Posted by Rick on January 17, 1998 at 10:59:37 :
Greetings!
I work for a large off premise catering company ('97 sales of 2.3 mil). We have a large corporate client who is invaluable to us, and we have set a company policy of never turning them down. The problem is they are notorious for booking last minute events. It is not unusual for them to call with less than 48 hours to set up a breakfast or lunch. And many times it is for a day that we are already maxed out on staff/equipment/vehicles/etc. Somehow, we always find a way to make it happen, but it sends us into a scramble and can stress everyone out. Now that we have made it through the craziness of December, we are looking for ways to improve the company. Does anyone have any suggestions on handling last minute bookings? Turning them down or sub-contracting them out are not options for us. How do other caterers deal with this problem. We have cocncluded that it is just part of the business and that there isn't much we can do to reduce the scramble effect on us. Any replys would be appreciated! Thanks