has gotten it before, too. He also asked a Dr to remove a mole during his wife's visit to the doc for gallbladder issues, and she lopped it off for free right there. Or at least that's the story I get.
I think it is the main reason he bugs me from time to time.
While I agree that it is fun to write fake emails back to customers like this, I doubt very seriously that any of us actually would say the first thing that pops into their minds when they first read an email like that. But that is what CC is for sometimes. We need a little fun here and there.
Well finally!!! And here I thought Mrs. "But you don't seem to understand, I want a 6 foot tall wedding cake and I DON'T want to pay for it" had beat all. Glad to hear I'm not alone!!
(And she was in her 50s, not 21!) 
Are you serious? Who would think that this made sense to ask?
A bold, money-grubbing tight-fisted tightwad cheapskate. The funny part was that I had just been in a 1 1/2 hour consultation with her (who didn't like ANY of my ideas) and tried to beat me down on EVERY LITTLE THING -- all while we were sitting in the oversized kitchen of her 10,000 foot mansion. I told her she didn't understand -- she was going to have to pay WHEREVER she went and if she didn't like my price she was welcome to go elsewhere. She tried and got laughed out of every bakery in town and came crawling back to me -- whose price had just gone UP! 
I'm not convinced that she was asking for a free cake either, but that's probably a moot point since it sounds unlikely that you have time to make her a cake this weekend even if she was paying full price. I would never have sent an email like this myself but I do remember being in college and my roommate telling me that you're more likely to get the things in life that you want if you actually go ahead and ask for them. I've been pretty timid my whole life and I've never been good at making even reasonable requests so that hasn't worked too well for me. But at the age of 21, you're still figuring out how to approach life and how you're going to interact with the world. It's a lot of trial and error. This may have been an error but probably not one worth hammering her over. I'd have to go with cupadee and jason_kraft's approach.
I think given her age it's funny. Not saying all 21 year olds would do that but I certainly know a lot that would at least give it a try especially if it meant they got a cheaper show stopper cake. I also agree with JAson that she isn't asking for a free cake, just appears to be a huge discount 
Well finally!!! And here I thought Mrs. "But you don't seem to understand, I want a 6 foot tall wedding cake and I DON'T want to pay for it" had beat all. Glad to hear I'm not alone!!
(And she was in her 50s, not 21!) Are you serious? Who would think that this made sense to ask?
A bold, money-grubbing tight-fisted tightwad cheapskate. The funny part was that I had just been in a 1 1/2 hour consultation with her (who didn't like ANY of my ideas) and tried to beat me down on EVERY LITTLE THING -- all while we were sitting in the oversized kitchen of her 10,000 foot mansion.
I told her she didn't understand -- she was going to have to pay WHEREVER she went and if she didn't like my price she was welcome to go elsewhere. She tried and got laughed out of every bakery in town and came crawling back to me -- whose price had just gone UP!
ok i just have to ask, what exactly did she say when she ask for the free cake i mean who does she think she is that she would deserve all of this for free, that is just unbelievable.
and about the email from the birthday girl i also believe that she is not asking for a free cake a lot of times we dont really know how to express our selves and it comes out completely diferent from what we are thinking so just go ahead and ask for her budget and if she answer then you can go on from there.
Well finally!!! And here I thought Mrs. "But you don't seem to understand, I want a 6 foot tall wedding cake and I DON'T want to pay for it" had beat all. Glad to hear I'm not alone!!
(And she was in her 50s, not 21!) Are you serious? Who would think that this made sense to ask?
A bold, money-grubbing tight-fisted tightwad cheapskate. The funny part was that I had just been in a 1 1/2 hour consultation with her (who didn't like ANY of my ideas) and tried to beat me down on EVERY LITTLE THING -- all while we were sitting in the oversized kitchen of her 10,000 foot mansion.
I told her she didn't understand -- she was going to have to pay WHEREVER she went and if she didn't like my price she was welcome to go elsewhere. She tried and got laughed out of every bakery in town and came crawling back to me -- whose price had just gone UP! ok i just have to ask, what exactly did she say when she ask for the free cake i mean who does she think she is that she would deserve all of this for free, that is just unbelievable.
and about the email from the birthday girl i also believe that she is not asking for a free cake a lot of times we dont really know how to express our selves and it comes out completely diferent from what we are thinking so just go ahead and ask for her budget and if she answer then you can go on from there.
Just that -- we were in an overly long consultation where she didn't like anything. "My daughter won't like this. My daughter won't like that..." Of course her daughter lives out of town so I'm dealing with Momzilla. She keeps going on and on about this is her baby and it's the last marriage she has to pay for and it has to be extra special, yada yada yada. Her idea of special is a 6 foot tall wedding cake. For 300 people!!! I told her, if I make all the tiers cake, she'll have cake for 1500 people! I told her about cake dummies to enhance the height -- at the same price because it's just as much time and effort for me to decorate stryofoam as it is cake. "But I don't want to pay for a cake that's not a cake..." So I offer suggestion after suggestion, all for naught. Okay fine. Then after all this she hits me with "You don't seem to understand. I want a 6 foot tall wedding cake and I DON'T want to pay for it." 
Okay I confess, I laughed out loud. I tried not to, but that one caught me off guard!! That's when I packed my bag up and told her that she and her daughter had some decisions to make, she's been given other viable options and she'd have to pay WHEREVER she went. I told my friend about it that afternoon and she accurately predicted "she's going to try that with every bakery in town and they won't even talk to her, they'll laugh her right out of the place. Then she'll come crawling back to you." Which she did. I have a picture in my photos of the cake I did for her. Here: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/995123 Oh yeah, I forgot to mention -- she can't pay for a freaking cake, but the flowers on that cake and on the table were Orchids flown in from BOGATA!!! We're in the Midwest!!! Sheesh! How cheap can a person get! 
Ok re my prior post... Regarding the little princess cake request... I am all for donating a cake for a needy child or cause or charity and I have been asked and have donated gladly and will continue to because it brings me great joy to show love through something I enjoy and every child deserves a birthday cake and so do volunteers with worthy causes!
But that request you received was hilariously rude...and gave me a great laugh and I see several people have found humor in her entitled attitude...I would have responded to her first to clarify ... Are you asking to purchase a cake from me? And if she said like implied that she was asking for a free cake...then I would have been as bold to her as she was to me...A reality check! Because I am amazed at the people that think making a custom cake is no big deal they do not realize the time effort and dollars that go into a custom cake for 40 people... I just can not handle an entitled attitude it is disrespectful and rude and I won't coddle someone who does not respect me or my time it is a I'm owed attitude! And me in my life I don't expect and I don't use people!
Like I said I always step up to donate for a good and worthy cause because it is the least I can do! And the good and wonderful people far out weigh the entitled...thank you for sharing that email it really was comic relief! And all the discussion is funny too...very interesting 
Dear Birthday Girl
I would love to make you a cake just because. In fact, I think you're on to something! Please also convince the grocery store to provide the ingredients, the gas & electric company to provide power, BP to donate some gas, the babysitter to watch my kids and a maid to clean the mess, just because. Plus I need a little extra donation from them all for my family, to compensate for the time I spent making your cake. If all of this works out, I can then afford to make you a cake "just because" and would be more than happy to do so. Please respond ASAP as I would love to make this happen.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 
She's probably related to the bride who sent me a wonderful offer for me to "sponsor" her wedding by making a free cake for all of the "very influential people" who would be attending. I would also be able to go to the reception and give a little speech about my company, and she even sent me a flyer that described how much the advertising space in her ceremony program would cost if I wanted to also buy an ad.
You have got to be fricken lying your butt off!!!! I just don't believe you...or at least I really don't want to.Okay, now that I am over the shock AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! How did you not just send a bunch of lol's as your response?
No, I'm totally serious. A bunch of other vendors in my area got the same letter and we were all horrified. I scanned it, I'm going to see if I can find it and I'll post it on my blog. It's been a while so I don't think the bride would be looking online anymore.
I think she was "fishing"....... just checking you out to see what you would "offer". I have a neighbor who does this all the time. If she can get it for free, she goes after it. If she has to pay a little, then so be it. If she has to pay full price, she passes. It's highly embarrassing to be out with her. She as no limits and even her daughters cringe when she starts her "pitch".
Okay...
As much as I wanted to say "Are you freakin' kidding me?"...the professional in me said this...after all she may be an entitled 21 year old now...but, maybe in a few years maturity will set in and she may need a wedding cake.
Chris~
Thanks for contacting us about your special birthday cake. We appreciate the compliments about our cakes too.
Unfortunately we are already booked with weddings. So we are unable to take any other cakes for this weekend.
I wish I had somebody that I could recommend to you, but...our pricing is average for what you will find for a custom cake. Most licensed professional bakers in our area charge between 3.00 and 5.00 and up per serving for a custom cake. If you don't have that in your budget...maybe a possibility would be to order a cake from Sams (or another big box store) and enhance the cake by adding something that you love (fresh flowers, cake topper or even some sugar art).
I hope the party is absolutely fantastic! Have a wonderful birthday!!
This is her response:
You're welcome! Ohhh okay 
it's okay. I can afford it, but I didn't want to spend the money, you know, and I don't want my cake to look any kind of way, you know? I want that 3D designed cake, if not better. But it's cool, I'll find another bakery. Thanks for responding back, I really appreciate it! && Thank you so much, I will!
-Chris
Whether or not she was asking for a free cake, I'll never know. But, certainly she didn't find it important enough to spend the money (if she had it). I prefer to bake for those who appreciate all of the work and show that appreciation by paying me what I charge. I've just never gotten an email like that before. I've gotten emails from people with tight budgets...and I work with them if I can. I get having a tight budget. Some of my favorite clients have been couples paying for their own wedding cakes and needing to stick within a tight budget. I just don't get asking a perfect stranger to work for free or at a discount. I wonder what she would think if her boss asked her to do her job for less money???
Thanks for all of the comical responses. Glad I wasn't the only one to think it was funny.
IMO that's reading a lot into the email...I prefer to defer judgment until I find out what the actual budget is. If it turns out to be $0, then I agree that the request is a little silly, but for all we know her budget could be $50, which might be enough for a small cake. Or she could get $200 as a gift from her parents to spend on the cake once she finds out how much it is.
CC is a great way to share info with like-minded folks. And a good way to vent, if necessary. How we relate to people face-to-face is different from how our words appear on a forum. Good conversations and information sharing are so much more helpful than nasty comments or remarks which can be misconstrued.
Your response was pretty much what I've sent to the same kind of bride who writes and says that she has 300 guests and a budget of $300 for the cake. It's education more than anything else with that kind of person.
HOWEVER-- the part about "I can afford it but I don't want to spend the money" is beyond comment.
Okay...
As much as I wanted to say "Are you freakin' kidding me?"...the professional in me said this...after all she may be an entitled 21 year old now...but, maybe in a few years maturity will set in and she may need a wedding cake.
Chris~
Thanks for contacting us about your special birthday cake. We appreciate the compliments about our cakes too.
Unfortunately we are already booked with weddings. So we are unable to take any other cakes for this weekend.
I wish I had somebody that I could recommend to you, but...our pricing is average for what you will find for a custom cake. Most licensed professional bakers in our area charge between 3.00 and 5.00 and up per serving for a custom cake. If you don't have that in your budget...maybe a possibility would be to order a cake from Sams (or another big box store) and enhance the cake by adding something that you love (fresh flowers, cake topper or even some sugar art).
I hope the party is absolutely fantastic! Have a wonderful birthday!!
This is her response:
You're welcome!
Ohhh okay it's okay. I can afford it, but I didn't want to spend the money, you know, and I don't want my cake to look any kind of way, you know? I want that 3D designed cake, if not better. But it's cool, I'll find another bakery. Thanks for responding back, I really appreciate it! && Thank you so much, I will! -Chris
Whether or not she was asking for a free cake, I'll never know. .
What do you mean you'll 'never know'? She just said it! 'I can afford it, but I didn't want to spend the money..' Sounds like fishing for free cake to me! And I would LOVE to see the responses from the other bakers...not only because she wants it for free, she wants it this weekend!!
You handled it well and the soon-to-be 21 year old hopefully learned something.
This is an email from somebody inquiring about a cake...had to share...
Good evening,
My name is Chris, and I live in town. I'm turning 21 on this coming Sunday. I've googled just about everyone who is able to make a cake for my birthday. You work is absolutely exquisite! I want a cake that is unique for my birthday, I don't want it to look like an ordinary cake. But my only problem is, the pricing. I don't have enough money to get the kind of cake that I want. I'm having 40+ people at my party, and I was wondering, if it was possible that you could make a cake for me?? Please?? Just because. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much, please reply back A.S.A.P.
Have a blessed day!
So...I better cancel all of my paid cakes for this weekend to make her one
On a side note...she "liked" a ton of my cakes on facebook and of course they are all carved, topsy turvy fondant cakes. A breeze, right?
Oh brother. Well I have heard it all. You think this would work for my local car dealership?
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%