Posted by Sharon Odmann on May 15, 1998 at 10:00:41 :
In Reply to: Re: Linens posted by Karen Upright on May 14, 1998 at 23:54:12 :
: I don't have my own linens for the most part, but in similar circumstances, I try to figure out the cost of the item including laundering and maintenance, plus reservers for replacement (lost, damaged beyond repair).
I was thinking of adding a "damage waiver" to the per use charge.
:Then, based on that figure, charge a reasonable fee, but I include it in the price of the catering. It is common practice in my community to price the food per person, then add rentals, then service.
That is how it is done here, but I find that clients who are not experienced with using caterers get scared by all the numbers. Recently a client called and said they wanted to pay $9.00/pp for food, but they didn't know about the other fees. It was hard for me to price it right, keeping the $9.00 as the umbrella figure to cover everything. I did not profit much on that job.
:I use a bartending/wait staff service which also does rentals, so I include their fee as a separate line item in a proposal, but I include my staff in the price of the food, I find people don't like to pay extra. It's common here for a chef to charge a "chef fee" to attend a party,
Yikes!
:depends on the chef how much, but it's probably $150 for a sous chef to $1,000 for a chef with a major reputation.
Yikes, again! For some of my events, like a dinner party with cooking lesson, I usually charge by the hour, plus the cost of the groceries. But I think I need to change this because one circle of friends who currently uses only me for parties have gotten the wrong idea about pricing for those dinner parties compared to drop-off jobs.
:Well, I certainly don't have the guts to tell my client, "it's another $$$ if you want me to walk through you front door" -- my fee is included in the catering!
: Good for you, buying your own stuff. I wish I had more of my own...
Thanks. It does put in my another league. If things keep going the way they are, I'm going to need a kitchen and staff before the year is out.
Sharon
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