Knocking On The Bathroom Door!

Posted on October 3, 2011 by admin

It is a fact of life, we need to use the bathroom. So why is it that when I’m in there, you find the need to come knocking on the bathroom door? I have been in there for two minutes! I will come out and do my work when I am finished in here.

When this first started happening I though someone was waiting so I hurried up and got out. To my surprise no one was there this time or the next few either. I started to wonder what was going on. By the end of the week I was just annoyed, but to my surprise my manager came to me and asked me what I was doing in there? I was shocked by this question, did he really just ask me that? So I answered him that I was using it. He said that he noticed I use it everyday at the same time. He wanted to make sure that my two minute bathroom break I was not calling someone!

Needless to say I did not stay at this place long after this conversation. It is one thing to check up on someone if they are missing for thirty minutes but definitely not two.

Bringing in Customers

Posted on September 29, 2011 by admin

There are many ways to bring customers in the door. Advertising and word of mouth are both great ways to get customers. So why are you not advertising your business? In the years I have worked here, you actually have advertised less and you are wondering we are not getting new customers. The customers we do have you do not seem to care about. You let them leave unhappy and we’re not going to have good word of mouth from that.

There are so many media outlets you can advertise with. Some of them are free, such as twitter and facebook. Do we have either of these accounts, nope. We do have a three page website that looks like it was an original website made. Did you spend 100 bucks on that? It surely couldn’t have costed more than that. Your website tells nothing about your business. So how do you expect customers to find out about you?

Appearance

Posted on September 19, 2011 by admin

In order to be great you should have a great appearance. Appearance is the first thing people see when they meet you. When customers come into your store, they want to see great products along with a happy staff. They want to see clean pressed uniforms and well groomed people. In the food service industry there are rules that should be followed. Hair should be clean and tied back. Who wants your hair in their food? Your clothes should be clean! Would you eat food from a dirty person? Clean proper foot wear and maybe some orthotics so you can stand proper. There is nothing worse than seeing dirty shoes or funky toes when I’m ordering my food. But the worst for me is seeing someone with bad oral hygiene, I mean there are places like http://smilesunlimited.ca/ to get your smile fixed if you need to. And don’t even get me started on cleanliness of the store front, I shouldn’t have to see dirt in a bakery! Oh and if you have little critters roaming around call someone like www.ontarioexteriorsolutions.ca and get it taken care of!

Customers Who Want It All

Posted on September 13, 2011 by admin

Why can’t you do this 10 tiered cake for 30 people? Why can’t you draw 3 transformers on my 8 inch cake? Why can’t I place a order for 15 pies for 30 minutes from now? Why Don’t you do this? Why Don’t you do that? Why Why Why???
We Try our best to do everything that everyone wants, but sometime we just can’t. We may not have the product, the supplies, or the time to do your order. Things cannot always come immediately. Our bakery need time to prepare, order, and figure out how we are going to make things. This is not a supermarket where you can just walk in and buy something premade. We are a bakery who cares about the product that is being put out! Can you make a dinner for 5 people in two minutes? NO! Well why not, you think we should be able to do things like that.

Hot Dog Cake Anyone

Posted on September 13, 2011 by admin

MMMM Hot Dog Cake Anyone! That’s right, someone wanted a cake shaped like a hot dog. I think this cake looks pretty good. However the paper plates stuck under I do not feel was such a great idea. I mean I understand why they are there but it ruins the hot dog bun. I would suggest that instead of the plates to make condiments and put them around the cake instead.

Fire Drills

Posted on September 12, 2011 by admin

Ah, Fire Drills are sometimes the highlight of my day. There could not be anything I like more some days, but could you do me a favor? Do not get mad at me for your alarm going off. It is not my fault that it went off. I’m just enjoying my time outside across the street like advised. I will be talking and laughing with others about anything and everything. No, I do not want your place to be ruined but I always like to play the what if game, so just deal with it!

Holiday Pay at the Bakery

Posted on September 5, 2011 by admin

Holiday pay at the bakery is almost non existent. I work for you the entire year! Why can I not get paid for all the holidays that you decide to close for?Your closed and not making money, I understand that. However, I did not just decide not to come to work that day. You are screwing with my pay and I do not like it. What if I decided to take money from your check? You would not like having a check that was short. Think about that the next time you decide not to pay me for holidays. I am completely deserving of it. I bust my behind everyday to make you be profitable ,but you will not do the same for me!

Ordering Your Birthday Cake

Posted on August 30, 2011 by admin

When you go into a bakery to order a cake remember theses things. Our normal for sale birthday cakes are a set price anything that you would like to add in addition to this is extra. That includes flavored icings, different flowers, drawings, photo scans, or borders/trims. If your cake idea is not the normal for the bakery it will cost more. The more you get angry over our cake prices, the less we are willing to do for you. Niceness and customer loyalty goes a long way with getting what you want. Remember you are coming to us for a product that you can not or do not want to do yourself.

Ordering Your Wedding Cake

Posted on August 25, 2011 by admin

There are some things that you need when ordering your wedding cake. The exact number of guest you would like to feed. What colors you will be using along with swatches. What flavor of cake you want. What type of design you are looking for. Most cake designers do not like replicating other peoples work so exact matches may be hard to come by. Do not depend on the bakery having tons of pictures for you to look at for this reason. It may also be wise of you to know that extras such as fillings, design, or flowers can be an extra charge. Anything beyond a normal cake is extra, it cost us more so it will cost you more also.

Customer Designed Cakes

Posted on August 19, 2011 by admin

I just love when a customer come into my store and knows exactly what they want. It really is a breath of fresh air except when they want to design their cake in a way that does not make sense. When a customer tells me that they are a designer or artist I get worried. Just because you understand design and detail it does not mean it will look good on your tiered cake or that we can do exactly how you want it. At the end of the day we are the ones that know what will look best with your ideas. If you choose to go against us and you do not like your cake that is your fault! No money back because you designed your cake in a way we did not agree with. We are the ones that know how fondant, buttercream, and chocolate take color or how it needs to be placed on cakes. So the n ext time you question us remember that we are trying to give you the best product we can.

Traveling with Cake

Posted on August 12, 2011 by admin

Traveling with cake seems like a no brainier but, most people do not understand that cakes need to be on a flat surface for transportation. If you order a cake please make a clean spot in your car for it. The bakery staff should not have to clean a spot out in your car for it! If you realize you can not transport the cake safely please let us know and we will be happy to deliver it to you for a nominal fee.

We hate seeing cakes being brought back to the bakery because your kids toy fell on the cake and you need it fixed asap. We also hate telling you that you have to pay to get it fixed. We are not responsible for your cake once you take it from our store unless it is somehow our fault. Dog bites from your cake and butt prints from your kids sitting on it is not our fault.

Cake Decorations

Posted on August 11, 2011 by admin

I recently came across a cake website where the cake decorations were all fondant but the cake was buttercream. They looked great! These cakes were all perfectly iced and completely smooth. The decoration however was nothing but fondant.

I emailed the owner and when speaking to the designer of the cakes she said, “Most people hate the taste of fondant but they love the clean look of it. What I have done here is given the the best of two worlds and people seem to be happy.” I think that people just haven’t tasted the good fondant bakeries make or pay a lot of money for. That stuff is tasty!

So the next time your dealing with a customer who does not want an entire fondant iced cake mention using both like this designer did!

Fondant Fabric

Posted on August 10, 2011 by admin

So I just came across something called fondant fabric online. Let me say this product is not for professionals! I can use up to 60 pounds of fondant per week. Theses sheets are only good for covering up to a 14 inch cake. At $25.00 a pop I much rather spend $60 bucks for 20 pounds and cover more than 3 cakes. It would cost you $75 bucks to cover three cakes with these sheets. Oh and what if they rip on you, than your out of luck! I believe these sheets are made for the novice decorator who does not know to much about kneading or rolling out fondant. So if you are one of those people give it a try, as for me I’m sticking with arm strength and my rolling pin.

Piping Sugar Veil

Posted on August 9, 2011 by admin

I recently tried sugar veil for the very first time. I was so excited to use it, the articles I had read on it made it seem so easy to do. Damask was my pattern of choice for my first time, needless to say it was hard to do! Maybe it was the detailed pattern or maybe it was the sugar veil. The sugar veil was the consistency of melted marshmallows and it was extremely hard to pipe. Once I finished one line and pulled the bag away, the sugar veil would make a peak on the end of the line that I than had to fix. When I finished piping my designs I was only 80% please with the look. However when I picked up the design to place on my cake I was 100% pleased because it was flexible and easy to do. Now I probably will use it again but maybe not for very detailed patterns.

Making Cake Templates

Posted on June 17, 2011 by admin

In my business I make a lot of 2D cakes. For these cakes I always make a template to put on top of my cake before I cut into it. Some templates I make freehand and some I make using the kopy kake machine. Either way, I always cut a piece of cardboard to the size I need and sketch out the design I need onto it. After I finish, I cut out the design and place it onto my cake. Once I have cut out my design from the cake, I may need to cut some free hand work but I never do it all freehand!

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