In The Catering Kitchen with Post Exchange Catering

Recently our client, Rick Leigh, President of Post Exchange Catering sat down and provided some great insight into the workings of a seasoned, catering business in Atlanta, GA. Read on for great info and tips!

Tell us about your business.

Located in metro Atlanta, Post Exchange Catering has been dazzling corporate clients since 1993. Whether it is a catered breakfast, meeting luncheon, corporate picnic, or customized box lunches, we pride ourselves in delivering dining solutions with professional on time performance. As metro Atlanta’s corporate catering specialists, we guarantee quality food and exceptional customer service. Our operation is Monday through Friday with an emphasis on breakfast and lunch events.

What brought you to begin using Total Party Planner?

Our original process was one that we pieced together using spreadsheets, databases, and Quickbooks. With our old system we were tied to the office computer and only one of us could work on the information at a time. While this process worked for many years, we reached a point where the procedures needed to be standardized to facilitate our growth. We also found that while most recipes had been written and stored in a manual, the employees failed to use them as access was difficult during production time. After sampling many online options, the team at Total Party Planner made our choice pretty easy. No one spent as much time teaching me or letting me bombard them with questions like the TPP team did.

What is your favorite program feature in Total Party Planner?

Picking a favorite feature is almost like asking me to choose a favorite son or daughter. There are many excellent features to choose from. Probably the one that helps my business the most is the recipe feature. This has helped us become more standardized and helped my staff be able to work in any station in the kitchen because the recipe and method are spelled out for them. I also like the event production sheets. These reports are the map we all read to see where our day is taking us.

How has Total Party Planner helped your business?

Total Party Planner has streamlined our data entry and made our events more consistent beginning to end. While we spent a large amount of time setting up Total Party Planner the return on the investment was quickly recouped. It is comforting to know I can access anything pertaining to my business in one location.

What sets your company apart from others in your area?

Post Exchange Catering is unique as for the 19 years we have been in business our focus is on the corporate market exclusively. No nights, No weekends with few exceptions. Our staff is family focused and we will never ask them to work Sundays.

What do customers expect when doing business with you?

We will always provide good food with service that is unmatched. Our customers appreciate that we offer: online ordering, a 24 hour catering hotline, an awesome customer rewards program, and donate to a featured charity each month.

What advice would you give a new caterer?

“Say what you do then do what you say”. It is no more basic than that. Also, seek out a mentor, go to Catersource each year, and join the International Caterers Association (ICA). I have found that caterers as a whole are a sharing bunch. We love to share our successful ideas and our pitfalls that new caterers can avoid. Oh, and of course I would suggest “before you take your first order, spend time setting up Total Party Planner”.