Have You Ever Had Just A 'no-Good-This-Isnt-My-Day' Kind Of Cake Day? Ruined A Wedding.... (Very Long)

Decorating By BAKEdeliciousbc Updated 24 Jul 2013 , 8:13am by vgcea

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sixinarow Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 5:11am
post #31 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAKEdeliciousbc 

I'm not sure if I was the first person, but it seemed like it. I guess I would have figured that she looked at some photos before contacting me...another mistake, I suppose. I've learned not to assume ANYTHING, at this point. Really, the cake should have been perfectly edible. I did have some cake left that was the same recipe, and it tasted just fine. I mean, was it so ugly that they couldn't even eat it? Like, really, I don't know...

I would think it would be a relief to hack the sucker up if they didn't want to look at it anymore! icon_wink.gif

Learn from this, never, ever, EVER put off preparing a cake until the last minute again (I'm sure you won't), don't test new recipes on a client and take some online courses to improve. The family is gonna say what they are gonna say, they felt bad for the bride, probably not knowing that she put off ordering a cake until her wedding week. Put a period on this story, keep your chin up and hang in there!

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BAKEdeliciousbc Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 5:14am
post #32 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by morganchampagne 

Sorry what happened to you! Had an off day myself. Happens every time I try to do too much so have no one to blame but me. Currently drowning my sorrows in a glass of mr.pibb lol

Haha! thumbs_up.gif

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BAKEdeliciousbc Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 5:18am
post #33 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by sixinarow 

I would think it would be a relief to hack the sucker up if they didn't want to look at it anymore! icon_wink.gif

Learn from this, never, ever, EVER put off preparing a cake until the last minute again (I'm sure you won't), don't test new recipes on a client and take some online courses to improve. The family is gonna say what they are gonna say, they felt bad for the bride, probably not knowing that she put off ordering a cake until her wedding week. Put a period on this story, keep your chin up and hang in there!

I have no idea what I was even thinking, no it will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! As for the new recipe thing, like...I don't even know. I'm usually so organized...lessons learned, indeed. THANK YOU GUYS for all your tips and warnings and encouragement. I cannot say thank you enough, seriously. 

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thelittlecakery Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 8:01am
post #34 of 76

Yes, you made mistakes. I want to do wedding cakes but I'm just not ready for that stress yet. This is how I see it... You made her a four tier cake for approximately $1.50 per slice, in less than a weeks notice because her baker backed out on her (right?), so theoretically without you agreeing to make her a cake on such insanely short notice and charging her significantly less than you would typically charge (I am assuming) she would probably not have had cake at all... Right?

 

Yes you put off baking the cakes until the last minute and tried a new recipe, which did not work out, and you did not finish the back of the cake. You know you made these mistakes and all you can do is learn from them, which it seems to me that you have. You offered her a refund and apologized.

 

I wonder if you did what I do when I am under serious pressure and time is flying by, you worked faster to get it done, causing more mistakes because your normal perfectionist was thrown off by the lack of time. IF this ever happens again (doubt you will let it, but just in case), cover the clocks and set timer for 10 minutes before you have to be finished.  Looking at the clock stresses you out, it also causes mistakes because you're looking at it. It's trick my mom taught me, we are both procrastinators and it helps me a lot. Allow yourself to take a deep breath and work like you normally would. Then when the timer goes off, you put on the finishing touches and walk away, do not try to keep working on it, nothing more can be done.

 

All that being said, stuff happens, you did what you could and you apologized. Nobody is perfect.

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scrumdiddlycakes Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 8:06am
post #35 of 76

Cake doesn't ruin a wedding, unless it gives everyone food poisoning :)

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BAKEdeliciousbc Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 8:14am
post #36 of 76

A

Original message sent by scrumdiddlycakes

Cake doesn't ruin a wedding, unless it gives everyone food poisoning :)

Haha! I guess that is a valid point...not necessarily funny, though.

.....haha

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BAKEdeliciousbc Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 8:17am
post #37 of 76

A

Original message sent by thelittlecakery

Yes, you made mistakes. I want to do wedding cakes but I'm just not ready for that stress yet. This is how I see it... You made her a four tier cake for approximately $1.50 per slice, in less than a weeks notice because her baker backed out on her (right?), so theoretically without you agreeing to make her a cake on such insanely short notice and charging her significantly less than you would typically charge (I am assuming) she would probably not have had cake at all... Right?

Yes you put off baking the cakes until the last minute and tried a new recipe, which did not work out, and you did not finish the back of the cake. You know you made these mistakes and all you can do is learn from them, which it seems to me that you have. You offered her a refund and apologized.

I wonder if you did what I do when I am under serious pressure and time is flying by, you worked faster to get it done, causing more mistakes because your normal perfectionist was thrown off by the lack of time. IF this ever happens again (doubt you will let it, but just in case), cover the clocks and set timer for 10 minutes before you have to be finished.  Looking at the clock stresses you out, it also causes mistakes because you're looking at it. It's trick my mom taught me, we are both procrastinators and it helps me a lot. Allow yourself to take a deep breath and work like you normally would. Then when the timer goes off, you put on the finishing touches and walk away, do not try to keep working on it, nothing more can be done.

All that being said, stuff happens, you did what you could and you apologized. Nobody is perfect.

You are exactly right about the whole being rushed thing. It only makes matters worse. Thank you for the tip! I highly doubt I will EVER wait that long to start a cake again.

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kikiandkyle Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 12:28pm
post #38 of 76

A

Original message sent by BAKEdeliciousbc

Haha, right! Totally understood thumbs_up.gif  I'll definitely never forget this experience!! YouTube has been my best friend :) I think this needed to happen to me, honestly. I needed to learn all these things. I guess I'm glad it's sooner rather than later. 

And on a $180 cake rather than a $1800 one!

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bonniekaye Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 4:38pm
post #39 of 76

Sometimes I wonder if people are insane when it comes to cakes. I have been making cakes for all occasions for years. Just recently I've noticed that people will complain over the smallest thing. They will call you on the phone screaming that you did (fill in the blank with what ever small detail you may have left off of the cake) and post very bad things on your business facebook page. They threaten to destroy your business and then proceed to do so though facebook and other social outlets. I wonder what has happened to common courtesy. There was a problem with the cake you delivered. We have all had those kinds of days, but you did the right thing. You could not re-make the cake, so a refund was in order. This business was between you and the Bride, everyone else should have stayed out of it. It hurts to see people act so rudely and mean, and it does take some time to get over it. The best advice you have received is to not give up. Cake decorating is an art and takes time to prefect. Good luck, and remember that you have friends that do feel your pain here.

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Cricket1960 Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 5:57pm
post #40 of 76

I was telling someone once that I had only a couple hours of sleep, because I needed to get a cake finished and it was taking me a lot longer than I anticipated and his response was something like.. what it doesn't take the cake boss that long to decorate a cake, he gets it done in an episode...WHAT??!?...I was dumbfounded. I didn't know how to respond. I think shows like that have given people a very skewed look into the life of a cake designer, so now they have outrages expectations .

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Sparklekat6 Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 6:28pm
post #41 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cricket1960 

I was telling someone once that I had only a couple hours of sleep, because I needed to get a cake finished and it was taking me a lot longer than I anticipated and his response was something like.. what it doesn't take the cake boss that long to decorate a cake, he gets it done in an episode...WHAT??!?...I was dumbfounded. I didn't know how to respond. I think shows like that have given people a very skewed look into the life of a cake designer, so now they have outrages expectations .

Should be filed under "Things not to say/ask a baker!"

 


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gatorcake Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 6:57pm
post #42 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by kikiandkyle 

She chose a baker that had very little experience, and who only charged her a fraction of market rate, she should have known that she wasn't going to get a Ron Ben Israel creation. 

 

 

Now that depends----if you (a general you) promise you can deliver on what the client asks for, then why exactly should they not expect what you say you can do.  No matter what you choose to charge, if you promise a Ron-Ben Israel creation for $1.50 a serving the client has every right to expect such a creation.  Offering a lower price does not mean the client should expect less.  You accept their offer, what you choose to charge for it is your problem not the client's.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelittlecakery 

This is how I see it... You made her a four tier cake for approximately $1.50 per slice, in less than a weeks notice because her baker backed out on her (right?), so theoretically without you agreeing to make her a cake on such insanely short notice and charging her significantly less than you would typically charge (I am assuming) she would probably not have had cake at all... Right?

 

The client's expectations do not excuse poor execution if you claim you can deliver on those expectations.  If a client's expectations are unreasonable then why would you promise to make good on the order?  Is it not incumbent on you --especially if you are concerned about the reputation of your business -- to explain to the client their order is unreasonable given time constraints and that it needs to be adjusted?  

 

If you are inexperienced with this situation why are you taking the order in which you commit yourself to delivering on something you cannot make?  The client bears zero responsibility if you claim you could make good on it no matter what your expertise.  If the baker shouldn't have known better for accepting the order (that is if their inexperience should not have prevented them from accepting the order), then why should the client have known better for coming to the decorator?

 

Certainly there are other options between the client's unreasonable expectations and no cake.  The client could have altered their design to something that could be executed in the time available.  (Yes there other decisions made during the week that impacted the outcome).  Promising to deliver what is not possible only puts your business at risk because ultimately what it comes down to is you said you could make it. 

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Annabakescakes Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 6:58pm
post #43 of 76

A

Original message sent by bonniekaye

Sometimes I wonder if people are insane when it comes to cakes. I have been making cakes for all occasions for years. Just recently I've noticed that people will complain over the smallest thing. They will call you on the phone screaming that you did (fill in the blank with what ever small detail you may have left off of the cake) and post very bad things on your business facebook page. They threaten to destroy your business and then proceed to do so though facebook and other social outlets. I wonder what has happened to common courtesy. There was a problem with the cake you delivered. We have all had those kinds of days, but you did the right thing. You could not re-make the cake, so a refund was in order. This business was between you and the Bride, everyone else should have stayed out of it. It hurts to see people act so rudely and mean, and it does take some time to get over it. The best advice you have received is to not give up. Cake decorating is an art and takes time to prefect. Good luck, and remember that you have friends that do feel your pain here.

Has all this really happened to you? I have been selling cakes for 16 years and the only time I had a freak out was when I didn't do a cake for a lady who never told me any details, and didn't pay....didn't answer phone calls or emails, then just showed up. I didn't even know what flavor to bake, but she freaked out anyway. I did write the wrong name on a cake once, but they were very polite.

I'd reevaluate my business if my cakes caused that much trauma.

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SWR1GHT Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 7:27pm
post #44 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cricket1960 

I was telling someone once that I had only a couple hours of sleep, because I needed to get a cake finished and it was taking me a lot longer than I anticipated and his response was something like.. what it doesn't take the cake boss that long to decorate a cake, he gets it done in an episode...WHAT??!?...I was dumbfounded. I didn't know how to respond. I think shows like that have given people a very skewed look into the life of a cake designer, so now they have outrages expectations .

 

That is ridiculous, Buddy has a full "TEAM" of people helping him. He very rarely if ever creates a cake on his own from start to finish. If we all had teams set to bake our cakes, fill our cakes, ice our cakes, cover wtih fondant, take care of structure of the cake etc. and decorate we'd be able to pump out all those cakes he does too. how's that for a response?? lol

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SWR1GHT Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 7:42pm
post #45 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAKEdeliciousbc 

First off, this is my first post! I have been scouring all over this site over the past few months...anyway...I'm very very new to wedding cakes. Like, I've made 3. I started with cupcakes and cake truffles/pops, little cakes...and now it's just started to blossom recently.

 

This last weekend, I had a wedding cake. The bride contacted me on Sunday asking how many days in advance I needed to make a wedding cake. I had her message me privately, and she did. She said her dad had planned on making the cake, but now was not feeling comfortable. The wedding was on Friday. I had her send me a photo of what she was wanting, so she sent me a photo along with a different color she wanted. I assessed, thought, ok, I can do this (I had another cake for that Saturday as well - that one just for a friend, no charge)...I told her we would usually charge per serving, but let's just do $180 (she said she needed about 120 servings). She's like oh wonderful! (P.S. I'm in Chubbuck, Idaho)

 

We proceed from there...I'll admit - I procrastinated a little bit starting the cakes, I would've normally started baking Monday, freeze, and go from there. Well, it came to Thursday and I baked the cakes. I was having an OFF day. Things just weren't turning out right, again and again, but I finally got all the cakes done that night and just needed to make icing for the crumb coat. For the icing, I DON'T KNOW WHY, but I tried a new recipe, which used shortening - I've never done an icing with shortening before - it turned out TERRIBLE. It was like really oily and just sloppy looking, even in the bowl! I'm not sure exactly what it's supposed to look like...but I'm sure not like that!! Looked gross - but what did I do anyway?? I tried crumb coating the cakes!!? OMG, are you joking me? Where is my brain?? P.S - I stayed up all night long doing all this. It was like a never-ending battle. So, I ruined my cakes with the icing....so, at about...10AM on the day of the wedding, I STARTED OVER! Using all my original recipes and everything, and things were going fine...until I RAN OUT OF ICING. Had to make more. (A side note, my fondant was supposed to be delivered the night before - it wasn't delivered, so I had to buttercream the whole thing. The bride didn't specify she wanted it covered in fondant, so I thought, ok, we can do this). 

 

We're going with the icing (my mom is helping me at this point, because we are so short on time!)...the clock is just going, the icing is not smoothing well...and things just seem to be going insane. The cake was actually to be picked up at 3PM, but we weren't done when the guy showed up. He agreed to just let me deliver it once it was finished, in about 30 minutes. (Way not enough time, really...). I just have to say, the cake looked terrible :( I was not at all pleased with it, and it just ended up looking pretty sloppy, and we didn't even have time to finish the back, but I thought, ok, it's just the back, we're fine. Still looked sloppy, though. We delivered it, and immediately felt my heart just sink to the very bottom of my stomach. I felt sick, terrible....I didn't want to not give her anything, and this cake was all I had! (I did not get her number, since we had been talking via Facebook - NOT SMART, lesson learned) I couldn't message her, who is answering facebook messages hours before their wedding?! She hadn't been quick to reply before, either. So we just delivered it. I wish I could have offered her a refund prior to the date...and I did end up offering her a full refund and another cake free of charge for their anniversary.

 

Long story short, I pretty much got bashed and attacked on Facebook - members of the family posting the photos of the cake, telling everyone not to order from us, we're fraudulent, urging everyone to share that this 'unedible' cake cost $180, and that we should offer a refund (which I had already done prior to the Facebook fiasco that happened this afternoon). I messaged the people I knew had posted, asking them to please please remove their posts, that I am in the beginning of my career of wedding cakes, etc. Everyone seemed to be so angry, but the bride seemed the nicest about it...which I thought was odd. 

 

I know I was in the wrong, I messed up, made dumb decisions, and probably shouldn't have even accepted the order to begin with, especially since I had another one that weekend. I've learned SO MANY lessons, but that doesn't mean the posts and words didn't hurt. I may have ruined the bride's day, but it felt like I ruined everyone else's. We are issuing a full refund and offering a free cake whenever they want it, but I still feel terrible. I've been so sad most of today. What I am wondering.....has something like this ever happened to any of you at the beginning of your careers?? Am I the only one? How can I overcome this?? I unpublished our Facebook page for the time being, and I'm just going to keep on going, do my best, and republish when I feel things are better. I am also done with wedding cakes after I do my friends in a couple weeks, if just for a little while, so I can really learn what I'm doing. LIVE and freaking LEARN. Also, if you read this entire post, you're amazing, and thank you for any responses!!!! :)

 

That is just terrible, I feel so bad for you. However that being said and I hate to be the downer becuase you've already beat yourself up enough but you need to take your business more seriously. It doesn't matter how inexperienced you are it doesn't matter when this bride asked you to make her cake because if any of those things were an issue then you should have declined to start with but once you accepted the order all the blame falls on you and you rightfully took full responsiblity and refunded her money. All the facebook comments etc. are not necessary or warranted, it wasn't their wedding so they have no right commenting on anything especially if it didn't really upset the bride that much. Suppose she wanted her cake to look like that?? It's not up to the guest to tell people not to order from you because the cake was ugly. I'm so sorry this happened to you, my heart goes out to you it's so sad but look at the bright side you've definitely already learned from your mistakes so the only thing I would advise you is going forward take your business more seriously, practice and start making a timeline for each cake you do so that you dont' have to rush and do everything all at once - that will definitley keep you on track!

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AZCouture Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 8:02pm
post #46 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAKEdeliciousbc 

 

telling everyone not to order from us, we're fraudulent

What's your personal opinion on this particular statement?

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cakesbycathy Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 8:24pm
post #47 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZCouture 

What's your personal opinion on this particular statement?

 



I think it depends on what kind of cakes were on the OPs website or FB page.  If they were clean, well-executed cakes then I can see where someone would see that statement is valid, since the cake she provided was not.  On the other hand she stated she had only done a couple of cakes and so if the bride had not seen any examples of her work she really would have nothing to go by.  I don't know what kind of conversation she had with the bride, but if she assured her she would be able to provide her with cake that looked like a picture or would have smoothly iced sides or clean fondant work, etc - which the OP clearly didn't do - then I think it could be a reasonable thing to post.  Is it kind or called for, no.  But I might feel the same way if I was expecting my cake to look one way and it was delivered looking nothing like I expected and poorly done at that.

 

I know this is going to sound mean, and I haven't seen any other cakes the OP has made, but to me the first thing I thought that I personally would say to the bride is that you get what you pay for.  She found a baker that was available at a very, very late date, who has very little experience making cakes, that charged her just about nothing for her wedding cake.  Those should have been some red flags.

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sixinarow Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 8:56pm
post #48 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakesbycathy 

I know this is going to sound mean, and I haven't seen any other cakes the OP has made, but to me the first thing I thought that I personally would say to the bride is that you get what you pay for.  She found a baker that was available at a very, very late date, who has very little experience making cakes, that charged her just about nothing for her wedding cake.  Those should have been some red flags.

I've given encouraging words to the OP about this situation and to move forward, but if it were MY child's wedding day? I wouldn't give a glowing review either and would probably want to warn other would-be clients about what happened at my child's wedding. I'm not saying the bride is innocent in all of this, but her baker (family member) backed out at the last minute, maybe she wasn't informed, maybe she didn't check around and maybe she was naive that the OP was going to deliver what she asked. I was married at 22 and didn't have a clue what cake prices, flowers or wedding dresses cost. I relied heavily on the experience of the "professionals" because I was 4 hours away trying to plan my wedding. I don't know what the conversation was either, but I have to imagine that the op assured her that she could do the cake and deliver it on time, otherwise, the bride would have looked elsewhere. I feel bad for the bride, I'm sick to my stomach for the op, but the op can move forward and change her image, learn from this situation and bake another cake. I guess I'm just saying that I can understand the bad feelings the family of the bride has toward the op and why they posted unpleasant things. Maybe a way to heal bad feelings would be to offer to make another cake so they can re-create the cake cutting in their photo album.

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kikiandkyle Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 9:22pm
post #49 of 76

AI agree that the baker should have delivered what they promised no matter how inexperienced they are or how little they charged (and I believe that was what I said in my original post). But as a consumer I know that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. The op was not excused from her responsibly to provide the cake, and she therefore has a responsibility to try and make it as right as she can, which she is doing.

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MimiFix Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 9:26pm
post #50 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by sixinarow 

Maybe a way to heal bad feelings would be to offer to make another cake so they can re-create the cake cutting in their photo album.

 

Very nice idea! Cakes are such an important part of most wedding days; this would help to unruffle family feathers and leave a lasting record of the OP's decorating ability. 

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thelittlecakery Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 10:08pm
post #51 of 76

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by gatorcake 

The client's expectations do not excuse poor execution if you claim you can deliver on those expectations.  If a client's expectations are unreasonable then why would you promise to make good on the order?  Is it not incumbent on you --especially if you are concerned about the reputation of your business -- to explain to the client their order is unreasonable given time constraints and that it needs to be adjusted?  

 

If you are inexperienced with this situation why are you taking the order in which you commit yourself to delivering on something you cannot make?  The client bears zero responsibility if you claim you could make good on it no matter what your expertise.  If the baker shouldn't have known better for accepting the order (that is if their inexperience should not have prevented them from accepting the order), then why should the client have known better for coming to the decorator?

 

Certainly there are other options between the client's unreasonable expectations and no cake.  The client could have altered their design to something that could be executed in the time available.  (Yes there other decisions made during the week that impacted the outcome).  Promising to deliver what is not possible only puts your business at risk because ultimately what it comes down to is you said you could make it. 

 

 The client was lucky to be able to find a baker who was even willing to do this in such short notice and at this price. Is that an excuse for the cake, no, however, clearly BAKE can make beautiful cakes (I am saying this because the cake posted was done in hours, so I can imagine if BAKE had not put herself in the position she was in and had taken her time instead of rushing). Clearly BAKE knows she made a mistake and has done what she can, offer a refund. I think that reaming her again for her mistake is not necessary as she has already had the bride's family and friends doing so.  BAKE needs to learn and move on.  No sense in beating dead horse.

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thelittlecakery Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 10:09pm
post #52 of 76

BAKEdeliciousbc would you mind to post some of you previous work, if you have photos?

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as you wish Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 10:41pm
post #53 of 76

AI had a "no-good-this-isn't-my-day" kind of cake day today. Fortunately for me the person I made the cake for has no idea! Here's what happened: I was making a simple 8" for a family who's son has a nut allergy. I explained that I do have nuts in my kitchen so am not comfortable promising a nut-free cake, but they said the allergy is not severe and as long as I take reasonable precautions they were comfortable with it. Okay. So I was super careful making sure every bowl, every utensil, etc. was double-washed and made the cake. It was a very simple design; white fondant with black royal icing scrollwork, and some flowers. As I was putting the finishing touches on the cake my son came in and commented on the royal icing. He doesn't like it because it has eggs in it. I said that he would like this, though because I had flavoured it (as I always do) with almond extract. He just looked at me for a minute and then said "I thought their son had a nut allergy?" I still didn't get it. I just replied "Yes, but not an egg allergy!" He just stared at me until it hit me what I had done. I felt sick! I carefully removed everything, peeled off the fondant, threw it all in the trash and started all over again. The huge waste of time was frustrating. But the thought of what I had almost done makes me want to hang up my apron forever. What if my son hadn't come in?! It makes my knees weak thinking about it!

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DeniseNH Posted 23 Jul 2013 , 11:26pm
post #54 of 76

Keep putting one foot in front of another.  Yes, it's rough but have a look on Pinterest for rustic or stucco cakes and it looks exactly like yours.  I'll bet once the flowers were in place it looked more put together.  You did the right thing by offering a refund because in your mind it wasn't your best work.  The bride took a chance on you - if a wedding cake was super important to her she would have gone to a well known and established baker but she chose you.  Like you said, you learned a TON and that's how we all learn, through trial and error.  If one of your kids tripped and fell on his face at a basketball game would you punish him.  No.  You'd tell him to keep practicing and next time remember to tie his sneakers better (code word for get your act together a little earlier).  XO

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sixinarow Posted 24 Jul 2013 , 12:01am
post #55 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by thelittlecakery 

 

 

 The client was lucky to be able to find a baker who was even willing to do this in such short notice and at this price. Is that an excuse for the cake, no, however, clearly BAKE can make beautiful cakes (I am saying this because the cake posted was done in hours, so I can imagine if BAKE had not put herself in the position she was in and had taken her time instead of rushing). Clearly BAKE knows she made a mistake and has done what she can, offer a refund. I think that reaming her again for her mistake is not necessary as she has already had the bride's family and friends doing so.  BAKE needs to learn and move on.  No sense in beating dead horse.

I don't think I would say the bride was "lucky". This is a worse case scenario for a bride and baker, while we can feel the baker's pain, imagine the bride on her wedding day. Not knowing anything was wrong, walking into the reception and seeing an unfinished cake on what is supposed to be an awesome day. Continuing to blame the bride when the only thing she did was pay a baker (who as far as we know is legal and licensed) to bake and completely decorate a cake...of any size... isn't going to help the op's business. This isn't an instance of a bridezilla or someone complaining about taste, texture, size or decorating style. This was an unfinished wedding cake. OP can move on, bake another cake and hopefully restore her reputation, but unless she addresses the bride/family of this cake, it could really come back to bite her business, hard.  I think the key now is to try to help the OP salvage what is left of her reputation so she can move forward with her new business. Unfortunately, since a lot of new business depends on word of mouth and reviews from previous clients, op needs to go above and beyond the refund and apology to hopefully keep THIS client from telling other potential clients what happened to her (which is well within her right) and discouraging them from conducting business with the op. That's not defamation, that's unfortunately, factual. If the bride were to take the op to court, the court would side with the bride and possibly award punitive or nominal damages that would amount to more than re-baking a wedding cake and paying the photographer to re-take pictures.

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BAKEdeliciousbc Posted 24 Jul 2013 , 2:49am
post #56 of 76

A

Original message sent by SWR1GHT

That is just terrible, I feel so bad for you. However that being said and I hate to be the downer becuase you've already beat yourself up enough but you need to take your business more seriously. It doesn't matter how inexperienced you are it doesn't matter when this bride asked you to make her cake because if any of those things were an issue then you should have declined to start with but once you accepted the order all the blame falls on you and you rightfully took full responsiblity and refunded her money. All the facebook comments etc. are not necessary or warranted, it wasn't their wedding so they have no right commenting on anything especially if it didn't really upset the bride that much. Suppose she wanted her cake to look like that?? It's not up to the guest to tell people not to order from you because the cake was ugly. I'm so sorry this happened to you, my heart goes out to you it's so sad but look at the bright side you've definitely already learned from your mistakes so the only thing I would advise you is going forward take your business more seriously, practice and start making a timeline for each cake you do so that you dont' have to rush and do everything all at once - that will definitley keep you on track!

Right. I'm glad you don't just feel sorry for me. It was my responsibility, I took it on, and had I started when I should have, it would have worked out fine. :/ I have been trying to work out a cake timeline for each job, such a great idea. The same lady who posted the photos on Facebook and was bashing, I found out today that she submitted that complaint to the BBB. After I had already talked to the bride about the refund. I just don't get it. But, it was my fault, I'll take the punishment in this case. Thank you for your thoughts.

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BAKEdeliciousbc Posted 24 Jul 2013 , 2:54am
post #57 of 76

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Original message sent by thelittlecakery

[B]BAKEdeliciousbc[/B] would you mind to post some of you previous work, if you have photos?

I was planning on posting a few photos when I got home tonight when I have my computer

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Norasmom Posted 24 Jul 2013 , 3:03am
post #58 of 76

If someone who didn't order or pay for the cake submitted a complaint to the BBB, it won't hold water.  

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BAKEdeliciousbc Posted 24 Jul 2013 , 3:04am
post #59 of 76

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Original message sent by sixinarow

I've given encouraging words to the OP about this situation and to move forward, but if it were MY child's wedding day? I wouldn't give a glowing review either and would probably want to warn other would-be clients about what happened at my child's wedding. I'm not saying the bride is innocent in all of this, but her baker (family member) backed out at the last minute, maybe she wasn't informed, maybe she didn't check around and maybe she was naive that the OP was going to deliver what she asked. I was married at 22 and didn't have a clue what cake prices, flowers or wedding dresses cost. I relied heavily on the experience of the "professionals" because I was 4 hours away trying to plan my wedding. I don't know what the conversation was either, but I have to imagine that the op assured her that she could do the cake and deliver it on time, otherwise, the bride would have looked elsewhere. I feel bad for the bride, I'm sick to my stomach for the op, but the op can move forward and change her image, learn from this situation and bake another cake. I guess I'm just saying that I can understand the bad feelings the family of the bride has toward the op and why they posted unpleasant things. Maybe a way to heal bad feelings would be to offer to make another cake so they can re-create the cake cutting in their photo album.

I did offer her a free cake/photosession as well, but haven't heard back from her. All this is making me want to just stop :/ and just do practice cakes.

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sixinarow Posted 24 Jul 2013 , 4:01am
post #60 of 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAKEdeliciousbc 


I did offer her a free cake/photosession as well, but haven't heard back from her. All this is making me want to just stop :/ and just do practice cakes.

I'm so sorry for you, I don't really know what else you can do other than ride out the storm. Did you ever get a phone number from the bride or are you still communicating through fb?

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