Catering Pet Peeves

Results from last month poll: You eat a homemade meal every other day.

Pet Peeves:

• Hiring a Caterer who does not have a Catering Permit from the local Health Department. Caterer who does not have a Food Handlers Certificate. Do you not understand that the health of yourself and guest are at extreme risk.
• Calling a Caterer to request a quote and place a temporary hold on a date and then never contacting them back to let them know you have chosen to go with someone else.
• Placing a food order and just before the event making changes to that order.
• Food is ready per stated agreement and guests have not arrived yet.
• Arriving at a location and nothing is ready for us to set up (tables, kitchen, etc..) our food items on.
• Treating Catering Staff as if they are servants. We are there to serve but we are also human beings too.
• Not placing a order on time so we have to scramble and adjust our schedule. Follow up is a two way street as you are the one requesting our services.

As you can see we as a food industry business deal with lots of the same issues as other businesses. I believe that if you request a service follow up is essential, when you set a time you commit to it with the understanding that "things happen" and compromise is essential to a perfect event. So the next time you hire someone check there creditials, get it right the first time, keep your committment to specified time and food choice,think of your guest, and above all treat the server with the dignity of a person who is there to help make your event a "painless"and easy function.