Let Them Eat Cake (#2)

We had a tasting with the 2nd baker this evening. I tried to be open-minded, but I wasn't thrilled with them going into it... Twice, I had used the "contact us" section of their website to try to set a tasting - but got no response. I finally called and was told I should have noticed (and used) the email address listed on the main page of their website b/c the "contact us" page doesn't work. Really?!

Despite that, I set up a tasting because we really liked the samples we had tried at Aldea's open houses. Over the phone, I told her it was important to us to sample a pumpkin flavor b/c it's Patrick's favorite & that since we want to do cupcakes, we'd like to see the displays they have (and some examples of cupcakes they've made in the past). Those don't seem like unreasonable requests, right?

It didn't seem that there was much prep for the appointment on her end. She hadn't found any pictures of examples, and after looking through folders of pictures on her computer, said they don't really have pictures b/c they don't take their camera to most events. She also had to scurry around to try & find the stands that could be used for cupcakes. The samples were really good, but it was also a little misleading... She had two fillings in a few of the samples (ex. lemon/raspberry and vanilla/strawberry) then said she couldn't make the 2 flavors work together for cupcakes. She gave us a sample of carrot cake (not pumpkin) and repeatedly said she wasn't able to make a small batch of pumpkin so we wouldn't be able to taste it unless we wanted to buy a $40, 8-in cake. In comparison to the other baker we met, she kept throwing in additional charges (for cupcakes, for a filling, for extra decorations, etc) that I felt were unnecessary.

I tried to play it cool, but I've been known to wear my emotions on my sleeve ;). It was really frustrating that she was not receptive to my questions/requests, and Patrick gave me a look a couple times that I needed to calm down. Near the end of the appointment, I let her know my frustrations & the reasons I was feeling more comfortable with the other baker. We left on kind of an awkward note since she admitted she wasn't able to fulfill what we were looking for (to sample the pumpkin before committing to it and to have the additional costs included in the wedding package through Aldea).

Interestingly enough, she called as we were driving home. A guy (that I'm assuming was her husband) had been working in the shop, and I'm pretty sure he overheard our conversations. She told us that "she had talked to her partner, and they'd decided to make pumpkin the feature flavor next week." They also would be able to waive most of the additional charges and would love to try and earn our business. I have a feeling that he jumped in after we left and convinced her they needed to be flexible in order to continue their business. Whatever the reason, I'm looking forward to tasting the pumpkin flavor they make up on Thursday!

The taste of the cake by this bakery is really good, but I just want to make sure that all the pieces fit together and that we choose the best overall package in a baker. Our decision wasn't made tonight, but the ball is definitely rolling.

-Lisa