AOhhhh... that was the thread where i posted that going into business is like jumping into the snake pit... Well, it kind of is. Swtangel, CC can be a good place to come for encouragement, but don't ignore the down to earth advice :D

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You know how they do lol!! We've all read the stories on here!

I'd advise you to be more proactive and call it customer service.  I didn't always get feedback when I was first starting out but I have a business degree and they teach you about that kind of stuff in biz school.  I got into the habit of calling or emailing my customers a day or two afterward and asking them.  Always started off with "just wanted to see if they liked the cake..." since most of the time it's someone getting it for someone else.  That was followed by them gushing about how much they loved it and how everyone else was taking pictures, etc.  It's a brag moment for them because they were the star of the day, with your help.  Honestly, I never had a complaint on those inquiries, and I've made hundreds, and it made me as happy as they were to hear about everyone's reactions.  Like others have said, if something did go wrong, I knew about it within 24 hours.  I had one couple pick up a cake when they were drunk off their butts at 2:00 pm and then called me at 3:30 pm to tell me it fell apart on the ride home.  Told them once it left the shop it was theirs.  Months later, I sold a cake to someone who went to that party and told me they had seen the ruins of the cake and it was still pretty cool and they confirmed that it hit the floor when they slammed on the brakes at a red light. 

To me, it's just good customer service to follow-up with them and I still ask every single time.  I figure it's the same as the car salesman calling me a day or two after I buy a car to thank me for coming in and buying from them and asking if everything is going okay.  I always thank them at the end of the call for letting me make their cake.  Because, in fact, they did.  They could have gone elsewhere but they chose me and paid me for it, and I'd like them to do it again.  People on here are saying that people are rude by not getting back to you.  That's crazy.  We don't send thank you notes to everyone that we pay to do a service for us.  We go back to them next time and, if we're really excited about them, we refer others to them.  I have had people call me the next day to rave about it because they were just that happy but not very many and certainly never a bride.  If you want happy repeat customers, you should be contacting your customers and making sure they had a good experience.  That's just good business.   

AUnless I misread, the people saying it was rude were referring to a situation where the cake was gifted, not bought and paid for.

Different things work for different people, but I am not going to bother customers after the party. I know some customers would appreciate it, but some would be annoyed. Lots of my customers want everything to happen by magic and don't seem to even want to know I exist or have to talk about the cake design. And some are just so busy working and would rather not have this one extra conversation. Some customers are going to think you're calling to get them post positive feedback somewhere. And a few will feel guilty they didn't already shoot you an email to thank you. I suppose there are some who will wonder why I never called? Not sure, but I have gone with this policy in favor of the folks who will consider it intrusive.

So if the cake left a good taste in their mouth, I don't want to leave a bad taste by bothering them about it later. I find they remember me when it's time to order again.

ASomeone said it was rude that the clients weren't contacting her to gush over the cake?! Ridiculous indeed!

I want to add something else. I haven't looked at your work, or know anything about what you do, but I have a feeling this is warranted. Support from decorators here, is great. Keep on trucking, no news is good news, etc etc, yes, sure, I agree to an extent. But don't let yourself get comfortable. See how your work is stacking up to the others in town. Maybe there are things people want to give you feedback on and are just too shy or think it would be rude to say anything. Maybe you could spend a little more time polishing up the cake board, or making sure stripes are straight. Maybe you could brush up on your photography skills and showcase your creations a little nicer. Maybe maybe maybe. I constantly check little areas here and there and try to make sure I'm not slacking anywhere (which is in my nature, I'm a napper, and I like to slack off).

What is going on here? OP, please restate the problem. Is this a vent about how attached you are to your cakes and how unappreciated you feel? Or are you upset that business is slow?

AI may have missed it, but as far as I know the OP never said anything about all that stuff. It just sort of sounded like she was working hard and was wondering whether or not her work was appreciated. And her mind was drifting to the negative. I think it was other people who injected ideas about cakes being our babies and being attached to them. I could be wrong I didn't go back and read every post.

And OP, there's no reason you shouldn't call them and ask for some feedback like dreams cake was saying. If you're not positive you sent out a "perfect" product , call them! I don't do it for the reasons stated and because if they had a bad experience, it's unlikely to be my fault. But I wouldn't go so far as to say it's not good business practice - it definitely can be.

And since dreamscake is experienced in this, maybe she can give you some advice on how to handle the call. You don't want them to just say they loved it to be polite and that sort of thing.

Edited because I'm the worst typist in the world. I need to just put that in my sig

You'd kinda have to go back and read the original post.  It's a generic general malaise.

Thanks, MB. The first post only alluded to sales ("friends of friends") so I couldn't tell if it was angst about lack of customer feedback or insecurity about the quality of her work. Then I read OP's other threads. I'm ducking out. 

Thanks wikeddelish...I started off doing it for friends and family as well.  I really just wanted to know whether it was good or bad.  If it was good, then I'm happy, but if it was bad, I want to know what was wrong and how I can work on it.  I agree, I definitely cannot make cakes to fit everyone's tastes as there will be some who won't like it and some who will love it.  

Mbalaska, I was feeling discouraged about continuing it as a business.  I know its also cause I need to build more confidence in myself.  I always worry too much about what others think and then I always assume the worse if I don't hear from them.  

I definitely still have issues with pricing up to this point and I agree with you Mbalaska.  I do charge a price that's fair to myself and others :)

AI have always tried to set up a friendship with my customers from first contact so I never felt like it was rude of me to call and ask how their big day went. I will add that I did not call brides because they leave on a honeymoon, at least I hope they did. I never had any bride try to get a refund and I have been Facebook friends with several of my brides for years since doing their weddings. I called event cake customers and I didn't read a script, I asked like I would ask a friend. I wanted to hear their story and I could recite most of them for you now because they were all different. It was important enough for them to seek my help and I wanted them to know I care about them, especially if something went wrong. Most of them reported being sad about no leftovers.

I also didn't read all of the other posts but it sounded like these were not complete strangers and they did pay for the cakes. Even if they didn't, their guests are future customers and you need to know that they had a good first impression and will be coming to see you. When I called, I often got a heads up on incoming orders for a future cakes but I never asked for referrals. The purpose of the call wasn't to get future orders, it was to make sure they had succeeded. One family had five kids and I did about a cake a month for one event or another for them so we started planning future cakes every time I saw them or talked to them. You have to grow you customer base by making every customer feel special and I made every one feel like one of my best friends. I miss them and my shop and had to move for my husband's job but I use the same mentality in my current job and it works in my other career too.

AWhat is there to feel discouraged about? Has anyone specifically mentioned your cakes are not up to par flavor or design-wise? Did a customer tell you there was something wrong? Did you hear through the grapevine that you cake was less than satisfctory? If not, I'm going to guess you have happy customers. And if you have repeat business, I'm fairly confident you have happy customers.

I worked in a call center for five years. Duing that time, I had about 10x more complaints than compliments (not about my service, just policies and the business, you know how it goes). Think about yourself calling customer service. If you are unhappy and you don't like what you are hearing, you ask for a supervisor. If you get someone super friendly and helpful, do you ask for a supervisor? If a waiter is wondeful, do you speak to his manager? Would you if you received terrible service?

We are trained to express dissatisfation with goods and services, but rarely do we go out of our way to sing on's praises. If you are not receiving negative feedback, consider this a positive.

We live in a world of instant satisfaction. Have you ever posted a picture of an awesome cake, or something funny your kids did, or maybe a really nice selfie (lol), and sat there thinking, "OMG why has no one liked this picture/status/tweet/etc yet?!" Just because you are not bombarded with likes and comments does NOT mean everyone looked as said, "well that just SUCKS."

I get many more compliments in person than I do on social media. I would rather have someone approach me directly and say, "those cupcakes you posted looked amazing!" as opposed to a "like."

Personally, I love ALL my cakes. But I love them because they make people happy and I like making peple happy. It makes me feel good to know that my cake made someone's day. But this is not my full-time job and I have the luxury of becoming somewhat emotionlly involved in my cakes. As suggested, if you are going about this as a professional, do not get emotionally attached to your cakes. It is a product that someone bought. It will be eaten. It will eventually be flushed away. The end.

It was me that mentioned rudeness, but that was in regards to gifting cakes and getting no thank yous.  The OP had not stated at that time that she was selling the cakes.

Keep in mind that a lot of the general public are just not that interested in cakes.  They look and think "oh yeah, that's nice" and two seconds later do not give it another thought.  They are more likely to comment if it is a crappy cake.

Remember, your in business and the money in your hand is your thanks.

Personally, I love ALL my cakes. But I love them because they make people happy and I like making peple happy. It makes me feel good to know that my cake made someone's day. But this is not my full-time job and I have the luxury of becoming somewhat emotionlly involved in my cakes. As suggested, if you are going about this as a professional, do not get emotionally attached to your cakes. It is a product that someone bought. It will be eaten. It will eventually be flushed away. The end.

Lol, okay, okay, it was just a metaphor people, although I am an emotional creature, haaha, I don't get to do a lot of creative expression at work as the cakes there are costume order. I have to follow the owners idea's and themes. When I was making my own cakes they were my personal creations. Yes, I was very proud of them. And cakes are meant to be eaten of course. 

Were they my babies? Yes! It was just a phrase that could explain anything that you might have worked hard at, spent a lot of time to create, and showed pride in. I guess I'm alone in thinking this way . SMH (scratching my head)  Oh well, no worries.

SO YEAH, IT KIND OF P'S ME OFF WHEN THEY DON'T CALL ME BACK!!!!!!!! and say that they.............Loved my cake.......

Hmmmmmm...... I wonder if they liked it?

Feel better OP, like most have said, if they didn't like your cakes they would have called and complained.

HAPPY BAKING!  

If you want to get feedback on your cakes, then ask for it.  On your free cakes, of course.  When you tell someone you will make a cake, let them know right away you  will want feedback on it.  When you deliver the cake and it is dished up, have them give you comments.  I have made two different pecan pie recipes at Thanksgiving and gave each person a small slice of each and had them each say which they preferred and why.  I have had people try different carrot cake recipes and cream cheese icing recipes and sat with them and taste tested and discussed them.  You can do the same.  You could have them comment on specific colors you used, flavors, neatness, overall appearance, appearance of slices of the cake, design, etc, etc.  I have read that some people doing this have made little comment cards for the friends, family to fill out to give feedback.  I think the key is to warn people ahead of time and then ask really specific questions so they know you are sincere and not just looking for complements.  Be honest with them that you want their honest feedback to improve your cakes, and don't act hurt if they are honest and have some criticism. 

Just decide on your own that your cakes are awesome.  You don't need feedback for cakes that you already know are fab!

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You've received some excellent advice here from people running successful business's.

Your correct about not being able to please everyone. I've heard many people say how much their friends & family enjoy their cakes & suggest they start a business but when it comes down to it they don't want to actually pay for your cakes-I'm not saying this about you personally. My point is that it's difficult to get honest feedback from those closest to you. If you need some unbiased opinions about your work there are plenty of us willing to help-we can suggest what needs improvement...

As others have stated, crossing that line from hobby to business is a lot tougher then people realize. Pricing is something many struggle with, you really need to breakdown your costs for everything: overhead, ingredients, cake boards, internal supports, consults, prep time (prior planning, shopping, etc.), baking time, decorating time...all these things need to be included in every order for you to make an actual profit.

Then there's the legality; certification, insurance, state requirements, I could go on and on. Marketing, branding, it can all be very overwhelming especially if you aren't ready to be running a business!

I only mention these things because you simply sound so defeated. I find myself doing a lot more of the business side then the actual fun stuff, Definitley not what I expected! But I get to do what I'm passionate about and for the most part I truly enjoy it.

I think you need to step back and ask yourself if this is what you want to be doing professionally. Perhaps you'd be happier just baking for family/friends. Maybe you're just not ready to run a business, there's nothing wrong with that! You can always reevaluate where you are next year.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

I also was having a hard time getting feedback from my cakes. When a person spends as many hours as we do on a cake, it sure is nice to have people love them & let you know. My daughter & I were discussing the problem. I had asked for reviews, but got very few replies. I think people are A: Busy

B: They forget or C: Don't know what or how to make up the review.

My daughter suggested that I make a sheet, with my logo on the top & the who, what, when, why questions. I add blank lines after each question. After that I typed Impressions: with many blank lines below. At the very bottom of the page, I have phone number, cell number, email, birthdate, date & signed (all with the blank lines after each). It is the contact information that comes in handy. Maybe you have different questions you would like to have your clients answer, or you are welcome to use the same as I did. I have a binder with several pages handy & ready to go at a moments notice.

I put one sheet into a vinyl sheet protector, along with a couple of business cards & give it to each client when I deliver the cake. At that time I request the cake boards etc. be saved for me (I tell them that I recycle them, which I do). With-in a day or two, I call them to ask how their cake worked out for them. I make an appointment to get the sheet & the cake board etc. back. When I call them, I have a paper & writing utensil ready, to jot down their extra comments. I either write it at the bottom of the impressions section (if there is room) or on a sticky note, that I put on the page

Since then I have had very little problem getting the feedback. Don't wait around for them to call you, because it's not going to happen. I make sure that I get photos of every cake I make. I am now on my third portfolio binder. I keep the cake pictures (in the front of the binder & the corresponding reviews ( in the back, of the same binder). When I get their review sheet back, I add it to the back of the last one, so I have one review in the front & one review in the back, of every sheet protector  (so I'm not wasting them).

Prospective clients like to see the photos & I also like to flip back through them. Sometimes you create an especially amazing cake, or an extra pretty border & it's good to be able to refresh your mind & recreate the cake or border. I have had clients, when they are flipping through the photos, comment that they like something from one cake & something else from another cake. I have made cakes, where the client wants parts of three different cakes, wrapped up in their special cake.  How fun is that?

I hope this helps you, as much as it did me.