Lovely. What an incredibly dumb woman to actually believe it is POSSIBLE to book a party for 60 with 9 days notice! However, my 'lovely' comment is more in regards to the MARTINI SHAKER REDEEMS ALL way of life. Love it!

I love how she thought she could get you to agree by browbeating you.

How do you stay in business? Did she miss the part where you told her you were TOTALLY booked?!

and by calling you unprofessional, that assures her that you will definitely want to work with her next time, right?

Man....some people's children....!!

Maybe you should have said yes to catering her party but with such short notice, you could only provide trays from Chick-fil-a at double their market price. It was pretty pitiful that she insulted you to make you feel guilty enough to squeeze her in.

I used to be a travel agent. People were always calling at the last minute, and getting upset that the good fares were gone, or the window seat at 6A was booked. If I knew what they did for a living, I'd turn the tables......"well, Mr. Smith, if I called you on April 12, would you be able to give me an appointment to do my taxes, or would your schedule already be full with other customers who called you early?" - - It generally worked.

Amen sister.

Thank god for martini shakers. The worlds problems can be solved, and regularly are at our place, over one (or ten) of those babies

I cater small to medium parties. I am booked at this point for the holidays. I've had to turn down a few parties lately and some people just don't get it. I do not run on batteries,,,,I cannot work 24/7. I've only been doing this about 18 months,,,,,one lady said,"I thought you were trying to be in business." My response, "I am and I'm booked."

About the martinis,,,,,I'd rather have a massage.

If Debbie's company put her in charge of planning the office party, I would be willing to bet that Debbie is herself getting acquainted with a cocktail shaker right about now.

Sheesh@Debbie

Obviously she is an idiot.

I feel your pain.
I'm a custom picture framer and we get it too. Two years ago a client came in two days before our Christmas shut-down with something to frame for her husband. Miraculously, our supplier was able to still build the frame but their drivers were off as of that day. We arranged for a courier to pick up and deliver the frame to us so we could put it together on our last day. She had the nerve to ask if we could do any better on the price. My business partner bored holes into her with his glare and said "If you brought it in a week ago we could have discussed it. As it stands, you're lucky we're not charging you double."

Oh, I feel your pain too.
I used to work at a bakery/cafe that did catering. People would call on their way to the store and request ridiculous things - like a ton of bagels we'd already run out of, and boxes of coffee that took 15 minutes to brew - then show up at the store 5 minutes later angry because we weren't done preparing their stuff.

Customers can be so silly and demanding. That's why I always try to be a good customer. Unfortunately, not everyone does :)

I agree - your blog does make me a nicer, more appreciative customer.

...And maybe just a little bitchier when I am in charge of those poor saps who haven't learned the same lesson!

Bwah ha ha ha! The world is full of idiots who just refuse to accept that (1) the world does NOT revolve them, (2) food preparation takes time (in a real physics-related way) and can't be sped up, and (3) there are sometimes smart businesspeople who won't put up with the idiots who don't get point number one.

You go sister! I used to cater as well, and would laugh my ass off when said idiots would try to insult you as a way of begging. "What do you mean I can't add extra people? You're already cooking anyway!"

I embrace the mantra of: "I have something you need, and I can't/won't accomodate you this time. Suck it. And have a nice day!" (Said in my nicest Disney voice)