Vent-Starting to think vendors don't actually want business

afox007 · May 2015

I spent today looking online trying to narrow down caterers for the wedding. I have finally come to the conclusion that I should have just stuck with the caterer I found months ago. The websites of most of these caterers honestly turned me off enough that I gave up.

I can live with the fact that only one caterer actually provided pricing, but the amount of crap to get any information at all was ridiculous. Half had no menu listed, no services listed, just a slideshow of food pictures and a phone number. One seemed decent until I tried using their form to request a quote. As soon as I submitted I got an error saying I didn't have authorization. They had no additional contact info besides their physical address.

Actually I got a lot of error messages today. One website had a million tabs of information and aside from the home page all said "coming soon" when you clicked. A slightly more picky complaint was some of the sites looked so crappy that I just gave up on them before I even tried to find contact info.

Like these:

There is actually text in the first picture it's just almost the same damn color as the background, I luckily could read it if I highlighted the whole screen. The other one just looks like the website was either last updated in the 90's or a child did it.

Maybe I'm just being cranky after looking at a million caterers today, but I feel like maybe you should put at least some effort into your website being helpful if you want business.

paperpusher · May 2015

Ugh. I loathe Comic Sans. I find it to be really unprofessional. Stick with Times New Roman or Arial.

I'm sorry you're dealing with all of that. Did you at least come out with a few you could try and contact?

afox007 · May 2015

paperpusher said:
Ugh. I loathe Comic Sans. I find it to be really unprofessional. Stick with Times New Roman or Arial.

I'm sorry you're dealing with all of that. Did you at least come out with a few you could try and contact?

I found one that is roughly within budget, based on their sample brunch menu. So far they seem like my best option since they also set up all the tables, linens, etc. I'm going to call them tomorrow to see what it would cost to make a few changes if they are even possible. FI is really set on chicken and waffles. I figure if they can accommodate fried chicken I can have my waffle bar and he gets his chicken.

I also got a quote from someone on Thumbtack that I am going to look into. Chicken and red velvet waffles were right there on the menu she sent over.

paperpusher · May 2015

Red velvet waffles? I'm drooling over here

kvruns · May 2015

I had a similar problem looking at venues online, I remember 2 or 3 had online request forms and it either errored out or I never heard back

momofbride530 · May 2015

Chicken and waffles sound great to me! Red velvet waffles = even better!

[Deleted User] · May 2015

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afox007 · May 2015

So I was looking through the menu options for the caterer that I want to call and have concocted this as the menu, most of this was straight from the brunch menu. I do need to check to see if the chicken and waffle bar is even an option. What do you think? Also there are no vegetarians or other dietary restrictions besides one grapefruit allergy.

Cocktail Hour

Fruit and Cheese Display

Fresh Prosciutto Wrapped Melon

Bacon Mac n Cheese Balls

Oyster Bar

Brunch Buffet and Stations

Spring Mix with Strawberries, Goat Cheese, Toasted
Walnuts, and Champagne Vinaigrette

Chilled Asparagus Salad with Toasted Almonds

Petite Sandwich Platter ~ Including Turkey, Ham,
Roast Beef, and Chicken Salad Finger Sandwiches

Make to Order Omelete Station – (includes on-site
chef, cooking equipment, Fresh eggs, Lump Crab Meat, Baby Shrimp, Tomatoes,
Mushrooms, Green Onions, Bell Peppers, Cheddar and Jack Cheese, Fresh Tomatoes,
Salsa and Sour Cream)

Chicken and Waffle Bar

Bacon or Turkey Bacon

Baby Red Potatoes with Rosemary

Assorted Pastries

Beverages

Oj

Coffee

Wine, beer, Mimosas,

Lemonade

Iced Tea

allispain · May 2015

Sounds tasty to me! Good luck on finding your caterer!

wandajune6 · May 2015

That sounds amazing! Just one more: both salads have nuts. No big deal for most people but if there are a lot of nut allergies, you may consider losing them from one.

I'd love that menu!

[Deleted User] · May 2015

Yum! That makes me want a brunch wedding!

@wandajune6 has a good point... maybe they could have the nuts in a separate bowl for the salads for people to add as they wish.

lyndausvi · May 2015

Most caterers are small business owners. Setting-up and maintaining a website takes time and money. Caterers often run on a small profit margin. They have little to no office staff. If they are busy through the traditional avenues, it's an expense they do not have to pay.

Some caterers do not put prices on websites so they do not scare away potential business. They may have a basic package, but are often flexible in menus. Which in turn makes the costs vary. They would rather you call so they can custom make your menu.

julieanne912 · May 2015

I agree that you shouldn't necessarily judge caterers (or any vendor, except for maybe a photographer) by their website. My venue's site is awful, with only a couple pictures, and it's a very "DIY" website. The people who own it are awesome though, just not really computer savvy.

I would look more for online reviews on Yelp or whatever as a place to start, or, if you can, ask your venue who they recommend. It's nice if a vendor has done events in the venue before.

afox007 · May 2015

wandajune6 said:
That sounds amazing! Just one more: both salads have nuts. No big deal for most people but if there are a lot of nut allergies, you may consider losing them from one.

I'd love that menu!

My friend pointed the same thing out to me thing morning, I was so busy thinking this sounds yummy I didn't realize both had nuts. Luckily there are no nut allergies that I know of, but I do agree either switching one or having the nuts on the side sounds like a good idea just in case.

larrygaga · May 2015

I judge every vendor/sales thing by their professionalism, which is reflected in a website. If you can't be bothered to spend time/money to make a nice website, don't have one. All a shitty website says to me is that they are lazy and unprofessional.

It would be like your caterers showing up in dirty, holey jeans and flip flops. Or your doctor coming into an appointment with a leather jacket on instead of a lab coat. Professionals know how they are supposed to appear to their customer. If they don't know, or don't care, that says something about how they might do business with you.

ohannabelle · May 2015

larrygaga said:
I judge every vendor/sales thing by their professionalism, which is reflected in a website. If you can't be bothered to spend time/money to make a nice website, don't have one. All a shitty website says to me is that they are lazy and unprofessional.

It would be like your caterers showing up in dirty, holey jeans and flip flops. Or your doctor coming into an appointment with a leather jacket on instead of a lab coat. Professionals know how they are supposed to appear to their customer. If they don't know, or don't care, that says something about how they might do business with you.

I judge as well.

Frankly, it's 2015, and almost everyone researches and shops by the internet. It's part of doing business.

Yep, it's a pain in the ass to maintain a website, but it needs to be done. And they should include some clear example pricing. Don't waste my time, don't waste your own.

When I see a website without any pricing, even a "prices start at x$, I leave immediately. My logic is, if their prices are hidden, they think it would discourage people, or they want to lure me in for the hard sell.

A website doesn't need to be ultra super high tech glamorous. Just attractive and functional.

You know what cracks me up? The photographers that list their prices under "Investment." Please. I don't want to invest in your business, I want a price. If I invest, I expect a return on my money.

hellosweetie1015 · May 2015

lyndausvi said:
Most caterers are small business owners. Setting-up and maintaining a website takes time and money. Caterers often run on a small profit margin. They have little to no office staff. If they are busy through the traditional avenues, it's an expense they do not have to pay.

Some caterers do not put prices on websites so they do not scare away potential business. They may have a basic package, but are often flexible in menus. Which in turn makes the costs vary. They would rather you call so they can custom make your menu.

This is absolutely fair.

However, it's not unfair of someone to discount places that have crappy sites, either. I considered several small-town caterers over the last few months while we were nailing jello to trees in our original wedding locale. Their websites were far from stunning works of Internet art, but they were functional. No black text on dark backgrounds, all contact info available (including phone numbers).

There's a difference in an inexpensive functional website and a dysfunctional website. I don't care if you have a lot of clearly-fancy codework. I care if it works.

ETA: and I work very hard not to discount websites without pricing immediately available for exactly that reason you mentioned - prices can be squishy, especially in catering. But if there's no way to contact them, it's an issue. And sometimes even the Great Google cannot get me a phone number.

larrygaga · May 2015

There's a big difference between simple and easy websites and horrible neon print with grammar errors

afox007 · May 2015

hellosweetie1015 said:
Most caterers are small business owners. Setting-up and maintaining a website takes time and money. Caterers often run on a small profit margin. They have little to no office staff. If they are busy through the traditional avenues, it's an expense they do not have to pay.

Some caterers do not put prices on websites so they do not scare away potential business. They may have a basic package, but are often flexible in menus. Which in turn makes the costs vary. They would rather you call so they can custom make your menu.

This is absolutely fair.

However, it's not unfair of someone to discount places that have crappy sites, either. I considered several small-town caterers over the last few months while we were nailing jello to trees in our original wedding locale. Their websites were far from stunning works of Internet art, but they were functional. No black text on dark backgrounds, all contact info available (including phone numbers).

There's a difference in an inexpensive functional website and a dysfunctional website. I don't care if you have a lot of clearly-fancy codework. I care if it works.

ETA: and I work very hard not to discount websites without pricing immediately available for exactly that reason you mentioned - prices can be squishy, especially in catering. But if there's no way to contact them, it's an issue. And sometimes even the Great Google cannot get me a phone number.

I don't care how awesome some of the caterers' sample menus I saw looked, the ones that forms didn't work AND had no contact info just got tossed in the no pile. Could Google have found the number for me? Probably, but if you can't give me the information to at least call then I have little faith in working with you.

Vent-Starting to think vendors don't actually want business

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