Things That Drive Me Crazy--

Decorating By Cakemommy2012 Updated 18 Apr 2013 , 6:09pm by cakealicious7

Cakemommy2012 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Cakemommy2012 Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 8:35pm
post #31 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdmt704 

When someone calls for a quote for a cake, and when given the price, they say, "Well, I could get that at Walmart for $50." OK, go ahead then. I don't make Walmart cakes!

Yea at Walmart your gonna get a frozen cake cut to your size, with frosting from a bucket who knows how old, slapped on by an hourly underpaid worker.  Good Luck with that!

Cakemommy2012 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Cakemommy2012 Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 8:39pm
post #32 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by ladykickfire 

I just love # 3. LOL

I have gotten that more and more lately!  Drives me crazy! I'm sure they mean it as a compliment but everytime I take it as an insult!  LOL

Cakemommy2012 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Cakemommy2012 Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 8:42pm
post #33 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandieann 

Yes I did! It wasn't worth being cooped up in my kitchen every weekend with no money coming in. My kids were tired of it too.

So sad that they made you Quit! Maybe after a short time without your free cakes they will appreciate them more (especially when they have to pay for them!!!)

Ncakecreations Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Ncakecreations Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 8:48pm
post #34 of 57

Just to add to your list - I tend to get a lot of people who say 'make it pretty' about the cake design and nothing else. Highly annoying!

 

More recently i took an order from a grandmother as a suprise for their grandchilds christening and they gave me the wrong spelling for the name. I had to take it away and change it and return it an hour later. Has that ever happened to anyone?

 

http://nickyscakecreations.yolasite.com

Ncakecreations Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Ncakecreations Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 8:49pm
post #35 of 57

Just to add to your list - I tend to get a lot of people who say 'make it pretty' about the cake design and nothing else. Highly annoying! icon_sad.gif

 

More recently i took an order from a grandmother as a suprise for their grandchilds christening and they gave me the wrong spelling for the name. I had to take it away and change it and return it an hour later. Has that ever happened to anyone? icon_sad.gif

 

 

http://nickyscakecreations.yolasite.com

Esalota Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Esalota Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 9:06pm
post #36 of 57

I so identify with all of them. 

 

My pet peeve is when I get told, well you are considered a cottage business, so you get to use your home, and you have no over head, so why do you charge so much?  Aren't you suppose to charge double the cost of making it?  How about you charge me for the ingredients and I'll add $50 for your labor.  It should only take you a couple of hours, that is $25 an hour for labor.

 

Yeah right, you want a cake to feed 60, from scratch, and only organic ingredients, with fondant bows and ribbon draped along with two or three orchids.  Never mind they asked for the fondant to be a orange vanilla flavor.  (I make my own fondant).

 

I told them no, I can't do that, but if they want a cake that cheap go to the grocery store.  They didn't like that answer.

babshush Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
babshush Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 9:40pm
post #37 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Relznik 

Oh I'm just of the opinion my cake business would be fine if it wasn't for CUSTOMERS! LOL!!!!!

 

true. LOL

weirkd Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
weirkd Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 10:44pm
post #38 of 57

AI had a lady wanting a dessert buffet. She called on Monday, wanted it on friday, delivered two hours away on a budgrt of $150 for 50 people! Then didn't want to pay for it prioror use Paypal. She couldnt understand why I said no. Um, really?

Enilajar Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Enilajar Posted 11 Apr 2013 , 11:12pm
post #39 of 57

AMy # 1 is: "I called Wal-Mart, Sam's, etc, etc, etc, and none of them would do it, so can you do it?" In what other medium do you request a favor first by insulting the person you are asking a favor from?

I also do only fondant cakes, not buttercream. I don't really make any money doing them, but I like to post pics of them on Facebook, and I have people say "Oh, I don't want anything FANCY like you do, I just want a simple cake". You have seen what I do. You either want it or you don't.

And another: I have a full time job, a five year old, and other hobbies and obligations. I don't "HAVE TIME" to make cakes, either, so I DON'T want to hear you say that YOU could do it if you "HAD TIME"! I "MAKE" time!!!!!!!!!!!

kikiandkyle Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kikiandkyle Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 1:04am
post #40 of 57

A

Original message sent by Cakemommy2012

Yea at Walmart your gonna get a frozen cake cut to your size, with frosting from a bucket who knows how old, slapped on by an hourly underpaid worker.  Good Luck with that!

My daughter and I were watching the cake decorator at our grocery store the other day while in line for the deli, she was trying to find a cake that wasn't iced completely awfully for her order (none of them were even remotely level, even my husband could see that!), eventually she pulled out an already iced full sheet and cut it in half, scraped off the current color and recovered it in another color, it had been sat in the display cabinet for goodness knows how long with that color on it already too.

peilinl Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
peilinl Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 1:50am
post #41 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cakemommy2012 

That cake is amazing! The fact that you took so much time to do it without any artificial flavoring and those mushrooms-- WOW!  Family are the worst--they are the ones you hope will fawn over your cakes the most, but sometimes are the most hurtful! When he turns 2 direct them to the closest bakery and laugh as they pay the big bucks for a cake for not being appreciative!


you are so right! They are the hardest to please, at least in my case.

croppinchick Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
croppinchick Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 1:53am
post #42 of 57

A

Original message sent by Cakemommy2012

Me too ChiaPet!  It takes twice as long to bake 2 cakes for your 1/2 and 1/2 so I charge extra labor as well!

peilinl Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
peilinl Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 1:55am
post #43 of 57
deleted as it the comment was posted twice.
croppinchick Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
croppinchick Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 2:02am
post #44 of 57

AI had one request a half and half cake on a 12" round birthday cake. Told her it wasn't happening. She could order additional cupcakes but she was going to have to pay the extra cost. She decided not to do half and half.

Those kind of request or the clients that don't show up for several hours past their pick up time (I did call one that was already an hour late and told her I was leaving my house in exactly 45 minutes for my grandsons ballgame, and she could either get it within that 45 minutes or the next day....I knew her party was that night...funny, she was here in 15 minutes). Just rude to think we have no lives but to make their cake and wait for them. But the worst is the one who calls on Thursday for a cake on Saturday morning to serve 75.... I have learned to say "no".

carmenscake_helsinki Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
carmenscake_helsinki Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 7:08am
post #45 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renne1956 

I agree with each and every rule!  I had a customer who couldn't make up her mind and for 2 weeks I got 62 texts from her with pictures!! She drove me insane. I finally got her to agree to a sheet cake, 48 cupcakes and 48 football cake pops! She wanted it all for a Saturday morning. I texted her Friday around 3pm and told her everything was ready if she would like to come and pick it up. She asked me why was everything ready on friday. Will it still be good for Saturday morning? Honestly, if she thought I was making all of this on Saturday morning...she is crazy!  And she said she would be over to pick it up at 5 pm and showed up at 9pm. Needless to say....do not want want to deal with her again!!

 

Do you know what I was thinking for while about this kind of client? I think they make it in porpouse, they let you know the last minute what they want, to secure the cake will be fresh... Because they really think that a sheet cake, 48 cupcake and 48 cake pops should be done on the same day that she needs the cake...

And they still add the phrase: "Please, it should be all fresh, you know, like tasting fresh"  Yeah, for sure I'll make you a week old cake very much spoiled. 

 

I had a client that wanted a buttercream cake at 13:00, but I couldn't deliver it to her at that time and I asked if would be fine in the early morning like 8:30. She said:

"hummm, I don't think the cake will taste good. Do you think it's safe? It will be fresh?"

 

A-ham....I really wonder how long in advance think we decorate their cake...Maybe 15 min.before deliver? Yes, for sure, because a buttercream can't wait 5 min. after is ready to be eated...

Cakemommy2012 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Cakemommy2012 Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 4:02pm
post #46 of 57

A

Original message sent by Enilajar

. have people say "Oh, I don't want anything FANCY like you do, I just want a simple cake". You have seen what I do. You either want it or

My husband pulled this quote on me the other day. He KNOWS what cakes I do, he told a co-worker that I would do her a cheap cake. Then came home and told me she wants a cake shaped like a turtle, but nothing fancy"!!?!?

Original message sent by kikiandkyle

My daughter and I were watching the cake decorator at our grocery store the other day while in line for the deli, she was trying to find a cake that wasn't iced completely awfully for her order (none of them were even remotely level, even my husband could see that!), eventually she pulled out an already iced full sheet and cut it in half, scraped off the current color and recovered it in another color, it had been sat in the display cabinet for goodness knows how long with that color on it already too.

Yea sounds about right!! They are NOT fresh by any means!!

abromavm Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
abromavm Posted 12 Apr 2013 , 4:22pm
post #47 of 57

I'll add a few:

  1. Friends who ask for a donated cake even though they've never ordered as much as a cupcake from you.
  2. Family not realizing their kid's cake that you made for them took 6 hours...which is also the same 6 hours I didn't spend with MY own kids.
  3. Making a family cake for free and delivering it to a venue where the parents have spent $300 to rent the place so they don't have to clean up their house after the party.
  4. Friends who initiate a cake order without asking about the price or even indicating that they intend to pay!  I hate nothing more than to ask a friend: "Do you have a budget for this cake?"
  5. Friends and family who think you are in business to save THEM money.  (Or family thinking their free cake will give you some "good practice"!)

 

 

And for the people who have trouble with people picking up orders on time...I always tell my customers to please call if they have trouble locating the address or are going to be more than 10 minutes late.  I let them know that I am worried about their time in hopes that they do the same for me!

babshush Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
babshush Posted 14 Apr 2013 , 6:00pm
post #48 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by abromavm 

5. Friends and family who think you are in business to save THEM money.  (Or family thinking their free cake will give you some "good practice"!)

 

TRUE

Elcee Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Elcee Posted 14 Apr 2013 , 8:13pm
post #49 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by abromavm 

(Or family thinking their free cake will give you some "good practice"!)

 

That drives me nuts! A couple of times recently when I got the practice line I got all wide-eyed and horrified looking and said "Oh my gosh, you think I need more practice? Are my cakes that bad?"

Annabakescakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Annabakescakes Posted 14 Apr 2013 , 8:55pm
post #50 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elcee 

That drives me nuts! A couple of times recently when I got the practice line I got all wide-eyed and horrified looking and said "Oh my gosh, you think I need more practice? Are my cakes that bad?"

That is hysterical! I love it!

mcaulir Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mcaulir Posted 15 Apr 2013 , 6:52am
post #51 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enilajar 


I also do only fondant cakes, not buttercream. I don't really make any money doing them, but I like to post pics of them on Facebook, and I have people say "Oh, I don't want anything FANCY like you do, I just want a simple cake". You have seen what I do. You either want it or you don't.
 

Oh this so much.

 

You can see that I use fondant, and I've told you that I mostly make mudcake. So don't ask me for buttercream piping over a sourdough cake. What the heck is sourdough cake anyway?

 

'Oh, it's a cake we got a a bakery in a city 4 hours' drive from you 2 years ago. Can you make one?'

 

Ah no - given that I've never heard of one, and even if I had, can make no guarantee that anything I make will taste like the one the bakery made, given that I never tasted it.

Annabakescakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Annabakescakes Posted 15 Apr 2013 , 12:18pm
post #52 of 57

A

Original message sent by mcaulir

Oh this so much.

You can see that I use fondant, and I've told you that I mostly make mudcake. So don't ask me for buttercream piping over a sourdough cake. What the heck is sourdough cake anyway?

'Oh, it's a cake we got a a bakery in a city 4 hours' drive from you [I]2 years ago[/I]. Can you make one?'

Ah no - given that I've never heard of one, and even if I had, can make no guarantee that anything I make will taste like the one the bakery made, given that I never tasted it.

Seriously? That is crazy!!

In January, at a bridal show, I was asked if I would make their family recipe stout cake for the groom's cake. I did tell them I would love the recipe, but I made no promises, lol. I was thinking, "Why don't YOU make it??"

ladykickfire Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ladykickfire Posted 15 Apr 2013 , 11:16pm
post #53 of 57

When I do a cake for free (which is often) the only 2 things that they get to decide is the flavour and the theme. It's free. What more do they want? LOL icon_cry.gif

hbquikcomjamesl Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
hbquikcomjamesl Posted 15 Apr 2013 , 11:45pm
post #54 of 57

When I do a cake for free (which is all the time, regardless of who's paying for the ingredients), they don't necessarily get to decide that: the Leland Awards cake was a 9x13 single-layer sheet spice cake with maple-cinnamon BC, served in-pan, because I was one of the people who was going to be eating it, and because the maple-cinnamon BC harmonized with the edible print of the Leland Award trophy (machine-carved from a block of dark wood), and because one 9x13 sheet cake served in-pan was what I had the time and energy to do! When I was informed that my mom wanted a cake for Easter, I did a strawberry marble in part because the piped strawberries seemed appropriate for Spring, because I was having trouble coming up with an Easter-specific design that wouldn't either be too secular (e.g., bunnies) or too morbid (even an empty cross is still an instrument of slow, painful, excruciating execution, and even an empty tomb is still a tomb), and because I wanted to see if the Betty Crocker white cake mix, made with whole eggs, would give me any more volume than the DH with egg whites only did (it didn't), or would fight the strawberry flavor less (maybe).

 

When I make a Mothers Day cake for my mom, and again when I make her a birthday cake, I'll probably do chocolate (her choice), and make myself a small white kitchen cake, as an excuse to try the "First Street" white cake mix from Smart & Final (since it claims a full mix will make a full sheet, and lists how much mix to use for various sized pans). For my dad's birthday, and maybe again for Fathers Day (assuming I don't make some kind of cookies instead), probably another pound cake, in a Bundt mold, served naked (except for a bit of writing), since he didn't care much for frosting even before he became mildly type-2 diabetic.

Cakemommy2012 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Cakemommy2012 Posted 18 Apr 2013 , 5:40pm
post #55 of 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by ladykickfire 

When I do a cake for free (which is often) the only 2 things that they get to decide is the flavour and the theme. It's free. What more do they want? LOL icon_cry.gif


I love it when all of a sudden the customer BECOMES a professional cake decorator! "Oh can you make x, y, and z to add to the cake."  "Oh I was hoping to get a, b, or c designed onto the side."  Then comes the insult---"you can do that can't you?"  Yes I can I just dont wanna!  LOL

ohsugarsweets Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ohsugarsweets Posted 18 Apr 2013 , 6:08pm
post #56 of 57

CakeCentral seriously needs a "LIKE" button for posts! These are the best!

cakealicious7 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cakealicious7 Posted 18 Apr 2013 , 6:09pm
post #57 of 57

AI so agree with you!

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%