Overreacting bride? - Page 2  

Please--your race has nothing to do with it--not even in MN.  Toba Garrett would never take a second's treatment of this kind.  I would also bet that 80% of us did some self-learning on cakes before we got a chance to take classes or a course.  You do not need a storefront, that is so much more $$$.  

Make sure you have a good online presence (I bought a used digital camera on ebay for that). Set your prices according to your minimum wage and real cost of ingredients and rent etc.

You are probably hearing from people who do not pay more than Wal-mart for the simple reason that they cannot afford anything better.  Please start looking at the suburbs of Minneapolis instead of the city centre for those people who know that they should pay $120 for a birthday cake.  Go to your public library and ask to see census data for income.  That will show you where to promote your products.

This couple--send them a letter telling them "I regret that I cannot meet your requirements".  NO further details.  Send back the deposit less the tasting fee. Make sure you keep a photocopy for yourself.

At events, a chefs coat is a good start.  Make sure your hair is neat because that is the place that a lot of people look.  Stand straight and don't let anybody tell you that you are out of line.  Make sure you know your local health rules and that you can explain to anybody who asks, how you meet them.

NEVER NEVER NEVER consider to do work for anybody who asks you your race. That is ILLEGAL.

No you don't have to say a word, merely send a one-line email "I am unavailable for your event". Always cc yourself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuteCakes1234 

II got cussed out and all types of horrible remarks on how my prices are wayyyy to high and they will go to Walmart...

Then LET THEM GO! If someone is going to cuss you out what the $*%*& would you want to make them a cake anyway?

If you want people to treat you like a professional then you need to start believing that you're worth being treated like one.

I don't really see how it's her business how you make money. Other than maybe she thought if you "weren't a professional" (ie. you had another job) that she could low ball you or get you to do it for free! She seemed very rude and I wouldn't have even wanted to deal with her. If people tell you they're going to Wal-mart ask them if they've tasted a Wal-Mart cake. They're not great. Make sure they know that you know how much you're worth.

You change your page with prices.  End of story.  

Edited to say: if anybody has got a price quote but has not yet paid a deposit, email them now to tell them that the deposit has to be paid by a certain date to guarantee the price. Give them 5 days at most.  At this point, your new price list could say "effective January 1, 2013" or something like that.

You need to say "price can only be guaranteed with a signed contract and paid deposit" in your list of terms and conditions.  You put that right before you state which forms of payment you accept.  And made sure you use the term cleared payment because a cheque is only a piece of paper until the $$$ is in your account.

No reason to offer anybody any explanation foi your change in price structure.  Everybody who goes to the grocery store understands that prices do go up.

Anybody who asks for "old" prices? tell them that they should go to the grocery store and see how far they get when they ask for "old" cake prices.

Or you could tell the smarter people that you are required to meet minimum wage laws as well as health regulations.

If you want to give your best clients a discount, go ahead, but DO NOT advertise that fact. Do it order by order.  Tell them it is for more than 6 (or whatever) cakes in each year. That way they shouldn't go telling anybody else to ask for a discount.

Wow! All this sounds so familiar!! I used to charge very little for my cakes as well and realized that its JUST not worth it!! I've finally learned to put my foot down and just say no if the client thinks its too much money. I DO NOT haggle with my cake prices anymore. And yes I think you were TOTALLY right to cut this client lose! So not worth the aggrivation especially when you're giving them SUCH a good deal. It seems they want it all but don't want to pay for it!!

I'm wondering if a.) she's a cake decorator wanna-be or b.) a total jerk,  In either case you need to run away from her pronto.  No excuses.  I had to fire a bride because of her rude groom and found out that he walked away from her and the wedding one week before.  I simply wrote her an email and said that I didn't feel that we were right for each other and that I wished her all the best.  She wrote back "I hope it wasn't anything we said or did", at this point I chose not to respond and just left it at that.  In these cases the less you say the better.  She's jerking your chain and will cause you nothing but pain.  You know how they say you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.  Well when you're just starting out you need to go through a lot of tire kickers and bargain basement customers before you're known as a higher priced baker.  Hang in there, as you progress they'll be fewer and fewer tire kickers.  Putting your foot down now, eliminates inquiries from her bargain basement friends.

I feel for you, this woman sounds just awful. As to the comments on your age and money and race - none of her business. I too look very young (I'm almost 40) but people mistake me for a teenager (yes, a teenager. My 16 year old daughter was once mistaken for being older than me) all the time & it's true it does give people the idea that they can question you more personally than they would someone who either was or appeared to be older however this  does not give them the right, it happens to me a lot and drives me crazy, I always feel like starting off the conversation by saying 'I'll be 40 next year"! I agree with all that was said concerning dropping her as a client however hard it is, I too have not been doing this for long and it's a second job as well but as my husband says "if you under price your self than people will under price you" something I have found to be true. Good luck.

Annabakescakes, I too  love to know where people are from and love history. I'm Jewish with an Eastern European back round and very often when I meet new people I ask about origins, however, the problem here I feel is the tone of the questions. It seemed to go above the 'I love history or maybe you and I originate from the same people or village or whatever'. I don't know why but there is something slightly off about this client.

I have black hair and green eyes btw!