Catering for a variety of tastes

When I made a drink for one of my clients recently, I ensured she had the nicer Columbian coffee rather than the bulk-bought Nescafe and that it was served in an extra special ‘client-only’ hand-painted mugs with the gold handle.

“Do you really call this coffee?” she asked, glaring at me with the expression of someone who won`t be coming back to my cafe in a hurry.

We’re a high-street solicitors. We do not have in-house caterers. Staff make the tea and coffee, and dash to Marks & Spencer for sandwiches if meetings go on
too long.

A nice plate of chocolate biscuits used to be just the ticket. Now we hear from clients that they would prefer a vegan alternative or a gluten-free snack. One enquired politely whether our biscuits were sugar-free.

While of course we must cater for our clients’ needs, we must also rein in any temptation to provide catering facilities that we are unable to properly provide.

I was assisting with a commercial mediation the other day. Three of my rooms were bursting to the seams with clients, angry-looking opponents and the mediator with his two observers: a grand total of 12
for lunch.

Stupidly, I asked a colleague to enquire what they would all like. Some wanted soup from a shop called Crush, others requested a Pret sandwich or sushi. One suggested a sandwich from Tesco, another from Boots – and one of them wanted to see the menu.

Clients are much more sophisticated than they were years ago. When I started in law, there were fewer refreshments and the coffee was pretty grim. Sandwiches were handmade rather than shop-bought. On reflection, that long ago, sandwiches never came in packets at all.

Clients did not expect a fine Chianti with their lunch. Now we have decisions to make. Not just about the food and drink for clients but also for the team.

While it is a comparatively small expense to have a water cooler, should we also invest in a coffee machine that will make our clients and staff forever happy? A Nespresso rep is seeing me next week. Word of his visit went round the firm like a particularly virulent form of plague.

The excitement generated by the rumour that we might be investing in such technology was far more perceptible than when we changed the computers, printers
or photocopiers.

Might it be the case that we simply have to move with the times and offer a more comprehensive catering solution? Keeping the team happy is a necessary part of providing a tip-top service. Keeping the clients happy pays the rent, wages and, while they may not realise it, the lease on the all singing, all dancing commercial Nespresso machine.

Thankfully, feeding Cosmo, the office dog, is a much more straightforward matter. Grateful clients came in the other week with venison sausages, chicken and leek treats and, notably, some raw chopped ox liver. SJ

Russell Conway is senior partner at Oliver Fisher