The caterer in question in this post today proposed a literally absurd menu. I excerpt my response below - to be clear, I am being as kind as possible in my note:
"However, to be quite blunt, I have not reviewed the food and wine selections you have proposed, nor anything else for that matter, because the price estimate you have provided is utterly unacceptable. Honestly, I am bewildered that you would have taken my clearly expressed preference that we proceed on a budget (I was quite explicit on this point during our meeting, even mentioning the range of other proposals, which I was not inclined to do) and produced a proposal well in excess of $300 per person (even excluding a gratuity, as I read it) without any prior warning. Of course, you are entirely at liberty to set your own prices, and I am sure others are happy to pay for your services at these rates. But on the basis of your proposal, I am disappointed to tell you that we have nothing further to discuss."
* I have not asked the person in question for permission, because I am just republishing my own message. If they don't like it, they can complain to me.
2/27/2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
That does sound absurd. We got ours catered and with open bar at $220pp, before service charge and sales tax, and that was actually with a double-charge b/c we had an Indian caterer and then got charged the same amount by the hotel -- their way of discentivizing outside caterers, of course :-P (When the hotel catered a Japanese-themed lunch with just white wine available, it was $120pp and quite good.) The hotel threw in the cost of using the rooms for the ceremony and reception for free.
It was just grotesque. Not to mention that they wrote back and suggested that I was being unrealistic. Astounding.
Have you specified that you want certain food items or sourcing for food (e.g. lots of organic/ locally grown/ caviar/ etc.)? We had three meals over the course of two days, and no one ever quoted us numbers even close to what you're getting, despite my parents' refusal to set a budget. Maybe we sounded thrifty -- time to bring out the ethnic accent?
Oh god, no. In fact, there's no caviar, or champagne, or organic, or locally grown, or anything. No filet mignon, or prime rib, or really anything premium. It's our home food I wanted. It's as if your indian caterer asked for $300.
In fact, just yestderday I got a sheepish email from the arab member of the catering team, basically apologizing for the quote from his partner.
In fact, just yesterday I got a sheepish email from the arab member of the catering team, basically apologizing for the quote from his partner.
LOL. Yay intra-group shaming! Are you limited by your venue on the caterer you can have? All the hotels that were big enough for our wedding insisted that they only contracted with one particular Indian caterer, so that's who we had to use, albeit with plenty of haggling (the zenith/nadir of which may have been the attempt to count up the number of vegetarians, on the claim that we wouldn't need as much of the pricier meat dishes if a quarter of the crowd was veg on Saturdays).
Post a Comment