Re: cheapies revisited - advice, please

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: I have a $50 minimum order policy that I have on my voice message. A lot of customers hear that, and if it doesn't match their intentions, they just hang up. I am just too busy to do every little order that comes along. I started this after a similar experience. I had a lady, very wealthy, talk me into doing a small cake for her daughter's 3rd birthday party. 8 servings, $25. She wanted a fairy on it, and sent me to the website where she got her invitations to see what she had in mind. The INVITATIONS to this party cost $90!!! Plus, they had a minimum order of 2 dozen! That's the moment I made up my mind, I will NOT be anybody's economy baker.    I desperately need advice on how to deal with unreasonable customers! I am not a diplomatic person by nature (more like the soup nazi from Seinfeld, lol) and lately, I have had a ton of customers request things that are totally unacceptable.. I have said NO every time, and of course the yahoos get really irate.  I do not need the business - I am now turning orders down for lack of time!
Examples...
1. "the $2 ea cupcakes with handmade Shrek baby head on them are too expensive - I'd like to order just one, and I'll get the rest from a store." Just ONE!! (I explained that I could not make cake batter and icing for just one cupcake.)

2. "I'd like a beautiful, tiered cake deco like princess with bows, pearls, etc. but I only want it to feed the parents. I am going to get cupcakes to give to the birthday girl and the kids at the party"!! (I explained that I could not take the order as I could not spend hours making a beautiful little girls cake knowing that she and her party guests would not be allowed to eat it.) This lady went on to insult me and my cakes in a 2-paragraph email diatribe!

The list goes on ..I could give you 10 more examples of this nonsense!!

Is there a way to deal with this?  Do I raise my prices to weed them out, or will I just have to become hardened to the insults and anger, and move on? I am at my wits end!

thanks



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