May 31, 2013
CEO Newsletter
The Centerplate Way continues to differentiate our enterprise and showcase our capabilities with distinction. A clear manifestation of our success is the renewal of our hospitality contracts with the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center; two huge accounts that have chosen to extend our partnership. The facts of our performance carried the day and we were rewarded for a job well done. It helped that as an enterprise we stood tall in the face of adversity and always delivered for our client. Great work by John Stockholm, Team Indy and all involved in the extension!
While our renewal record is consistently strong we must always be working to strengthen our client and community relationships so we never put our future prosperity at risk. If your renewal is up in the next 3 years make sure you are laying out progressive plans with your client to constructively move the business forward and reach out as needed for support in the renewal process. Conversely, if the renewal is up in ten years make sure that you are delivering Championship Hospitality every day as one day we will be renewing and we need to make the renewal automatic!
However, not every renewal is a good renewal. This week we graciously declined a client’s request to extend our contract. The reality is that we have served this client for many years and while at times we certainly could have improved our performance, we cannot continue to operate and lose money on the deal. While we may be the largest company in Event Hospitality, our resources must be dedicated to mutually profitable ventures and as a fair partner we must be engaged in win-win endeavors. We wish them well but are confident that they will experience a major decline in service.
Centerplate will always search for profitable growth. Not just a temporary spurt, sustained artificially by recklessly overbidding, but strong and lasting growth that creates jobs, launches careers and is based on the premise that if a business is worth winning it also has to provide a return.
E3 moments of the week …
Congratulations to our team at Notts County FC on winning the Matchday Hospitality Experience Award in League 1 at The Official Football Hospitality Awards 2013. Winners were selected by professional chefs who experienced hospitality at the UK football clubs this season using strict criteria. The award is a particular honor with this being our first season of providing hospitality services to the club where we serve simple dining packages of soup and sandwiches to 3-course plated meals as well as handle sales, conference, event and retail services. A big round of applause to Richard Cokayne, Patrick Conway, Richard Dexter, Chef James Gemmell, Lisette Maas, Chef Chris Millward and our team at Notts County FC!
A recent FAM event at the Scotiabank Convention Centre brought out the best in everyone and showcased a true spirit of partnership with our client. The facility sales manager was full of praise, “It is our team here at the SCCN that makes us UNconventional. Our dining experience from beginning to end was magical. Chef Shaun’s nitro ice cream was the perfect ending to a perfect event. The Star tonight belongs to Food and Beverage! The service, the set up, and the food was first class! Our facility client said it best, “And let’s don’t forget the level of UNconventional gratitude you all express for each other. That just doesn’t happen other places. Well done everyone on the team!” Great job by Chef David Berggren, Dan Brown, Anna Neil, James Noell, Michael O’Doherty, John Pellegrino, Chef Shaun Goswell, Chef James Price and our entire staff in Niagara Falls!
The New Orleans Mission, a non-profit organization that participates in our NPO program at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, sent a note of thanks and appreciation. “Your generous contribution will help to defray the considerable cost to clothe, feed, counsel and shelter the homeless in our community; it is sorely needed in the current economy. We now provide up to 18,000 meals a month and shelter up to 245 men and women nightly. Please convey our gratitude for this unique opportunity to generate revenue for The Mission.” Job well done by Sheirre Allen, Jeff Anderson, Helen Bridges, Bethany Ebling, Kernell Jupiter and our staff at the Superdome!
In Pasadena we partnered with our client in support of the San Gabriel Valley’s Habitat for Humanity “Small Bites, Big Dreams” fundraiser held at a private club. Several local restaurateurs provided food and beverages and our Centerplate action station offered a grilled Tunisian chicken skewer on an Israeli couscous salad drizzled with spicy harissa. Many attendees came back for second and third helpings and complimented Chef Arnold on the “best item of the night”. At the same time a gala retirement dinner took place at the convention center with over 550 guests walking the red carpet to their tables and enjoying an elegant dinner. Kudos to Os Ahmed, Gail Cooper, Doug Finney, Alex Cuerra, Michael Karpanty, Elaina Lofft, Stacy Ober, Tom Paquette, Chef Arnold Preciado, Chef Christine Trejo, Danny Zamora and our team at the Pasadena Convention Center!
A Non-E3 moment was served up by a competitor at Wembley Stadium during the England vs. Ireland game attended by Adam Elliott with service starting off well but falling away as the game progressed. Attached are photos of the starter, with very milky blue cheese and just 2 raspberries, and their famous cheese board with honeycomb, neither appear appetizing and the food quality was poor. Another sad example of our competition’s vision of event hospitality at a major venue!
I am proud to be CEO and I believe one of my biggest responsibilities is to never be seen as the commander in doubt. We have a strategy and are executing it better than ever before but we must operate with a mindset that is okay to shift and evolve our thinking as the market changes as operating in a locked or fixed position would be equally dangerous. Here’s to adapting and fulfilling our vision to be the globe’s most respected Event Hospitality company.
Onwards!
Belmont Food Truck Festival 5.24.13
Alex Shapiro June 3, 2013 at 11:42 am
I feel very strongly that our focus on client retention will enable us to grow while keeping a strong client base. Simply put, it costs us much less to keep a client than to aquire a new one to replace a lost unit. This fact coupled with agressive growth plans will position Centerplate to be the market leader in the following years.