Take a Client To Dinner – Doggy Bag Included

I wrote an article about client appreciation events with some general suggestions, but recently ran across a new concept that I found interesting and worth mentioning. While this company is located in Vancouver, BC, I am sure there are similar companies in your area.

The concept is called Sensational Suppers and they offer a unique service that your clients will appreciate. Sensational Suppers is a meal assembly business designed to make cooking a “pleasurable and stress free endeavor”. Sign me up.

Sensational Suppers plans, shops, chops and cleans up while you get to enjoy a one to two hour session to prep your dinners. They have individual work-stations where the ingredients are all laid out. You simply follow the posted recipe. You can also customize your dinners to your family’s taste by accommodating special diets and taste preferences. When you are finished place the assembled dinners into the freezer containers they provide, take the dinners home, freeze them, and cook when needed.

Where does the client appreciation come in? I like the idea of inviting 10 to 20 clients preferably with their spouse or partner to a meal prep session. For about $ 60.00 per couple they can prepare 4 different meals for the two of them, take them home and freeze them. You supply the beverages (I recommend a Pinot Noir) and perhaps go ahead of time (or call and have them do it) and prepare a dessert which you can give each client as an extra gift.

It will be fun for your clients to mix, try something new and get 4 free meals. An alternative to this is to rent the Sensational Supper space and bring in your own chef for a cooking class.

I have always recommended group cooking classes for clients as the informal environment is great for reconnecting and reinforcing why they chose to do business with you in the first place. Every business and service needs a lot of raving fans to spread the word and I think this would be the best $ 60.00 you can invest.

If you know of any similar concepts in your area please send me a link. By the way Sensational Suppers is franchising.
P.S.I have no financial interest in this company and they are not aware I have mentioned them.

Remodel or Move?

There is a great web site called Remodel Estimates that is worth a look if you are considering a renovation. It requires a US Zip Code so I used 98009 which is the city of Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle.

My sample renovation was to finish a 750 sq. ft. basement of a $ 500,000 home doing a bit of the work myself and using average finishings. The estimate I received was as follows:

“For your project, Basement, using average cost materials, where you will manage the project yourself and do a little of the work yourself, we estimate cost will be between $13,058 and $15,120. Estimated amount your home would appreciate by making this change is $17,242.”

I then went back and changed my assumptions to hiring someone to manage the project, doing none of the work (that’s more like me) and using expensive finishings. Here is the estimate:

“For your project, Basement, using expensive cost materials, where you will hire a contractor and do none of the work yourself, we estimate cost will be between $22,587 and $26,153. Estimated amount your home would appreciate by making this change is $17,242.”

While I can’t comment on the accuracy it is interesting to compare the cost of doing it yourself or hiring someone and it is also interesting that while the return on your investment is positive, it does not get any better by using expensive finishings.

The site is primarily designed to match people with local renovators, but I think it is a good starting point for any renovation. There is an affiliated site called Remodel or Move that is also a good resource.