Why can't I cancel my catering order 1 day before without any cancellation fees? Why can't my caterer cook 1 vegetarian bento for my colleague? Why can't my caterer decrease my catering order? If these questions sound familiar to you, you're in the right place!
At Catersmith, we partner with over 15 of Singapore's top caterers to provide high quality food to our corporate customers. While serving our customers, many of these flexibility requests are often made thanks to Murphy's law - A boss falls sick the day before the event and the catering order needs to be cancelled. Or the RSVP numbers suddenly shoot up to an unexpected number and additional food is required. Change really is the constant in the world of corporate event planning.
Our team has put together 6 frequently asked questions on caterer flexibility, why they can't be done, and what the best alternative might be!
Essential differences between a caterer and a restaurant
To understand why a caterer can't always exercise flexibility, we must first understand the essential differences between the business model of a caterer and a restaurant.
| Caterer | Restaurant | |
| Pricing | A caterer generally charges way less than a restaurant would for the same amount of food. For example, $20/pax in a restaurant might get you a rice bowl with a drink, but may buy you a 6-course buffet with a caterer. | Restaurants typically charge more per head than a caterer |
| Volume | Bulk orders, where all guests receive the same food. Caterers are able to achieve economies of scale this way, and hence can pass on the cost savings to the customers. | Restaurants rely mainly on walk-in customers |
| Place of operation | Large central kitchen equipped to cook for large orders. No public-facing store fronts. | Public-facing stalls where customers can takeaway or eat-in. |
| Ordering timeline | Pre-orders. Usually at least 3 - 7 days in advance | On-demand. Order and serve within 5 minutes |
| Staffing | Kitchen and sales staff only. Small team. | Service and kitchen staff. Larger teams are required in order to cope with on-demand services. |
As you can see, a caterer has built its business model around bulk, advance orders. Last minute changes to catering orders do have the potential to disrupt the smooth flow of their operations, and even cause losses. Let's take a deeper look at some common requests for flexibility and why they can't be done.
Why can't I cancel my catering order 1 day before the event date?
Caterers only take in pre-orders. Once your catering order is confirmed, the caterer will then consolidate the dishes required and make a bulk purchase of ingredients from their suppliers. It is useful to note that these suppliers may not operate past 5pm or on weekends. This is why most caterers will mention 'working days' in their lead time policies. After scheduling the supplies, the caterer may also need to schedule staffing in the kitchen, arrange for their logistics team to pack the equipment required for buffet line displays at your venue, and schedule the delivery vehicle and teams.
As most caterers have a limited number of vehicles and full-time delivery captains, booking a slot for your catering does come with an opportunity cost to the caterer - you have taken up a slot that another customer may have wanted. When you approach the caterer for a cancellation of your order, they will need to consider:
- The opportunity cost of your slot
- The cost of supplies that they would have received, or are unable to cancel from suppliers who have their own cancellation policies too
- The manpower cost of some semi-finished goods. For example, they may have marinated some of the meats in your order by then.
- The manpower cost of the equipment that have already been packed by then.
This usually translates to anywhere between 30 - 100% cancellation fee depending on when you request for the order cancellation and what was ordered.
Why can't I just order 1 vegetarian bento box?
As mentioned in the table above, caterers have equipment specific to bulk cooking, and also are able to offer lower prices due to economies of scale. By ordering just 1 bento box, you are essentially requesting for a caterer to possibly stir-fry a single portion of fried rice on a huge hot plate instead of the wok used in restaurants. You are also asking for the price to be artificially held low, at say $10, instead of the normal $15-20 that a restaurant would charge for a single portion of food.
Quick catering tip:
- Ask for a 'chef's choice' vegetarian bento instead. This means that the chef gets to fill up the vegetarian bento box with any kind of suitable dishes that they may be cooking for other customers that very day. The chef's choice bento box prices tend to be kept low since the caterer still achieves economies of scale
- Consider ordering vegetarian bento boxes from one of our restaurant merchants instead. Here's some vegetarian bento and vegan bento options to consider.
Why can't the caterer accept my order with 2 days notice?
Caterers only take in pre-orders. Once your catering order is confirmed, the caterer will then consolidate the dishes required and make a bulk purchase of ingredients from their suppliers. It is useful to note that these suppliers may not operate past 5pm or on weekends. This is why most caterers will mention 'working days' in their lead time policies. After scheduling the supplies, the caterer may also need to schedule staffing in the kitchen, arrange for their logistics team to pack the equipment required for buffet line displays at your venue, and schedule the delivery vehicle and teams.
Quick catering tip:
- If you are being forced to make a last minute catering order for a lunch or event that's just cropped up in office, try asking your caterer for what they might have available. It might not be exactly what you want. But after all, beggars can't be choosers, and having some food is better than hungry people!
- Look for a restaurant caterer, ie. a restaurant that also has catering services. These restaurants may sometimes cope better with last minute catering orders because the dishes on the catering menu are similar to those served to the dine-in customers. However, do be prepared for a slightly higher price tag. Check out our restaurant caterer, Jumbo Seafood Catering here.
Why can't the caterer omit an ingredient from a dish? I've got guests who are allergic to the ingredient.
Allergic to gluten, mushrooms, soy and even chicken? Yes, we've seen dietary allergies aplenty! This is a common challenge that lots of our customers who arrange for corporate catering face. Unfortunately, most caterers also struggle at this challenge due to their bulk ordering systems. Recipes are standardised down to the weight, and often are also strictly controlled due to health and safety certifications. Caterers also tend to consolidate orders and prepare dishes across orders. For example, they may bulk prepare the chicken curry dish across 10 different catering orders.
In addition, many caterers have done extensive research and development to arrive at very exact catering recipes. Sometimes a request to omit an ingredient, or to swap it with something else may result in a sub-par flavour or texture.
Quick catering tip:
- Cater a chef's choice bento for a guest who might have severe allergies. It's generally safer, and also allows the rest of the guests to enjoy the food as usual.
- Ask your caterer for a dish alternative that does not contain the allergen. They may sometimes have off-menu dishes that they can offer to you, that are better alternatives to trying to alter the existing dish.
Why can't the caterer change the delivery time on the day of the event? My event got pushed to 1 hour later.
As most caterers have a limited number of vehicles and full-time delivery captains, booking a slot for your catering does come with an opportunity cost to the caterer - you have taken up a slot that another customer may have wanted. When you request for a change in event time, you may be asking for a slot that is already full, or vacate a slot that was in hot demand.
Do remember that most caterers plan their routes and schedules meticulously. Nothing is left to chance, not even the time allocated to collecting your used buffet equipment, or the time required to change pass and wait for the loading bay lift. Any sudden changes to the schedule tends to have a ripple effect on other events and customers.
Quick catering tip:
- Buffet lines come with warmers and can typically last for around 3 hours after setup. If your event has been shifted slightly later, setting the buffet up at the original time will probably be quite inconsequential as the food will still be hot and fresh.
- A pro tip from our customers - they swapped around some of their event agenda such that participants took a break for lunch a little earlier, then went back into the event for the original agenda item that was meant to be covered before lunch.
Why can't I reduce my order on the day before? My RSVPs suddenly fell.
Fluctuating RSVPs are a part and parcel of corporate events and meetings. As organisers, we tend to buffer for a 10% attrition rate. But as every experienced organiser knows, the drop in RSVPs can be way more than that, especially in the post-pandemic world. Caterers do not do well with sudden requests to reduce orders as the prepared food will simply go to waste. Unlike a restaurant, a caterer isn't able to sell the food to the next walk-in customer.
Quick catering tip:
- If the reduction required is significant, try asking your caterer if it is possible to have some of the food delivered on a later date, or as part of a new order in the near future. There may still be some charges involved, but there is a higher chance of reducing food wastage this way.
While it may sometimes feel like the caterer is being difficult or inflexible, the truth is that most of the policies are in place because of how caterers have structured their processes to give us more affordable prices. Take some time to browse our quick catering tips above to see how you can find a win-win situation for your caterer and yourself the next time a challenging situation arises at work!
