Restaurant and Catering Secrets: Adding Decorating Services Makes Catering Companies Invaluable and Keeps Them in the Competition

Smaller catering companies are finding the need to add extra services that will make their company stand out in the midst of the highly competitive world of food service. It's not enough to simply whet their customers' appetites anymore. Being irreplaceable to their customers is what assures the next job and keeps them on the map.

(PRWEB) January 30, 2005 -- Good catering companies know how hard it is to please a large crowd. They work very hard to work within multiple guests' culinary parameters and strive to serve unique and irresistable delectibles that the competition is not privy to. But is it enough to serve out-of-this-world appetizers anymore?

Smaller catering companies are finding the need to add extra services that will make their company stand out in the midst of the highly competitive world in food service. It's not enough to simply whet their customers' appetites anymore. Being irreplaceable to their customers is what assures the next job and keeps them on the map. Larger restaurants with larger catering facilities are able to charge less and provide more menu options and are making it increasingly difficult for smaller catering companies to make a name for themselves.

"Customers want to know that there is a chain of command that they can utilize, should something go wrong during their function. They are leary of putting their parties into the hands of a smaller organization that may not be able to provide enough staff or, heaven forbid, would run out of food if the party unexpectedly extends a couple of hours," says the manager of one very successful catering company in Northeast Fort Lauderdale, who is very familiar with the struggles of gaining new customers' trust and convincing them that their company has what it takes to seamlessly pull off a wedding of 250 guests. "Now we are able to rely solely on word of mouth for our business, but it was not always that way."

One method that catering companies are using to stand out is offering decorating services prior to the scheduled functions. "Our design team arrives two to three hours before the function and does prop setup before the food staff even arrives." They have split into two separate services, essentially, but market and sell themselves as one. "There's no other way to do it because it's just not realistic to stretch your food staff that thin. We want our waiters and waitresses on their toes and looking immaculate from the moment the function begins until the last guest goes home. We can't risk having a wait staff with a frumpy appearance because an hour ago they were hauling furniture or climbing ladders. Decorating is a huge part of the services that we provide."

Theme decorating is very popular with catered functions. In South Florida, as you may have guessed, the Keys-ey island decor and tiki huts are a huge hit. Previously companies would have to seek out and hire separate companies to do their decorations, but it is becoming unnecessary to do so anymore. "Our design team is really top notch. We cover everything, literally, from the ceiling to the floor. By the time we are finished, our guests are 100% convinced that they are in another place. Sometimes I even forget if we are working on location or not."

What about customers that want their catering company to help them save some money? "In that case, we are happy to direct our clients to the appropriate places to purchase their decor on their own and we give them lots of ideas of how to display it all. This way, their money goes farther on the food, which is always everyone's concern, and they get to keep their decorating props for the next function, which may or may not be catered. We try to cover all of the bases all of the time." What about that popular Keys-ey island decor? "We direct all of our self-decorating customers to Vintage Metal Art http://www.vintagemetalart.com for their wall decor, from the raw oyster bar theme to gourmet. It's one of the easiest and most effective ways to change the atmosphere in any room and they carry a huge selection of themed wall art at very affordable prices."

Hmm, now that's certainly a change... getting the tips from the wait staff.

Restaurants & Catering
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Permission for publication in whole
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Vintage Metal Art
http://www.vintagemetalart.com
954-689-3683

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