the client stated the he was not pleased today and wanted a refund... well he still wanted to keep the cake just wanted part of the money back, because he said it looked messy. I dont think it does but of course my opinion would be consider BIAS becasue its my work but honestly it doesnt look messy to me. HELP ME PLZ tell me what I could have done differet if anything to plz this client. Thanks.
Please post the link to the cake. I'll be honest with you. I'd want someone to do the same for me.
What did the client say looked "bad" specifically? IMO, it's not a terrible looking cake at all except that the lettering is inconsistently spaced and sized. If I were a customer, I would have an issue with this however, I would expect you to correct it.
there might be a couple dings in the fondant
but photographs often pick up detail that is not noticed in person
and conversely sometimes the photo covers up booboos
but i don't see anything of a refundable nature
the licorice laces look awesome--jauntily slicing acrosss the black & white
nice cake
is that an air bubble forming on the white across the back?
i don't see anything messy
First, it's a cute cake. Honestly, there are a few things that could have been done a bit neater. The writing is a bit messy especially "birthday". The a almost looks like an e, Happy is far larger than Birthday, and you ran out of room for Jaylon which also happens to be crooked.
Awesome job on the ropes. Seriously. There are some lumps in the fondant and the seams on the corners are not well done.
That's the honest feedback. I would want someone to be honest with me. I looked at your profile to get an idea of your skill level, but there only seems to be one other example of your cakes...your avatar. By the way, nice smooth fondant on that cake. Did the client see examples of your work to know what to expect?
Was he working off of a picture? There are a few minor dimples in the lines of the fondant, that's about it. Cake is art, and it's all about interpretation. I don't like when people send me pictures of cakes, I simply cannot replicate them exactly. In the interest of business, you can offer him the partial refund.
It's a really cute cake and you did a wonderful job on the ropes. The corners and the bottom of the cake do appear messy though. Do you have a pizza cutter? It really helps getting the bottom of the cake neat.
Happy Birthday and the name are not centered. To be honest, it's really hard for me as well. I find it helps to cut a piece of waxed paper the same size and width of the cake and lay it down in front of the cake. I then write it out. If I don't get it centered, I wipe it off and try again. This helps me know where to start writing on the cake.
So sorry the customer was not happy, but the feedback from him is important.
A wise quote I learned in High School.........
Few people have the wisdom to prefer the criticism that would do them good, to the praise that deceives themFrancois de La Rchefoucauld
when I asked him what didnt he like about the cake I was expecting him to the the writting and I had a pipping bag with me just in case it didnt pass. Im not to good with piping, however he never said that. His reply was "its an over
all mess" I could have cried. I would have been happy to give him a full refund but when I stayed, "well bring me back the cake and I will give you your money back" he stated no he wanted to keep the cake....
also he didnt provide me with a picture he just called and told me what he wanted and I did some research to see how to get the ropes to stick.
The air bubble in the back was a freak I tryed poping it with a toothpick but it seem like it kept returning so I dont know.
Also thinking about it now I think I rolled my MMF to thin, so that may have been the reason for the air bubbles.
Im new to the cake world I haven't even been here a year yet but this was my first unhappy client. I JUST TAKE STUFF TO THE HEART TO MUCH !
THANKS U GALS AND GUYS
Thanks and yes I have a pizza cutter. The black fondant was wilton white fondant died black. It was ripping and sticking to every thing I covered it in powder sugar but it was still a mess. After adding so much color all fondants become very unstable and I hate working with it.
That cake would have looked awesome with some Tappits or Clicstix letters instead of piping, maybe you can pick some up for future orders like this.
What did you charge him? And did he have a photo that he expected you to replicate? Because that is always asking for trouble...
consider purchasing already colored fondant for the dark colors especially
if it seems too wet--just let it set out at room temperatuire for a few--set a timer
it will dry enough to be wonderful well worth the little bit extra
That cake would have looked awesome with some Tappits or Clicstix letters instead of piping, maybe you can pick some up for future orders like this.
What did you charge him? And did he have a photo that he expected you to replicate? Because that is always asking for trouble...
where do I get those letters from and the cae is a 10in and it was $65
First, it's a cute cake. Honestly, there are a few things that could have been done a bit neater. The writing is a bit messy especially "birthday". The a almost looks like an e, Happy is far larger than Birthday, and you ran out of room for Jaylon which also happens to be crooked.
Awesome job on the ropes. Seriously. There are some lumps in the fondant and the seams on the corners are not well done.
That's the honest feedback. I would want someone to be honest with me. I looked at your profile to get an idea of your skill level, but there only seems to be one other example of your cakes...your avatar. By the way, nice smooth fondant on that cake. Did the client see examples of your work to know what to expect?
here is something else I have done I just never have the tiem to upload pictures on here. If you would like tell me what you think I could have done different on this one also. Thanks
Starting with chocolate fondant will get you to black fast without breaking it down. I'm not good with lettering either so I use those little Wilton alphabet cutters. I have not used Tappits yet, but I have seen them on Amazon.
You will not be able to please every single customer and there will always be those that want something for nothing. This is the customer that eats an entire steak except for two bites and then complains about it yet expects his meal to be comped.
The only thing that bothered me was the lettering which is so easily solved by purchasing alphabet tappits. Other than that the only question I would like to know is how large was the square and how much did you charge him. He may be one of those people who try to get something for nothing - happens a lot to all new decorators. Your clue was when he said he wanted to keep the cake. If he truly hated it he would have given it back to you and said he's going elsewhere. Once again, what did you charge him and how large was the square.
denise--10 inch and $65--she mentioned upthread
Keeping the cake doesn't mean he's out to get something for nothing. Where else is he going to get a cake that looks like a wrestling ring that has been promised his child, I'm guessing, a couple of hours before the party? Even if he thinks it does look like a mess. Of course, he wants to keep the cake, and if he's not satisfied, of course he wants some money back.
OP, I suspect that the writing has affected his overall view of the cake. To be honest, it doesn't look as bad as I was expecting when I opened the thread, but the writing is messy, and it's the first thing you see. Also, as you said, you had a lot of trouble getting the black to work for you, and the bottom edges of that are messy as well. You've had some good ideas to fix that, so I'd give some money back, and keep working on improving. Chin up!
here is something else I have done I just never have the tiem to upload pictures on here. If you would like tell me what you think I could have done different on this one also. Thanks
Thank you. Now we have a better idea of your style and skill level. You mentioned you spoke to the client on the phone. Did he see examples of your work? I ask because some people expect everyone to have the skill level of the pros on TV while also expecting grocery store prices.
As others have mentioned, start with colored fondant. It makes a huge difference. Also, Wilton is one of the hardest fondants to use. I personally like to mix 1 part fondarific to 5 parts pettinice, but everyone has a favorite.
On this particular cake, there is some room for improvement. Being from NC, I'm sure you have seen the Duke jersey. The 4 is much larger than your 0. I like to print my numbers on cardstock & cut them for templates. That makes getting them the same size much easier. Same goes for the letters. The poor K is much smaller than all the other letters. Making a template will make a huge difference.
Thank you. Now we have a better idea of your style and skill level. You mentioned you spoke to the client on the phone. Did he see examples of your work? I ask because some people expect everyone to have the skill level of the pros on TV while also expecting grocery store prices.
As others have mentioned, start with colored fondant. It makes a huge difference. Also, Wilton is one of the hardest fondants to use. I personally like to mix 1 part fondarific to 5 parts pettinice, but everyone has a favorite.
On this particular cake, there is some room for improvement. Being from NC, I'm sure you have seen the Duke jersey. The 4 is much larger than your 0. I like to print my numbers on cardstock & cut them for templates. That makes getting them the same size much easier. Same goes for the letters. The poor K is much smaller than all the other letters. Making a template will make a huge difference.
Pretty much just a ditto to everything said here! Use templates (or cutters if it fits the style) for letters, numbers, and logos, especially when trying to replicate something well known (like the Duke name). Also, totally agree on the fondant. Stop using wilton, it's about the worst there is. Either make your own (it's easy and cheap) or buy a better brand (especially in the case of dark colors, it's just not worth the hassle of coloring yourself!)
Wilton fondant sucks.
For dark colors your best bet is to purchase some ready-made fondant. There are some threads on red and black MMF using candy melts. Do a search.
Even though the client got the cake for a steal, even you agree that the cake had some issues. If you feel like, you can offer a small portion as a refund based on your assessment of the problems with the cake.
Personally, I think for the price he paid he got an awesome cake.
eatmycakebaby,
Okay, First off let me say it take a lot of spunk to subject one of your "babies" to honest criticism. So here is my two cents worth of feed back. It's a nice cake, the writing does need a little work and if you know it's not you of your strong suite then invest in a set of fondant letter cutters until you get better. I can see a few spots that than could be a neater. Over all I don't feel like it's a bad cake AT ALL! Plus he didn't send you a picture so he is SOL on getting a refund IMO. Most importantly don't get down on yourself. Practice, practice practice!
DeeDee
I think you did a good job considering the time you've been doing this. I made that once and its not easy. I have always had a hard time writing on the sides of cake so I prefer to use fondant letters or make a plaque of white chocolate and use edible paper printed with the message. Don't beat yourself up tho. Sounds to me like he just wanted free cake. There are lots of people who do that.
That's not how that works. It's not a mess... it's a wrestling ring... I've made one before in the past, they are hard. Yours turned out way better than mine... Lol.
First of all... You didn't really get enough money to make it much better than that. I usually tell people when first talking about their order with them... I have people say to me all the time "I have XX amount of dollars and I need to work something out". I tell them that I will call them back and that is when I do the research. I may take up to a day, but I get all the aspects of how I'm going to make their cake and what all that will cost. I tell them the basic price of the cake and buttercream and I never, NEVER budge on my per slice price. Then I go through and tell them what the rest of their money will buy. If they don't like it... too bad, so sad. Go someplace else. I don't have time to work for nothing. If this is your only job, you need to quickly adjust to that mentality otherwise it's going to quickly loose it's appeal and not be right for you anymore because every Harry and Sally that doesn't like x, x or x on their cake is going to be mad and you will be affected.
Second... You need a new rule. No refunds without the return of the WHOLE cake. If he wanted his money back, he should have brought the whole cake back. No cake, no refunds. Anyone can say they don't like the way something looks to get their money back... but, even at the store you need to bring the item back. You don't buy a sweater at Walmart and go in and say "Well... I don't like the way it looks, so could give me 1/3 back because you didn't have the color I like?" Your food at taco bell was wrong? You bring your order back... not keep it and expect more. See what I mean?
Just because you are making custom cakes, you also need to realize what is within your range of ability, also. It's really easy to get super excited about things and say "Yeah, I can do that!" If you aren't sure and you've taken an order... it might be time to get some practice dummys and work it out a time or two before hand. Jumping into a cake without a plan, especially something you haven't done before, is scary. This way, you can say "I know this is the way I want to do this cake".
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