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bride hasn't paid

post #1 of 104
8/9/12 at 8:30am
Thread Starter 
Hello group,

I have a question, not sure how to handle the situation. On July 9th I sent an email to a bride as a reminder of her final payment on her cake. The wedding is August 25th. She returned a message and said she would be mailing out checks in a few weeks to everyone due. Well that was 4 weeks ago and I have received nothing. The wedding is in 2 weeks and an hour away. Do I send yet another reminder? She has receipts with the amount owed so she can't say she doesn't know. I haven't had a problem like this before, and know it won't be the last, I'm just unsure how to handle it. Thanks for any help!
Jen

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
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Jen

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
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post #2 of 104
8/9/12 at 8:32am
You email her and MAKE SURE to cc yourself.

Say politely that no cheque has arrived.

Say that the cake will NOT be made until the final agreed payment has cleared the bank. No further effort on your part is required.
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post #3 of 104
8/9/12 at 9:06am
IMO you should call her instead of emailing. Ask her if she would still like her cake, as her order will be cancelled if you don't receive the check by whatever the due date is in your contract.
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post #4 of 104
8/9/12 at 9:27am
That's way past my drop dead date - but if I were you I'd call and ask for a credit card number, letting her know that final payment is past due, and unless she is in a position to pay right now you are not making her cake and any money she's paid this far will be lost.

I would NOT accept a personal check - money order, cashier's check or credit card is all I'd take. If you do take a check, make sure you cash it right away - as in, go to the back and exchange it for cash. Then deposit the cash. Just to make sure.
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post #5 of 104
8/9/12 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
Thank you everyone for the advice. As I don't know her work schedule I will email her instead of calling. It's just so frustrating. Hopefully this can be resolved quickly and calmly.
Jen

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
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Jen

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
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post #6 of 104
8/9/12 at 9:52am
Just remember that email is not a guaranteed form of communication, it might be held up by technical problems or may end up in the spam folder. I'm not sure what her work schedule has to do with giving her a call, if she doesn't pick up you can leave her a message.
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post #7 of 104
8/9/12 at 10:19am
Definitely CALL her ASAP, tell her that the balance must be paid IN CASH by 6pm, Sun., 8/12, 12, or NO CAKE, NO REFUND. PERIOD.

You're a business that needs to be paid up front for a consumable item. Either she complies with your terms or she doesn't have a wedding cake. It's really that simple.

Rae
I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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I love you, but your emergency is not my crisis!

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.--Terry Pratchett (b.194
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post #8 of 104
8/9/12 at 10:37am
Send an email but call too! People don't always check their email, or it might be a secondary account not checked often, or you could get bounced into her spam folder...no, you MUST call as well.
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post #9 of 104
8/9/12 at 12:18pm
I have an older phone because my last phone broke and I do not want to get a new phone or contract. So this means I don't get emails on my phone like I used to. I get home and I sometimes check it...sometimes don't. Send an email so you have it on record that you attempted to contact her and then follow up with a call.
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post #10 of 104
8/9/12 at 6:14pm
Thread Starter 
Well I sent a message to her directly and was about to call her when she responded back. Here's most of what I sent:

I sent you a message on July 9th stating the balance due on your wedding cake. Payment has not been received and the date is now just 2 weeks away. Unfortunately, if payment is not received by the end of day Sunday your order will be cancelled. Deposit is non-refundable and order will be null and void. At this time checks will no longer be accepted. I'm sorry it has come to this but I will not start production and deliver cakes that are not paid for.

She responded:

Actually I was just sitting down to notify everyone that remaining balances were sent out today. Yours is check # 1158 for the amount of $185.00. I hope you receive it in time. I just spoke to heather at the legion and she has our reception starting at 3:15 and said that everyone can make their deliveries anytime after 9am on the 25th.

Then:

I just double checked my box and they are all still in there. So I guess based on your previous message i won't be needing you.

I told her If it gets mailed out tomorrow I won't have an issue with it. It's just difficult to full fill orders that are due in a short time that just aren't paid for. I don't like starting and delivering cakes that I don't receive payment for. I'm trying to cover myself because of previous problems I had upon delivering a wedding cake and was never paid. I vowed never to do that again. I'm sorry about this but I really thought payment would have been made already instead of 2 weeks away. Again, if it is mailed tomorrow that's fine. I will leave the final decision up to you. Please understand I mean no hostility in anyway, I'm just trying to run my business.

She in turn stated, Completely understandable. But as I was givin no final due date (she had it) from you I was simply paying you along with all my other payments. And I have already made other arrangements with a local person that was available. Again no hostility but when I'm told I won't have a cake I covered my basis.

Well, whatever. I have a free weekend now. icon_smile.gif
Jen

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
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Jen

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
Reply
post #11 of 104
8/9/12 at 6:25pm
My honest response to this was "what a jerk." You did NOT say you were refusing to make her a cake. You were saying she needed to pay you. But, fine! You don't need to work with someone like that! I am sure that whatever cake she found only 2 weeks out would in no way be what she was going to get from you. Take the weekend (or the week that it would take you to make it) and do something for you! Get a massage!
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post #12 of 104
8/9/12 at 6:26pm
There's something really weird about that. She made other arrangements? Uh, okay. Well, whatever. Usually if someone is told their wedding cake won't be there they panic and pay you right away.

I'd also add that if this happens again take cash only, not a credit card. I had a bad credit card experience recently where a couple of beeyotches pulled a payment back, so if someone is waiting until the last minute to pay you there's a good chance that they don't have enough money to cover it and they're stalling.
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post #13 of 104
8/9/12 at 7:14pm
I can see where the customer is coming from. Yes, she should have paid by the due date, but the message you sent after a month of no contact could have been interpreted harshly, especially the part about no longer accepting a check. Checks typically clear in 2-5 days and can take as long as 10 days, so 2 weeks is plenty of time time to accept a check.

I think people are too quick to jump to the conclusion that someone is trying to scam them. If there is still enough time before the event it's best to give the customer the benefit of the doubt.
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post #14 of 104
8/9/12 at 7:22pm
I've seen this before and trust me the check never made it into the mail. She doesn't have the money. She's purchasing a cheap cake from the local grocery store instead - so that she can put it on her charge card. The only thing I don't understand is that she must have paid you something because you told her the balance was due. If you got some sort of payment, what are you going to do with it (a deposit to save the date)?
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post #15 of 104
8/9/12 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeniseNH

I've seen this before and trust me the check never made it into the mail. She doesn't have the money. She's purchasing a cheap cake from the local grocery store instead - so that she can put it on her charge card.


That seems like a convoluted and counter-intuitive plan. If she didn't have the money she wouldn't have paid the initial deposit in the first place, and it seems odd that she would abandon that deposit and choose a different baker to save money. It's more likely that this was done on principle, since it sounds like she interpreted the email from the OP as accusatory.

She may be expecting a refund of the deposit so I would make sure the customer is absolutely clear that the deposit has been forfeited. This may turn into a fight so be prepared for negative reviews.
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My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
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