5 Signs You’ve Picked the Right Catering Equipment Company
A good catering equipment company will save you time, money and stress. Like a quality oven, they are an essential part of your success.
You’ll know when you’ve chosen the wrong company. Because you’ll encounter a myriad of problems – from poor communication to unreliable services – that will cause major headaches for your commercial catering business.
But how can you tell in advance which companies are likely to let you down?
There are five clear signs that the company has your best interests at heart. Often you can spot them by looking carefully at the services on offer. And crucially, how they address your biggest pain points on their website or during your first call.
Keep reading to learn these signs so you can pick the best catering equipment company for your business.
1. They’re not just “box shifters”
It’s the basic requirement – getting the right equipment for your catering business. But how many times have you ordered a product to discover that, when it arrives, it’s not suitable?
Usually, this happens because the catering equipment supplier hasn’t asked you the right questions prior to your purchase. They’re simply “box shifters” that get the product from A to B.
Look out for a company that offers consultancy with every major purchase. They’ll spend time understanding your unique needs to make sure you’re getting the right equipment for your catering business. That way, you can maximise the benefit you get from your equipment, increasing its efficiency and longevity.
2. They will try to save you money
Preventative maintenance is the number one way to cut down costs on your catering equipment. It stops problems in their tracks, diminishing the need for expensive repairs and replacements.
A catering equipment company that cares about helping you reduce costs will offer a preventative maintenance plan. Such a plan ensures your equipment is taken care of on a regular basis, eliminating unnecessary breakdowns or faults in the future.
They’ll also be happy to fix small problems over the phone free of charge. If you are charged for such instances, that’s a clear sign the company cares more about its bottom line than your business.
3. They provide online access to your service records
You might use a catering equipment company for reactive maintenance, equipment fittings and repairs. In order words, you sign up for a service agreement to ensure all your catering business’ needs are met in one place.
But with so much going on, it can be difficult to keep track of past, ongoing and upcoming work. The last thing you need is to be on the phone 24/7, chasing project updates and maintenance schedules.
What you need is online access to your service records where you can view everything from your asset register to money spent.
A catering equipment company with your needs front of mind should offer this as part of your SA. Without it, you could waste a lot of time chasing technicians for project updates and other related enquiries.
4. Engineers arrive with the right equipment
There’s little more frustrating than having an engineer disappear during a job to pick up a part. Especially if it’s a critical piece of equipment that needs repairs, every minute lost is money down the drain.
A good catering equipment company will do everything in their power to ensure this doesn’t happen. And the solution is simple: equip each van with stock unique to the client’s business and the engineer it is assigned to. This makes small jobs much faster to complete.
The company should also stipulate that major part replacements (when they need to be ordered in advance) are usually completed in 24 hours, with a maximum wait of 48 hours. If you called in the morning, the job should be completed on the same day.
When shopping around, check the company’s website or give them a call to find out if they can provide these fast turnaround times.
5. They always send the correct technician
You’ll know you’ve found a great catering equipment company when they always send out the right technician for the job.
That’s because they have multi-skilled technicians under their wing. Whether you need assistance with electric ovens, gas appliances, commercial refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation or plumbing, you can rely on your service provider to send a technician with specialist expertise in that area.
Whereas some catering equipment companies will send out random technicians who aren’t equipped to handle the work. This inevitably leads to more downtime as you’re forced to wait longer for the work to be carried out.
Before signing up for a service agreement, make sure to ask the company in question if they have in-house multi-skilled technicians.
Enable success for your commercial catering business
When you pick the right catering equipment company, it can transform your business. Productivity, profitability, team morale, customer satisfaction … it’s all positively impacted because your equipment is being properly taken care of.
To recap, here are 5 signs you’ve picked the right catering equipment company:
- They’re not just “box shifters”
They offer consultancy prior to a purchase to ensure you get the right equipment for your business.
- They will try to save you money
They put an emphasis on preventative maintenance to eliminate unnecessary faults and failures.
- They provide online access to your service records
To save you time, you’ll be given direct access to your project information, assets, money spent and maintenance schedules.
- They arrive with the right equipment
Different vans carry stock unique to the business, ensuring your technician arrives with the right parts for small jobs.
- They always sent the correct technician
Because the company has multi-skilled technicians, you’ll always be sent to the right person for the job.
Use this as your checklist when shopping for a new catering equipment company, and you’ll never go wrong.
If you have any questions about this article, or want to enquire about our services at NCE Catering, call us on 0113 833 1234 or email us at info@northerncatering.co.uk.