It was a random Tuesday.  A few days before a very busy but not “crazy busy” Saturday.  

A busy Saturday for Twelve 31 is several drop-off events, one wedding and another staffed event.  And maybe throw in an event at our venue… The Merrimack Valley Railroad.

Crazy busy is all of the above with three weddings in the mix.

The Tuesday call…

“I had a food truck lined up for this concert I’m putting on where I am expecting up to 400 people.  The food truck just canceled on me!”

Wow, was our response.   That’s tough.  Let’s see if we can help you … are you open to recommendations? “Yes”… was the reply.    We can do a variety of our tray favs possibly similar to what your food truck was offering.  Pulled Pork, Meatballs, Sausage/Peppers/Onions, Mac n Cheese, Rolls, Slider Buns… The quantities are up to you… but you may want to max out at twenty trays total.   

“OK… let’s do it!”

We were able to fit this order in and get it delivered with basic set-up.   Is that always possible?  No…   At times…  Saturdays are closed off and nothing else will fit logistically and physically.

But the question is… Why do food trucks (or other catering services) cancel on people?  We have heard this many times over the course of our many years in business.  

Here is why food trucks cancel catering jobs.  

It mainly comes down to “follow the money.”  It is actually pretty simple.  You have a food truck booked. Then, someone comes along and offers that food truck more money or has a larger event on the same day that you booked.    

Or… you booked a food truck with no guarantee…  they were just going to show up and hope to sell some tacos or bbq or burgers or whatever.  Then… someone comes along and offers them a guarantee and money up front.  

The reality is (most) only have one food truck to do food truck catering. It can only be in one place at one time.  They have a small staff and can only reach so far.  Therefore… the lure of making more money for the same day and basically the same amount of work will always be there.  They have bills to pay.   Will this always happen? Of course not. Many food trucks will honor their catering commitments no matter what.

But this also applies to catering services, not just food trucks.  If a catering service has a limited ability and cannot handle several events in a day the temptation to take a bigger payday and cancel on a client will be there.  

At Twelve 31 we can handle numerous events in a day… maybe it is a fifty person event and then another two events of 150 and 200.  We are not lured by the promise of a “bigger job.”