Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am planning an event for our church and need to hire a caterer for a buffet dinner. They will prepare the food offsite at their kitchen and deliver it to the church address in disposable pans, but will not stay to serve the food--we have volunteers to do the serving and clean up. The food budget for this event is a firm $1750 (tax included). I very nicely explained to the caterer that we are open to all menu suggestions that would fit within those parameters, but there is no wiggle room on price. The proposal I received was exactly $1750, but with a note at the bottom that said, "...this proposal does not include gratuity." The budget for this event is very tight and the church doesn't have additional funds. I'm a bit put off by this as I stated very clearly what our bottom line figure was. Am I out of line for feeling annoyed? Is a gratuity appropriate in this case? If so, how much? Based on last year's consumption at the same event, I could subtract 23 people from the head count and still have enough food. That would bring the totals in line with where we need to be in order to include a gratuity. But it feels a tad like my phone conversation with the caterer and the proposal she submitted were a bit bait and switch.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
