Settling for Less

Stop it.

Just stop it.

Stop settling for cake crap just because you, yourself, couldn't do any better.

If you ask your decorator for this:

I've used this picture before. If you want the link, see my post "R-E-S-P-E-C-T."

Don't settle for this:

"But that's better than what I could do!"

It really doesn't matter what your skill level is. You hire a mechanic to fix your car, and if they did a sub-par job, you'd complain, aside from possibly ending up in a ditch. Although a bad cake isn't life-threatening (unless you get food poisoning from a questionable baker), why would you accept a cake that looks much worse than what you asked for? You paid for professional services, and your cake should look professional.

"But it's better than anything I could do!"
Why do you eat out at nice restaurants? It's either because you don't want to cook (special occasion, convenience), or because you want a nice meal and you can't cook for one reason or another. With cakes, you order them from bakeries because you either can't bake, or you'd rather not.
Now, are you a professional chef? Did you go to culinary school, work as a cook, caterer, or have any experience in food service (not including being part of staff that did no food-preparing)? If you said "no," then why would you care that your food is sub-par? So what if the steak had no flavor? Why does it matter if the plate is dirty? "I didn't pay for mediocre food and presentation!"

Do you see my point yet?

If you're paying for professional services, don't settle for a cake that is "okay" just because you can't do any better.

Just because you can't pull this off:

No source. If you know who made this, leave a comment!

 Don't accept this for your party:

I'll go to Wally World. Thanks.