The Stress of Catering

Several months back we booked the largest event in the history of our catering company. We're handling the entire event from china, tables, linens to a 40' x 100' tent, abc service, massive menu and more. Tons plan hours planning, organizing with lots of stressful nights thinking about every detail. The event is this Saturday and has a total invoice price of roughly $18,000.00 for 150 people. We are having massive rain here (over 5" today alone) and it's supposed to continue through the weekend. I get a call this evening from the rental company wanting to do a site review in the morning with safety concerns about putting up the tent with ground conditions. Basically if they can't do it for safety reasons I'm looking at giving the client a full refund and loosing $$$$ in profit. While stressful it's also almost laughable. In the realm of things I could be setting with a doctor and hearing I have cancer with 6 months left to live so this is really nothing.

bigdogphin said:

Did you get a Non refundable deposit? To cover any costs you might have occurred if it's cancelled. You can't worry about stuff that's out of your controll. The event either happens or it doesn't.

Good Luck

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I've been paid in full. Keep in mind that I am supplying the tent and if the tent can not be supplied then the event can not happen. Therefore the event would have to be canceled because I could not supply something. At least that is how I would want to be treated and I will treat the client that way. Now is she had gotten her own tent and called me I would have told her that is her problems and charged at least 50% of the invoice if she canceled provided I could still provide my services. The current potential forecast for here is 5-8 more inches if rain on Friday and Saturday with 1-3 inches tomorrow and Thursday.

Well it all worked out to I believe a better deal. The tent company did a site visit this morning and said no way they can safely put the tent up. The client (and I) did not feel an indoor place would meet the feel of what they had envisioned. So we reset the contract to a date in the spring, kept everything the same and it additionally gives then more time to grown the guest count to numbers they more desired which also means increasing my profit considerably. I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off my shoulders and in the end I don't have to cook in a monsoon, the tent company does not have to put up a unsafe tent and the client will get the event she envisioned in the spring and everyone is happy!!