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First, definitely subtract 23, even 35 people from the head count. There will be more than enough food made by the caterer.
Secondly, on the delivery tip. Don't base it on the total bill. Just judge by how many pans of food delivered by the driver. I'm thinking $50 should cover his troubles.
Or... what about someone from your group just pick up the food from the caterer in their minivan?? And your group getting a discount for picking up the food from their kitchen.
Good idea. I’ll definitely change the headcount so we can work a tip into the total. I just wanted to make sure this was standard. Out of 6 local caterers “ABC Catering “ was 1 of 2 caterers that were timely in contacting me and providing a written quote. I don’t want to throw out one of my good quotes because of a misunderstanding over procedure.
Would you be annoyed an unspecified service/delivery gratuity was expected but not included in the quote?
No, because I would know that I would need to tip the delivery person/people. It's not a mandatory charge so why would it be in the quote? It wouldn't.
You should never give a caterer your "max" budget amount in this type of situation.
Yes, the person who delivers should be tipped but not a %. It's going to take them 10-15 minutes to bring that amount of food in? $20-$25 is more than enough for a tip.
It was absolutely appropriate for them to state that the price does not include gratuity. Doing so makes it clear that the proposal is for $1750 worth of actual food and preparation, pans etc. If you want to tip but keep the budget as stated you could ask them to remove a portion of the food to allow for the tip.
Why are services like this tipped, anyway? The thing you are buying is the service. I wish we lived in a world where service providers would simply charge what they intended to make rather than assuming there would be an additional tip at the end. If I buy a massage or a catering service or a haircut, the service is part of the purchase.
Would you be annoyed an unspecified service/delivery gratuity was expected but not included in the quote?
No I would not be annoyed. The delivery driver is probably a part time kid. Why would the gratuity be included as it's at your discretion; however, in the U.S. a tip for deliver is expected and the norm. I think they purposely put that statement on the quote because they were right at your bottom line and wanted to point that out so the delivery person did not get stiffed.
IMHO, a tip should be expected and should be given as delivery is a service. I typically give a tip of $30 for catering delivery. If you don't want to tip, then don't have it delivered and pick it up yourself. Problem solved.
You should never give a caterer your "max" budget amount in this type of situation.
Yes, the person who delivers should be tipped but not a %. It's going to take them 10-15 minutes to bring that amount of food in? $20-$25 is more than enough for a tip.
I agree with this. First i would ask for the quotes mentioning the number of people and an amount that it's not my max. They usually have a per person charge depending on menu.
Second the tip would not be included, but it's not a percentage. $20-30 is more than enough for simply delivering some trays of food.
I also think, like other posters, that the tipping
should be abolished. Service provider should charge for all their services. If you want to give a bit extra, ok but it should not be an expectation.
First, definitely subtract 23, even 35 people from the head count. There will be more than enough food made by the caterer.
Secondly, on the delivery tip. Don't base it on the total bill. Just judge by how many pans of food delivered by the driver. I'm thinking $50 should cover his troubles.
Or... what about someone from your group just pick up the food from the caterer in their minivan?? And your group getting a discount for picking up the food from their kitchen.
this is exactly what I was going to say . great advice here and on another note perhaps you should look at other caterers as well . Or go to the church committee for this and let them know that you need a bit more money for the tip or gratuity was not thought on .
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