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Taking Catering Orders Without the Back-and-Forth

For: Sales · Difficulty: Beginner

The problem: A customer emails, "Can you do lunch for 40 next Thursday?" Six emails later, you still don't know the address, the dietary needs, or the budget.

What you end up with: A simple intake form and a clear order summary for every catering request, with a quote draft you check before you send.

What you'll need

Your catering menu with prices, minimums, lead times, and delivery rules.

Getting set up

What do you need to know before you can quote? Make a list once, and ask every customer the same questions. Jotform lists AI agents that can help with forms and customer questions. Google lists Gemini in Gmail and Docs. Example: a taco shop gets about five catering requests a week. The owner builds a short form: date, time, address, headcount, dietary needs, budget, and pickup or delivery. When a request comes in, she pastes the answers into AI and gets an order summary and a draft quote from her menu. She checks the numbers and sends it the same day. (Our illustration.)

Step by step

  1. List the details you always need.
  2. Build a short intake form, or a reply template with those questions.
  3. Ask the AI to turn each request into an order summary.
  4. Ask for a draft quote from your menu and prices.
  5. Check headcount, prices, dates, and allergens yourself.
  6. Send the quote, with your deposit and cancellation terms.
  7. Add confirmed orders to your calendar and prep list.

A prompt to start with

Try this prompt, and tweak it for your tool. "Here's my catering menu and prices: [paste]. Here's a new request: [paste]. Write an order summary (date, time, address, headcount, dietary needs) and a draft quote using only my menu prices. List any missing details I should ask about. Don't add items or discounts I didn't list."

What you'll get

An order summary, a draft quote, and a list of missing details. Time it takes: about 10 minutes per request, down from several emails. Sample summary (made up): "Thu, Nov 12, 12:00 p.m. Office at 200 Main St. 40 people, 6 vegetarian, 1 gluten-free. Taco bar for 40 at $14 each: $560 before tax. Missing: delivery or pickup?"

If something goes wrong

If the quote math looks off, recalculate it yourself. If a customer mentions an allergy, confirm it directly with them, not just in the form.

Keep in mind

You're responsible for allergen information. Never rely on AI for allergy safety. Ask the customer and check your recipes. Make it a habit: save every confirmed order summary, so repeat customers are quick to quote.

Sources

Where each fact came from

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