To think no good deed goes unpunished

[caffelattetogo]

Please tell me if IABU...

I was asked to run a fundraiser for a group my DC attends. It's a class to teach something I do professionally, and I have done for many years. All good, until it came to setting the ticket price - the treasurer looked on my website and saw how much I usually charge for a session. But this is in a village hall, not the venues I'd usually use, which cost much more to hire. I'd thought we could charge less than I usually do, as the experience won't be the same.
But maybe I was wrong: Tickets went on sale and have sold out.
I said I'd buy the materials and invoice them. No need, says the treasurer, and asks me to send her a list.
The session is on Saturday and the ingredients have arrived - with loads missing and much cheaper quality than I'd usually use. There's no way the food we are making will look or taste the same. I rang tonight and she isn't budging - says my list was too expensive and would eat up their profits. In total, the ingredients I wanted were about 25% of the ticket price. I'm giving my time and equipment for free.
Any other circumstances and I'd walk away, but I feel bad for the people who have bought tickets.
What should I do?

Or Five Minute Crafts…

I would try and find a compromise if possible. Tell her that the things that are missing/incomplete quantities you will now buy yourself and invoice her; and then can you make do with the cheaper ingredients? I do think as it’s a fundraiser and not commercial gain, she is right that people will not be expecting exactly the same quality of ingredients as they’ll know that the main aim is to generate profit for the group. You could mention that ordinarily you’d use more expensive ingredients but as it’s a fundraiser that money is being saved to make their generous donation go as far as possible.
In terms of the publicity aspect I’d say the goodwill from doing a workshop as a fundraiser with cheaper ingredients would be much better for business than cancelling at the last minute because what’s been provided isn’t up to standard, even though I totally understand the frustration for you.

This is so weird on her part. Does she not understand how cooking works? It’s so strange to hire you for your expertise then not allow you to make the decisions about the expertise you were hired for. If she thinks any old buns (or whatever you’re making) would do, why isn’t she running the session herself?

If the people who have bought tickets at the same price as you normally charge then they'd expect you to be doing what you normally do. I would point out the email you sent stating you'd buy the ingredients and invoice them for it. They really didn't think things through did they, expecting you to do your normal job for no pay with poorer ingredients.

It's things like cheap catering margarine in place of butter, cans of uht squirty cream instead of clotted cream etc. this will taste very different and the cream won't hold its shape.

What's the response been?

Infuriating, those are of course entirely different products not like for like cheaper replacements!

Definitely explain to the group that you can't do it and explain why - squirty cream instead of clotted cream etc is ridiculous. But do it asap so it's not last minute and a solution can potentially be reached.

Squirt cream rather than clotted cream. That is ridiculously funny that anyone would think it's a good substitute 😂

I used to make cakes for the office and one of my colleagues asked me if I would make a chocolate fudge cake for her for a party. I agreed only to charge her for the ingredients. She wanted a massive cake in a roasting tin. It wasn’t cheap. I used top quality Belgian chocolate, good butter and cream. She was staggered at the cost, and insisted on seeing receipts. She then said she thought I could have compromised by using margarine and cooking chocolate. Said she would have to pay me in two instalments. I never got the second one. She then asked me if I could make a cheaper cake for her daughter’s birthday. I said I wasn’t making anything else for her until she had paid me in full for the first cake. My name was mud after that.

I could not disagree more.

Fundraiser does not equal "cheap" or "lowest common denominator."

I have attended many fundraisers from black tie to craft workshops to animal-related activities to garden tours, and no one cuts corners like this. My time is important to me and I don't reserve time only to have a third-rate experience.

Guests aside, why should the OP be expected to fumble around demonstrating her expertise with skimpy or inferior ingredients? She's not going to showcase either the item, the skill set or her own expertise with crappy materials to work with.

OP, I hope you stand up for yourself and withdraw, or escalate above Cheapsake Betty's level of authority.

I would rather have my money back than make anything with margarine or UHT squirty cream. [shudder]

OP,

You are getting excellent advice.

Going ahead with cheaper ingredients than usual will be a recipe for disaster for YOUR reputation.

I think it is spectacularly dishonest of her and by extension the committee, to advertise an experience and then not provide it, by trying to increase profits.

It's fraudulent and I would be telling the committee you will not be associated with such deception.

I would be explicit in your annoyance.

She agreed to provide the ingredients, infact she insisted, and then unilaterally changed them.

You have every right to be annoyed.

You need to pull out!

Definitely pull out. UHT squirty cream instead of clotted is absolutely ridiculous. You don't want to a) tarnish your own reputation if the final result is shite and b) disappoint the people who paid for tickets in good faith that they would be getting a "proper" class.

Following OPs update that the substitutes are incorrect rather than just cheaper, obviously that compromises the quality she would be able to provide significantly (rather than for example just a less expensive brand of the same product) and in that instance of course she shouldn’t continue without that being addressed.

No response yet.

Wow- so is it today?? Did you message the whole committee?

I'm interested to know how this went. What a PITA the other person sounds.

I would also have refused to deliver the session without the right ingredients.

Ticket prices can be refunded.

This!

I see this is a fundraiser event but they are absolutely fleecing the people that have bought tickets!

absolutely stand your ground - either they provide the exact ingredients (which will now cost them more to buy again) or you cancel and they refund. As a customer I would not make anything with marg and uht! And (not knowing obviously) I would be saying to friends- oh don’t do the (baking?) workshop with so and so, it costs x but uses really naff food! Could really damage your reputation

Exactly this. Its your reputation on the line and as you say, not fair to paying customers to get an inferior experience.

Fingers crossed for you @caffelattetogo

I agree that people won't expect squirty cream and catering margarine if that's not your standard practice.

Indeed the charity could be considered to be misrepresenting the event if paying customers are not getting your usual presentation but paying the usual prices.

How arrogant if this person to engage you to do what you do because it's such a draw then make changes so you are not doing what you do and the paying customers aren't getting what they expect.

I Absolutely hate taking part in fundraisers… There’s always someone, like the organiser op, that makes things more difficult then they need to be.

You know full well she’ll spin you cancelling to her own benefit