Caterer Doesn't Show for Lunch

Caterer Doesn't Show for Lunch — Industry conference, day 1, 500 attendees, suburban venue with limited nearby food

It's 11:45 AM. Lunch was supposed to arrive at 11:30. Caterer's phone is off. 500 attendees break for lunch in 30 minutes.

Setting: Industry conference, day 1, 500 attendees, suburban venue with limited nearby food. Category: Event Operations. Pressure level: High.

This page is the individual, citable address for this one situation: https://gatheringarchitecture.com/crisis-sim/scenario/catering-crisis

The situation

Your ops lead is on hold with a fourth pizza place. Coffee is running low. Attendees are starting to ask 'where's lunch?'

First moves and what each one costs

Order from 8 different places at once, push lunch to 12:30, announce the delay with humor and a free coffee voucher — Food arrives in waves. Attendees laugh about it. A few even tweet positively about the recovery.
Hand out vouchers to nearby restaurants and let attendees self-organize — Half the attendees come back late. Afternoon program runs 40 minutes behind.
Keep trying the original caterer and stall the audience — Caterer arrives 75 minutes late. Hangry attendees leave one-star reviews.

Preparation notes for this situation

Confirm catering arrival the morning of, not just the day before
Pre-identify backup options within 10 minutes of the venue
Have a 'snacks reserve' for emergencies

Open the Game Plan · Run the Simulation · See all 35 scenarios

Caterer Doesn't Show for Lunch

Caterer Doesn't Show for Lunch — Industry conference, day 1, 500 attendees, suburban venue with limited nearby food

It's 11:45 AM. Lunch was supposed to arrive at 11:30. Caterer's phone is off. 500 attendees break for lunch in 30 minutes.

Setting: Industry conference, day 1, 500 attendees, suburban venue with limited nearby food. Category: Event Operations. Pressure level: High.

This page is the individual, citable address for this one situation: https://gatheringarchitecture.com/crisis-sim/scenario/catering-crisis

The situation

Your ops lead is on hold with a fourth pizza place. Coffee is running low. Attendees are starting to ask 'where's lunch?'

First moves and what each one costs

Order from 8 different places at once, push lunch to 12:30, announce the delay with humor and a free coffee voucher — Food arrives in waves. Attendees laugh about it. A few even tweet positively about the recovery.
Hand out vouchers to nearby restaurants and let attendees self-organize — Half the attendees come back late. Afternoon program runs 40 minutes behind.
Keep trying the original caterer and stall the audience — Caterer arrives 75 minutes late. Hangry attendees leave one-star reviews.

Preparation notes for this situation

Confirm catering arrival the morning of, not just the day before
Pre-identify backup options within 10 minutes of the venue
Have a 'snacks reserve' for emergencies

Open the Game Plan · Run the Simulation · See all 35 scenarios