20/12/2022
So these past few years have been one hell of a Rollercoaster. With Covid bringing so many companies to their knees and closing down, to the floods and the looting that robbed businesses of the little that they had left. And we're in the same boat and have experienced so much of loss and have had to sacrifice so much in these trying times, but....
We're so grateful to the almighty that we've weathered all the storms that have passed. And we make shukr to Allah for all of his bounties and that he has kept our doors open and the strength to keep serving our community.
This company was started nearly 4 decades ago and we are now the 2nd generation that are taking over the operations and bringing new energy and life into the business. But unfortunately in the short time post covid that our field has started to return to some sort of normality, we have faced something so much more dangerous than covid, looting and floods. And it's time we spoke out about it.
Over the past few months we have catered so many events, whether it be corporate, large gatherings or intimate events. And the bulk of them have gone so smoothly and we've recieved such positive feedback from clients and guests which gave us so much of hope for our future. But there are a selected few who have been an absolute nightmare to deal with.
And those select few have decided to launch all sorts of defamation campaigns against us, talking about absolutely false and baseless claims which any logical person reading these sort of posts would know that there's a different side to the story, but unfortunately due to sensationalism and everyone loving the drama, people add fuel to the fire and unknowingly destroy innocent peoples livelihoods and business.
Just recently I read another defamatory post against another caterer claiming that they only cooked 2kg of meat in the biryani for 60 guests. Really? Even we've never ever heard of that in all the years in the catering field. And as hard as times might be, there is no caterer in durban that would ever think of doing that.
Just 2 weeks ago we had a client claim that we didn't feed half of their guests whilst they had twice the agreed upon amount of guests. Then when their defamation online and false claims and harassment didn't work, they then said we broke contract by upgrading their decor and catering packages and giving them an additional R6000 worth of upgrades rather than their modest setup that they initially downgraded to owing to their financial constraints 🤣 yes! You heard that right! Don't come to Suhana's! Here we upgrade things and give you more value for money! How terrible!
So to all the Caterers out there. We say to you. Stand your ground! Take no stories from anyone. We work too long and hard and have the most stressful jobs with so much of responsibility, and to spend days, weeks or months preparing for certain events, and to pull it off perfectly, only to have an ungrateful client trying to shake you down for cash. Mxm.. And it's mainly our Indians that try those stunts.. When they come to us for their function, they can twang, butter us up, be our best friends, cry poverty, beg for discounts, ask for extra's and ask for the most extravagant packages but can't pay for it.. But after the function, they all become gangsters and are all too quick to start saying they will pay you a visit or come to your house😑
Really? At that point, we as event co Ordinators feel so deflated and lost. You're experiencing anger, frustration, sadness and betrayal all at once.
There's so much that we want to say. But we're so shocked and appalled at the Detty ways of so many. That all we can say is.. Stop trying your luck. Caterers in durban are tired of all of you. We are not afraid of threats and fake posts and lies any longer. Do what you can afford. And stop asking your Caterers to drop their prices, this is their livelihoods.
To all the Caterers that are reading this. These are the signs to look out for that you may be entering into an agreement with a very faulty client and may be heading for trouble.
- only paying small deposits to secure their date.
-changing their agreements
-confused about venue or number of guests
-asking for 3 or 4 separate quotations to "see the best value"
-dropping their guest count days or weeks before their event.
-continuously micro managing and dictating to you how things must be done
-asking for free things
-asking for tasters and not willing to pay
-wanting to meet multiple times and wasting time.
-talking about how their family are dangerous
-saying that they will make your life a misery because they're a "bridezilla".
-any jokes of what they'll do if anything goes sideways.
-mentions doubts about your company, capabilities or judgement.
-paying in small installments
-trying to offer to pay the full amount on the day of the event.
These are the immediate and most obvious red cards to look out for. If you experience any of these with your clients. Please, we beg you, turn them away and just don't take on that pressure. If we keep entertaining these people, we keep accepting their disgusting behavior and games.
Avoid getting involved with these clients because nothing you can ever do for them would ever be good enough. They are simply looking for any fault or loophole to take advantage of you.
Simply advise these types of clients that you do not operate the way they expect you to and they should rather go to a service provider that they are more comfortable with.
And under no circumstances should you entertain these people pushing you around for a refund. No amount will make them happy unless you give them their full amount back and probably pay for their petrol money to come and fetch the money too👀
Never, ever... Under any circumstances do an event without receiving full payment.. You're definitely going to be chasing behind the client for your money.
And if you do make mistakes as the event co ordinator, we hope that your client is an understanding one, remain calm, try to do your best to resolve the matter and always remain professional. Don't let hurdles cause you to lose your focus. You still have an event to complete and guests to cater to. Dust yourself off and make sure you do the most.
May Allah grant you barakah InshaAllah and protect you from all evil and hardships. 👍
Remember to give us a call for all your cooking, catering and decor needs. 😁For that original old school authentic indian chows!
