Introduction
Amazon organized two corporate events on September 13, 2023, at their office located in London. The events were attended by a total of 60 people.
The Scope of Work
The initial scope of the agreed-upon work included the following components:
- Plan an office event with alcohol
- Provide 1 glass of wine per person
- Provide 1 softdrink per person
- Provide 1 beer per person
- Provide glasses
- The first event had 30 attendees, with 20 sitting and in need of sandwiches to be served to them. The other 10 attendees were standing and could self-serve.
- The menu was to be of high quality and include dessert with coffee after the meal.
- The second event also had 30 attendees and required afternoon tea to be served at the table.
Costing the Ingredients
- For both events, Amazon required 60 waters, six bottles of wine, and Peroni beer.
- They also needed prepped sandwiches, wraps, bagels, and pastries.
- For the evening event, Amazon requested one glass of wine per person and one beer per person.
- Paper plates, utensils, and napkins were also required
Leading Up to the Event
The team worked closely together to ensure all counts were correct and everything happened faster than normal.
This meant as close to immediate replies as possible. This was in both sending invoices, follow up emails, options and more. Due to the bank holiday we were in a time crunch with abnormal restrictions.
The event was scheduled for September 13, 2023, from 12:15 to 16:45.The catering team arrived at the venue at 11:45 to set up for the event.The team had 45 minutes to prep for the second event after the first event ended.
Setting up at the Venue
The catering team set up the venue as per Amazon’s requirements.
They arranged for sandwiches to be served to the sitting attendees while ensuring that the standing attendees had access to self-service options.
The team also ensured that all the necessary drinks and food items were available for both events.
Hurdles and Obstacles
The biggest challenge was that the day before the event, it was canceled. This meant having to coordinate returns and everything to make back what was spent. This is never fun and always disheartening to see everything put towards and event not get to play out.
The second biggest challenge was the quote was agreed to on a Friday before the event but not flavours/choices etc. This weekend lead to a bank holiday on monday though. So with logistics, if we did not order before payment, nothing would arrive in time for the event as saturday-monday there would be no deliveries and the order would be processed tuesday and delivered AFTER the event. This would mean having to cancel on them the day before their event. But by ordering early it ran risk of having stock and spending if they canceled.
The Outcome
The catering team successfully organized both events as per Amazon’s requirements. The attendees enjoyed high-quality sandwiches and afternoon tea, along with their preferred beverages. Despite the challenges faced during the planning stage, the catering team managed to deliver a successful event for Amazon.
In summary, the catering team provided excellent service for Amazon’s corporate events. They were able to meet all requirements, despite some obstacles along the way. Through careful planning and attention to detail, they were able to deliver a successful event that met Amazon‘s expectations.
