Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pete Spinner on February 10, 2008 at 2:33pm

Heather,

We have been delivering a lot of our pre-sliced loaves to customers who provide catering services. We don't charge anything beyond typically wholesale pricing for this product because it is something we provide to customers as part of our normal services.

However, we do consider charging more when special requests are made that are labor intensive. In those cases, I take into consideration any labor or materials involved to meet the request and establish a price consistent with our existing pricing structures.

Most important is to make sure you can provide whatever it is the folks throwing the wedding are asking for. Make sure you smother them with customer service, giving them peace of mind their order will be a smashing success. Some companies that cater to weddings and parties, I think, make go way over-the-top on pricing, which doesn't seem right; however, it is of course important for you to be fair to yourself when establishing pricing.

More specifically, maybe this will help: if you charge the wedding party in excess of 3 or 4 times the price of your normal retail price...perhaps this would be too much. If your price is the same or marginally more than your typical retail sales...probably not enough--especially if you are providing services that go well above and beyond what you typically provide customers.

Hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Tera Schmeling on February 20, 2008 at 8:57am

Hi there Miss Heather!

So - question for you on your catering event...are you providing just espresso based drinks or food or what? Beer??? wine??? Is it a catering that you will be doing off site or will it be at your cafe? (Am I asking too many questions?) We do caterings from our retail store so I may be able to help with some advice. Do you know how many people will be attending the wedding? Caterings are a lot of work so don't sell yourself short! Are the bride or her mother regular customers for you????