bride hasn't paid - Page 4

Wow - interesting read - another Aussie here who can't believe that the same country that put a man on the Moon over 40 years ago (they did - didn't they?? LOL) and has a little dune buggy rolling around Mars at the moment can have such an antiquated banking system.

We have used online banking for ... sheesh at least 15 years?? I rarely walk into a bank these days - only required to, when some dinosaur presents me with a cheque. My closest bank branch is a 50kms round trip and approx an hour of my day - so you can see this additional advantage of money transfer

It is SAFE & SECURE - the banks have to make it that way .... or why would we use it ?
There is more chance of somebody skimming your card details from a credit card transaction. All of my bills are paid this way. I also have the added protection of an SMS pin for NEW transactions - so if I want to transfer funds to somebody 'new' that hasn't got their details already in my 'Transfer to' folder it is unable to be processed without the Security Number that is sent to the nominated mobile phone attached to my account in the form of an SMS. Within the same bank the funds are available immediately - great for those times when your son has filled up his car with petrol and gets to the register to pay and realises his bank account is empty .....Muuummmmm - can you put money in my account? - Jump on the compuer and it is done in a matter of secs!

I would say 99% of my cake business is run using the Direct Deposit system - I rarely have to chase money and if I do I can say it needs to be in my account by end of trade today and it is EASY for them to do that.
Tradesmen here will have their account details on their invoice to ENCOURAGE you to pay this way - also saves THEM time have to go to the bank to present cheques.
As for rent - Real Estate offices here will only accept Direct Debit - whereby the bank AUTOMATICALLY transfers a nominated amount from your account to the RE account on a certain day of the month - no cheques allowed

It would seem that American banks are run a lot different to ours - in more ways than one!
Can't remember the exact details but I remember a conversation I had with some Americans about your mortgage system - lets just say .... you lot have been SPOILT!
We would think we were living the high life if we could secure an interest rate for the life of the entire mortgage! (Apologies if this info is incorrect)

As for the way your cakes are priced - so much harder for us to sit and judge - I know the price of your groceries is SO CHEAP compared to ours - but I agree with not being able to understand that people are prepared to pay people to make their cakes .... ie work for LESS than what is costs them !

ApplegumPam - The interest rate thing is pretty cool here. I remember when my husband and I bought our first house in Perth and went to the bank to talk mortgages, I was blown away that you couldn't get a 30 year fixed rate.

The Aussies couldn't have said it better. That's why fraud isn't as big as it is in the USA. What a beaut country!
The USA has many great things, I love the USA but living is much better in Australia.

Jason - I think it is country standards to charge rock bottom dollar per serving and tge reason is because of your economic hardships, but some have the courage to are will to take chances and charge more, like fromscratch!

Incorrect. First of all, the definition of "rock bottom dollar per serving" varies widely depending on what your target market is and where you are. If the cost of living in a certain area in the US (or Australia) is very low, the market price of baked goods will be low, as will the wage you can earn as a baker. Generalizing an entire country and assigning "standards" just doesn't make sense.

Regarding your comment about charging more, it has little to do with "courage", charging higher prices comes from putting together a business plan with competitive advantages and targeting the right customers.

Firstly I've learned a lot from reading all the forum posts on what to do and what not to do, in regards to everything about cakes and running a home business, but I've also noticed that some people (Bluehue in particular) are quite rude when comes to comments on other people's posts. I am an American who proudly calls Australia home, I'm married to an Australian and our kids are all Queenslanders. I've lived here for twelve years and will be here for the remainder of my days. But Blue to tell people to settle petal is rude and condescending, not everyone in America understands the Aussie slang but I do, it makes you sound very arrogant. That might not be your intention but that's how you sound. I get very protective when people start slamming America, yes they are having major problems at the moment but what country isn't not even Australia has escaped from the GFC, and to say its the lucky country we pay 3x the amount for fuel, power, groceries, rent, cars, everything. Yes we do get somethings like Medicare, and dental if you can't afford it. But when someone waits seven years to get cataracts removed or do their own dental surgery because you have to wait six weeks to get a tooth fixed that's not lucky thats cruel. And coming from Queensland yourself Blue you would know how bad the Bruce Highway is. It's like a two lane death trap. Back roads in the states are in better condition than one of the major highways in Australia. So Australia does have the sun and the surf but to say its lucky is true but it doesn't share it luck with everyone. I'm sorry to hijack this post and I might get in trouble but I couldn't sit back and read anymore without saying something.

Well to avoid an international incident and get back on topic, I'm going to address the OP's situation. First of all I totally agree with your very business- like email. If I had received something like that I wouldn't be thinking 'How dare she question my motives! I think I'll go to Walmart...I'll show HER!'
No...I'd be thinking...'Holy sh*t! I need to get this thing paid or I'm not going to have a cake!"
But then I wouldn't be expecting to scam the baker either...and I think she may have been.

NO ONE needs to apologize or bend over backwards to people who are not willing to play by the rules you set for YOUR business!

People learn how to treat you by how you respond to them. If you're a push-over, guess how you'll be treated ? If you are business- like, polite and stand by your policies, people will respect you and follow the rules or learn to go elsewhere. If you've had trouble with this person's relatives, then consider yourself lucky...you might get rid of the whole fam-damily.

Jason - compared to Australia it is very low almost rock bottom and like you said it is because of your low wages. I agree you targeting the right customers and putting in a good plan. Hard work and that requires courage. I wasnt being negative Jason, but you seem to take it that way! - must be what you said earlier about the way one reads an email vs phone calls!

Jalex- both Australia and USA have things to be proud of! The USA have had the worst of the GFC and I feel for all of them who have to suffers with it! But I don't think you can complain about the health system in Australia, there are plenty of options for any health issue. Australia is ranked right up there for the medical system.
As for 3x the cost of living, that's a little exaggerated. It's definately cheaper. Maybe around 30-40% cheaper but so are wages. So it's all relative!


This thread can go on and on regarding the debate between Australia and USA - take it from soneone who has an American SIL - but it's not worth it. Each country has its beauty and appreciate that we have it easier then others!

I am completely lost as to how a thread about a non-paying bride turned into "Australia is better than America"

She never mailed the check, she didn't have the money, and was looking for an excuse to bail. Your email was not unprofessional, although a phone call might have saved the sale, as she would likely not have popped off like that in person - rather, she would have been embarrassed.

Couldn't have said it any better!

That's not what I said at all, please reread my post...some areas in both countries have lower wages (which means that other areas in both countries have higher wages).

The latest data I could find in a quick search for median household income was US$43960 for Australia (2007-8 and US$44389 for the US (2004). If you have more recent data that shows median wages in Australia are significantly higher I would love to see it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income_in_Australia_and_New_Zealand

If you read my post at the bottom, you will notice that I said this topic can go on and on! Im not willing to go on and on - at least not on CC - a forum I love to learn about the art of caking- not countries!

But since you are wanting info, try looking at 2012 results! Not half a decade ago!

Let's all just remember that no country goes around saying "We're number TWO!" and waving those foam fingers with two fingers held up.

And I've used online banking for years. And I'm half Canadian. And my grandparents were from England. I've never been to Australia, but I love Crowded House.

Lol! go costumeczar!!

I just wanted to offer a suggestion. I have a section, on my contract, which shows the cost of the cake ( servings x $4 etc.) At the end of that list is the total. Right underneath the Total Due is the DATE DUE in RED. There is no guessing when the total is due.

Also, in my Policies & Procedures contract, I outline that all balances are due 30 days before the event. If extreme circumstances arise, payment will only be accepted in Cash after that date. If the final balance is not paid 14 days before the wedding, the order is cancelled & all payments to date are forfeited.

Every time you give your credit card to a waitress who knows you live in town, your account is compromised. It's that simple. It's easy to guess a zip by just asking a few questions. Online banking is a lot harder to bust into than a credit or debit card.

Personally, my husband and I use bank accounts online that carry low balances. Another set of accounts, never accessed online and not linked, hold larger sums. Both of us just keep a working account we don't want to lose, but the loss, if it ever happens, is not a damaging amount. I have known businessmen who have lost everything to online banking. It is not covered by FDIC. It is just a police report and a "good luck" from a police officer. Most of that kind of theft is carried out in other countries and is hard to recover.