Buttercream cannot look exactly like fondant!!
I think I'm going to tattoo this on my forehead......there is a lady whom I bake for frequently, and her boss's wife (very demanding woman!!) orders cakes from me through her, and she always has the most unreasonable requests. Why oh why can I not get her to understand that although I can make my buttercream smooth and pretty, you cannot do the same things with it that you can do with fondant?? You cannot send me a picture of a fondant covered cake with fondant embellishments, draping and quilting and want the exact same thing in buttercream. I get it that she's trying to please her boss and make his wife happy, but I cannot perform the impossible here! I have tried to tell her to let me speak to the woman myself, and then she is out of it and cannot take the 'blame' for my apparent shortcomings, but this wife will only go through her. To make things more complicated she is the sister of a classmate of my daughter, and she keeps telling me that her sisters boss is a hard to please man and can't I just help her out and do what his wife wants.....when all I want is for her to have somebody else make this lady's cakes!! Help!! Just need some advice on how not to lose my mind and deal with these people....I'm used to people being happy with my cakes and this is all just too much.....thanks everyone....
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Katy Nott on
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Oh dear - the difficult bosses' wife syndrome. Why do these women think because their husband is successful (note husband is successful), that gives them the right to be some kind of overlord? Your lady is probably terrified of boss and wife and is unable to say no to either. Joann, you have to say to your lady - (perhaps in an email that she can forward?), that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Perhaps not in those exact words lol. Be specific about what you can do with buttercream, probably some kind of pastiche of the fondant version, but that those two mediums do not perform in the same way and it just can't be done. Full stop. End with - I will quite understand if she wants to take her business elsewhere.
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Permalink Reply by Deah on
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Simply state that her example is fondant and it has different characteristics than buttercream. They can't be interchanged. If she wants a fondant look she'll need to order a fondant cake.
Stick to your guns! You know how sometimes you see pictures like "ordered this.... and got this......" You may end up in that situation.
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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on
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Amen Deah! I get the same thing too! People want fondant look, butter cream icing. In other words, let's see how cheap I can get this cake for?? Occasionally you can achieve the same look with butter cream, but not usually.
Deah said:Simply state that her example is fondant and it has different characteristics than buttercream. They can't be interchanged. If she wants a fondant look she'll need to order a fondant cake.
Stick to your guns! You know how sometimes you see pictures like "ordered this.... and got this......" You may end up in that situation.
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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on
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I don't think it is a matter of "cheap" Linda. It is a lack of knowledge. People see a picture and have absolutely no idea what medium is on the cake.... Fondant? Buttercream? If you have never made a cake... you have no idea. And because of the cake shows, they believe we are magicians... we can do anything. My advice is similar to both Deah & Katy... an explanation, with a twist.
If possible try and make a 2 sided list ..... fondant on one side, buttercream on the other. Men understand when seen on paper. Under each heading what is and is not possible to achieve with each. I hope you get what I mean.
If this is too much trouble, which, frankly it is for this type of customer, I would say exactly word for word what Deah posted. End of story.... take your business somewhere else. :o)
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I should have clarified that June, as the one that keeps asking me for the butter cream just so happens to be looking for the cheapest route to go. Not all customers are the same as my 'cheapskate' customer, and believe me...she is cheap!
June Kowalczyk said:I don't think it is a matter of "cheap" Linda. It is a lack of knowledge. People see a picture and have absolutely no idea what medium is on the cake.... Fondant? Buttercream? If you have never made a cake... you have no idea. And because of the cake shows, they believe we are magicians... we can do anything. My advice is similar to both Deah & Katy... an explanation, with a twist.
If possible try and make a 2 sided list ..... fondant on one side, buttercream on the other. Men understand when seen on paper. Under each heading what is and is not possible to achieve with each. I hope you get what I mean.
If this is too much trouble, which, frankly it is for this type of customer, I would say exactly word for word what Deah posted. End of story.... take your business somewhere else. :o)
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Permalink Reply by Joann Gottermeyer on
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It's not that she's cheap at all - in fact they have 'tipped' me for each cake I have done for them and told me I don't charge enough. Almost makes me feel like she's saying "I always pay you well so just do what I tell you to". Very Frustrating!
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Permalink Reply by Karen Royer on
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Well heck Joann....charge her for the fondant and use it! She probably won't know the difference as long as there is buttercream undercoat. I think I'd add the gratuity into the invoice too just to make up for the frustration! If you're lucky, you'll price yourself out of her "range". Like all crafters.....some people just don't understand the work something takes and never want to pay what it's worth.
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You know what Joann.... Karen's reply makes a lot of sense. They probably WON'T know the difference. And as Karen says, if you have a good undercoat of BC... well then, everyones happy. AND... you can charge more because you are using 2 mediums to cover the cake.
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What about making the buttercream fondant that I have heard about? Never tried it, don't know if it's any good but.....http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2010/10/homemade-fondant-that-tast...
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No Katy
That is just ordinary, everyday fondant. With a couple of minor exceptions in the recipe, it is homemade mmf. Tastes like fondant, not buttercream. :0( Linda did give me a recipe for faux fondant that is buttercream. But there still 2 different mediums.
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I would love to stick my tongue out at her and just give her the raspberries!! Even thinking about it makes me feel better!!
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Why thank you....I think I will!
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