While the names have been changed to protect the innocent, here are the facts: because drop-off delivery is growing substantially and we occasionally need lunch brought in here at Catersource, an experiment was conducted. We had lunch delivered for the team and some visiting colleagues two days in a row.
The first day, lunch was advertised that it would arrive boxed in a “special cube.” Indeed, the name of the establishment contains the word cube, leading all to believe packaging was part of its signature shtick.
The “special cube” turned out to be a bag full of sandwiches, each wrapped in foil, with the name of each recipient scrawled upon their respective fronts. That’s all, folks. For $8.95, a foil wrapped sandwich was lunch.
Day 2, with the word “Hell” appearing in the name of the establishment, we probably should have taken that as a sort-of clue. That day, we opened flimsy brown boxes to reveal sad, limp sandwiches long off the flat top, lolling about with oozing innards now hardened and/or smeared onto the box interior. Salads didn’t fare much better.
In a text exchange with my husband regarding the quality and presentation of the food, my spouse can be quoted as saying, “Your free lunches sound awful.”
Me: “Neither of them were ordered through traditional caterers.”
Him: “Oh, the irony.”
Me: “It’s my experiment!”
I share this story because there are a lot of companies who are vying for a cut of your business, but most of them do not know how to properly cater. Be glad. Your restaurant and quick serve competitors will be one and done after a client experiences the shenanigans of a shoddy drop-off order.
Consider this: a week later, Catersource ordered another lunch, this time from Minneapolis’ Mintahoe Catering & Events, a member of the International Caterers Association. Presentation? A-plus times 1,000! Food? Delicious; all the more satisfying because the care put into each meal was so very apparent. The kicker? This full meal with fruit, dessert, side salad AND sandwich was the same price as “Hell” and only $3 more than “the cube.”
Did they know for whom they were catering? Of course. Do you think Mintahoe stepped it up a notch because of this? Of course not. Caterers know how to cater. Satisfaction guaranteed.
