Great catering services are beyond what was taught in catering school since just like any other business out there, it encompasses the integration of other qualities and skills for a caterer to deliver great services to their clients. In this article, we are going to discuss some of the many qualities and skills you should look out for when hiring a caterer for your event because they are exactly what makes up for a great catering service.
- Great Food
Food plays an important role as far as a great catering service is concerned and without it, the catering service will be all for nothing. This is because food is a unifying factor in any community, especially during celebrations. Great food is not a bonus from a great catering service; it is a must thing. The caterer must come up with different menus, adhering to all food safety regulations and have good equipment to reheat the food so that no guest will be locked out of their favorite meal because it is cold.
- Customer Service
Great catering service also revolves around good customer service – being able to talk to the guests with courtesy and applying the necessary human relations skills possible. A caterer may prepare great meals, set up a good venue, and put some great decors and everything good. However, if they forget about customer service, then the whole catering service is ruined. The staff must display some great communication skills when dealing with the demands of the guests and be ready to address their needs without appearing to get irritated because guests will never forget that and may never want you to come to your event ever again.
- Creativity
A great caterer should be able to come with some additional details that they think will contribute to making the event even better than they had agreed with the planner. This may apply across the board, in the meals, décor, the seating arrangement as well as the sound system. The ability to come up with creative additional features and meals is what differentiates a great caterer from the rest of the caterers in the industry.
- Attention to Detail
A great caterer must also be able to pay attention and understand the finest details from the emerging and present issues about an event. Small things matter, so a great caterer must pay keen attention since forgetting one of those issues might end up ruining the whole event. The most important thing is not just being able to grasp the fine details, but also about being able to respond to each of those details with precision and efficiency of the highest level possible.
- Leadership
Catering services include many activities, all under one management. These include the food department, the décor team, the sound system, and the service staff. A good caterer must be able to apply great leadership and management skills to integrate all these departments to run concurrently, without one colliding with another, since this would lead to a messy event. Among the activities they will oversee and integrate include ordering food from the stores, making sure enough food is prepared and in line with food safety regulations and transported to the event site on time, ensure that they sound equipment is set and functioning properly and ensure that the staff is serving the guests with the best customer service possible.
- Flexibility
An event cannot go smoothly, in line with everything agreed upon during planning. Some things will have to be changed while new ones will have to be introduced, even if they were not previously discussed upon in the beginning. A good caterer must be able to cater for the surprises that may arise, without presenting some new complicated demands. Take for example if a Muslim shows up to the event where all guests had been expected to eat pork. The caterer will have to adjust and quickly prepare some beef or mutton for that one Muslim since this does not affect the budget in any way.
A caterer should not give you an excuse for not having these qualities because an event is a one-time thing and there are no chances to make it better the next time. So let no one use your event as a learning process. If you are in search of a great caterer to work with, be sure to visit their website and check out their customer reviews and ratings. You can also ask your family and friends to refer you to the best caterer they know.