Vendors and box meals

oywiththepoodles

Hi all,
I've searched through the archives and seen a few threads on this general topic, but nothing that quite speaks to my question.

We have a few vendors that we need to provide meals for (DJ, photographer, photographer assistant, etc.). We can either pay ~$120 for the same meal as our guests, or much less for a boxed meal from the local tavern (which is physically attached to our venue).

At first, we were leaning towards giving them the same meal as the guests (choice of filet, lobster, or vegetarian), since we don't want it to feel like they are getting a lesser treatment. However, I've since read some threads that indicate that some vendors may actually prefer a more casual, easy-to-eat meal as opposed to the same full, plated meal that guests receive.

Is it okay to just give vendors the options from the tavern, or would this be perceived as rude? We are OK paying more if it means our vendors will feel appreciated, but also don't want to unnecessarily pay a $120/pp charge for them if they'd just as soon have the cheaper meal.

Thanks!

JediElizabeth

oywiththepoodles said:

Hi all,
I've searched through the archives and seen a few threads on this general topic, but nothing that quite speaks to my question.

We have a few vendors that we need to provide meals for (DJ, photographer, photographer assistant, etc.). We can either pay ~$120 for the same meal as our guests, or much less for a boxed meal from the local tavern (which is physically attached to our venue).

At first, we were leaning towards giving them the same meal as the guests (choice of filet, lobster, or vegetarian), since we don't want it to feel like they are getting a lesser treatment. However, I've since read some threads that indicate that some vendors may actually prefer a more casual, easy-to-eat meal as opposed to the same full, plated meal that guests receive.

Is it okay to just give vendors the options from the tavern, or would this be perceived as rude? We are OK paying more if it means our vendors will feel appreciated, but also don't want to unnecessarily pay a $120/pp charge for them if they'd just as soon have the cheaper meal.

Thanks!

It is 100% ok to give vendors lower cost meals, unless it's written into their contracts otherwise. I'd personally side-eye cold sandwiches when everyone else is eating lobster, but a lower-priced hot meal (burger, pasta, whatever) is just fine.

JaxInBlue

First, check your vendor contracts!  Some vendors specify the type of meal they want in their contract.  Second, try to negotiate with your venue over the price per person for your vendors; your venue might be willing to drop the $pp (for example, taking out the cost of alcohol) if they know those plates are a guaranteed sale.

In the absence of a clear meal preference noted in their contracts, I personally would err on the side of having well-fed vendors - since well-fed might mean happier service - so we offered them the same meal options as our guests.

If you think some of your vendors would prefer a grab-and-go option, I'd give them all four(?) selections as choices and let them make the call for themselves.  You may find that one or two want the quick option, but not all. 

oywiththepoodles

JaxInBlue said:

First, check your vendor contracts!  Some vendors specify the type of meal they want in their contract.  Second, try to negotiate with your venue over the price per person for your vendors; your venue might be willing to drop the $pp (for example, taking out the cost of alcohol) if they know those plates are a guaranteed sale.

Great point. The contracts specify that it must be a "hot meal", but the tavern options would also be "hot" (it would literally be giving them a choice of the entire tavern menu). 

I'm thinking it makes sense to clarify with our venue coordinator if they literally have the choice of the entire venue menu (which would indeed give them choices of things like steak, lobster, seafood, etc., but would put their meals in the range of $30-40 instead of ~$120). If so, I'm leaning towards that being okay. 

If it seems like the menu they get to pick from would be too limited, then I agree that I'd err on the side of giving them the same options as guests.

Great point about alcohol. Alcohol isn't included in our per person cost, but it still may be worth us negotiating with the coordinator - they may be willing to give us a lower per person cost for the vendors if that actually ends up being easier for them (the venue) to coordinate than having to order separate meals from the tavern.

downtondiva

Definitely talk to your venue. Mine did vendor meals at half price with the same choices the guests had.

ILoveBeachMusic

I'd check with vendors (after looking at the contract of course). DD's photographer didn't want a sit down meal with guests because she was up taking pictures.

thisismynickname2

Basically the same advice as above. At $120 pp without alcohol, I'd presume you're talking several courses here. As an example, my caterer's "vendor meal" was the same substantial entree but none of the other courses for a fraction of the price. So I don't think you should have to pay $120 per vendor, but it would be nice if they got the same entree options as your guests. 

poodledoodleooo

I think it also depends on where your vendors will be sitting for the meal. My photographer and photo assist. sat with the regular guests at the regular tables, so I think it would have been really odd to serve them something different than what was offered to regular guests. My DJ was at his DJ booth and much preferred something a little more grab and go since he was working during the dinner time.

SP29

I would talk to your venue to see if they offer a vendor price. Our price pp included alcohol, so the vendor cost was full price minus the cost of the bar (they received the same 3 courses as the guests). If that's the case, I can see why yours may not be cheaper. But I would also see if you could get the entree without the other courses.

Our photographer + assistant sat at one of the guest tables. They did take a couple of pictures in between courses, mostly decor, our rings, the bouquets, but other than that, there really aren't many photos to take at this time- who wants a photo of them self chewing food? Our DJ ate at his table, so he was able to cue up a few songs a time and keep everything going while enjoying his steak/chicken.

I would offer all 4 options to your vendors (your "guest" meals plus the tavern option) and see what they would prefer. Unless they prefer otherwise, myself I'd go with the guest meal as it seems odd to me to serve a bunch of people one thing while giving something lesser to someone else (even though it is etiquette approved to do so).

londinium215

I'd definitely check in with your venue. My venue offered hot meals to our vendors at a cost of £15pp - it didn't include the alcohol package or canapes, but was still a full meal. Our photographers, since they weren't really taking pictures during dinner, just got the same meal as us at the same time; the band, since they were on a different time schedule, were able to get lasagna and salad at their convenience (they were setting up while we ate dinner, and I believe they ate during a break between sets).