Helping others to help ourselves....
OK, today I am up on my soapbox..
We had a really, really big weekend! Close to the busiest we have had since we have been here.
Amongst other functions, we had a function booked on Saturday lunch by a large "charitable" organisation. They have known about this function for at least 4-6 months. They had many delegates coming from all over Australia and the World attending a weekend seminar.
We were asked to provide "finger food" for their lunch. They then confirmed their delegate numbers as 210 people. We naturally catered for 250 to be sure.
Over 300 people showed up! They were snatching food off platters as they were bought out of the kitchen, sometimes ripping off the foil. They were shouting and crowding around our staff and demanding more food.
It was truly the most hideous display of legal human behaviour I have witnessed. If people's small children behaved like that they would get a swift smack from Mum and Dad.
At the very end, the wife of one of the "organisers" dared to speak to Mark, asking why there was no pasta and salad. Mark tried to explain the nature of "finger food" being foods one can eat without utensils and that an additional 100 people to a function is the equivalent to a catering tsunami. A 33% increase on an already large number.
Naturally, we were very hesitant to cater for the BBQ they had organised Sunday night. They had booked for 110 delegates. We requested they confirm their numbers mid-afternoon.
They did! Mid-afternoon we received a call that the numbers were reduced to 60. We decided to cook for 75 just in case.
Of course over 90 came!
They ate for 150.
There are times I love this business and times I could smack our customers in the mouth.
Thank goodness today is a Public Holiday.
Hope you are all having a better week than us!
:-)
