'Cake Boss' Asks: Are You Judging Your Customers?'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro of Carlo's Bakery shows why his business is a success. No matter how weird the request, his customers are always right.

ByCarol Tice

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The Cake BossItalian baker Buddy Valastro ofCarlo's Bakeryin Hoboken, N.J., is the star of TLC'sCake Bossreality-TV series. The bakery makes a splash with its incredibly elaborate, creative cakes. But when the Cake Boss meets with customers, he shows the real secret to his business's success: He is there to fulfill customers' dreams, no matter how weird they are.

His refrain: "I don't judge."

People come to Valastro with wild ideas, and he jumps right on board to help them turn their concepts into cakes. On oneSeason 4episode, a young Korean performance artist is getting 'married' in all 50 states in full traditional Korean-wedding attire -- and sometimes she marries things like a horse or, in Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell. New York will be her 50th state, and she wants Valastro to make her final wedding cake.

如果Valastro认为她疯了,他冰原r lets on in front of her. He dives right in, creating a spectacular cake that pays homage to some of her past grooms, as well as groom number 50, whom she marries in Times Square. The cake is topped with a spot-on modeling-chocolate replica of her in bridal attire, leaving the bride speechless.

When theNew York City Beekeepers Associationapproaches him to create a cake celebrating their one-year anniversary, Valastro privately shares that he thinks owning bees in the heart of New York City is possibly ill-advised. But he's all business with the customers, creating an elaborate beehive cake, drenched in locally grown honey and covered in tiny fondant bees, that hangs from a cleverly concealed, chocolate-fondant-covered metal pipe that looks like a tree.

Gay couples? Not a blink. A woman who wants to create a prank on her husband where the cake ends up on his face? No problem -- Valastro even has a special table constructed so one of his crew can hide inside to nail hubby with the cake when he leans over to read a poem inscribed on it.

It would be easy to be judgmental about some of these requests, but that might send a prospective customer away without a cake. Buddy never lets it happen.

Each time, Valastro dives in and gets his team on board to give their all to fulfill customers' wishes. The whole show is really a lesson in that oldest maxim in retailing: The customer is always right. If you do whatever it takes to make the customer happy, they will tell everyone they know about it, and send a mob of new customers to your door.

Are your customers always right?Leave a comment and tell us your attitude.

Carol Tice

Owner of Make a Living Writing

Longtime Seattle business writerCarol Ticehas written forEntrepreneur, Forbes, Delta Skyand many more. She writes the award-winning Make a Living Writing blog. Her new ebook for Oberlo isCrowdfunding for Entrepreneurs.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

'No Question, We Probably Went Too Far': Delta Airlines CEO Backtracks on Sweeping Changes to SkyMiles Accounts, Sky Club Access

The unpopular changes set to roll out in 2025 were announced earlier this month.

Business News

Jeff Bezos Lost $5 Billion in 1 Day After Amazon FTC Lawsuit News

The lawsuit accuses Amazon of engaging in anticompetitive practices, which has led to a sharp decline in the company's stock value and a substantial reduction in Bezos's net worth.

Business News

Why Barbara Corcoran Chose Her Business Partner After Looking Inside Her Purse: 'Best Hire I Ever Made'

Esther Kaplan served as President of the Corcoran Group until 2000.

Growing a Business

So Your Company Is Talking About Transformation — But Is It Ready? Here's How To Tell.

Transformation is one of a company's many choices — but if a team opts to do it, they have to be sure the business is ready, willing and able.

Business News

Katy Perry Is Fighting the Founder of 1-800-Flowers for a $15 Million California Mansion He Doesn't Want to Sell Her

套有8间卧室,11-bathroom房地产坐落在附近ly nine acres in the Santa Ynez foothills in Montecito.