Poor catering the reason for customer dissatisfaction

Catering is the main cause of delegate dissatisfaction, according to recent research data from Warwick Conferences.

The ‘Value of Satisfaction Report’ informs that 79 percent of delegates said that they were disappointed with catering at venues in the last 12 months, while just 12 percent of event bookers ranked catering quality as a top three criteria when booking a venue.

When asked in terms of customer satisfaction, 80 percent of bookers named catering as their number one priority.

Two in five delegates expressed dissatisfaction with food for multiple reasons. The most popular reason being the limited food choice available at venues.

Rachel Bartlett, Warwick Conferences head of sales and marketing, said: “We found some discrepancies between what bookers want and what delegates want.”

Warwick Conferences was responsible for catering the Warwick Economics Summit Oscars Ball held on Saturday 8 February in the Panorama Room, Rootes Social Building.

“I really enjoyed the food overall,” said Andreas Schnellmann, an External Marketing group member at the 2014 Summit, “the only criticism I would have is that the soup was quite bland and not hot enough, and the beef was a bit dry.”

Food is a source of conflict between those who attend events and those who organise them, in the face of a larger conflict between what’s deemed appropriate versus quality.

The report adds that “delegates’ demands are not unreasonable: venues just need to ensure flexible choice is on the menu.”

This new report comes at a time when meeting planners are slashing costs. It concludes that planners should not cut back on catering.

“Event bookers would do well to listen to their delegates a little closer on a handful of points: after all, a satisfied delegate should be our mutual objective.”