Final Guest Count and Guarantee

The final guest count for food ordering, staffing, and billing purposes is due no later than 3 business days prior to the event for Economy and Standard Service, and no later than 5 business days prior to the event for Executive Service.

The final menu must be confirmed including the number of vegetarian meals and special diet meals. Additional vegetarian meals and special diet meals requested after the final guarantee may not be accommodated or may be accommodated with different menu items than on the original event menu.

Additional guests over the guarantee will be billed at one and a half times the person price if confirmed less than 3 business days prior to the event. Our ability to serve additional guests added after the guest count guarantee will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Final invoice price will be calculated on the guest count guarantee number or the actual guest attendance, whichever is greater.

Any decrease in number of guests made after the guarantee deadline will not reduce the quoted cost of the event.

Order Confirmation

We will review your order and contact you by e-mail or phone if we have any questions or require more information to complete your order.

An order confirmation will be sent to you after placing your order online with your event details including menu and cost estimate.

Please contact us 5 days prior to your event to confirm your minimum guest count guarantee, and submit your final guest count 5 days prior to the event.

Cancellations

Cancellations must be made during regular office hours at least 48 hours prior to the event in order for your account to not be charged at least 50% of the quoted price of the event.

• Cancellations made with less than 48 hours’ notice but more than 24 hours’ notice will incur charges equal to at least 50% of the quoted price.
• Cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice will incur charges equal to the full cost of the event.

Cancellations left on voice mail or by e-mail to the office outside of normal business hours will be considered received on the next business day. No matter when your cancellation is made, you will be charged full price for any special-order items – including linens, flowers, and rental equipment – for which vendors charge Tufts Catering.

Weather-Related Cancellations

If you need to cancel an event due to severe weather, please call x73411 as soon as possible. We may adjust our cancellation policy depending on the severity of the weather and other activities on campus. If the university is closed due to severe weather, all events for the day will be considered canceled.

Rain Sites

We regret that in most cases, we cannot guarantee the equivalent pricing for outdoor events that are moved to a rain site. If an outdoor event must be moved to a rain site, we require 24 hours’ notice. The costs of any additional labor or equipment will be charged at our standard rates.

A separate rain site cost estimate can be prepared for you at your request. Rain sites need to be predetermined and communicated to us at the time of event confirmation.

Rescheduling an Event

Event rescheduling requires 48 hours’ notice. To reschedule an event, you must call Tufts Catering and book a new event, including changing your room/space reservation (online or with the facility manager of your event venue) and changing your arrangements for tables and chairs with Facilities Services.

Recess Period Costs and Procedures

Due to the significant reduction in university activity during the winter and spring recesses, Tufts Catering are minimally staffed and with limited capability to order, prepare, and deliver food and services.

In order to offer services during this period, we operate under modified policies and procedures:

1. All requests for catered services to be held during winter or spring recess must be booked at least 10 business days prior to the start of recess. We do not have the ability to respond to late requests during recess periods.
2. Functions during a recess period may incur overtime costs (in addition to regular delivery charges) if:
   1. The event exceeds our limited transportation or food production capacity and we have to call in staff for driving or food preparation
   2. The event requires china or glass service and we have to call in staff for ware washing/handling

An estimate will be provided for you at the time of your order; however, these charges may be reduced on your final invoice based on the actual staffing costs during the recess period.

1. Because we seek to bring you only the freshest and highest quality foods, some menu items may not be available during recess periods due to vendor and kitchen limitations. We will work with you to design the best menu for your event.
2. Some events may require an event supervisor. If needed, the charge for this coverage will be $25 per hour.

Please ask us about any changes or additional costs that may impact your function if it is scheduled during winter or spring recess. If you would prefer to utilize another caterer during these time periods to avoid additional costs, we would be glad to recommend other resources.

Late Fees

Economy and Standard delivery service orders placed less than 3 full business days will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine if we can service the request. Accepted late orders will incur a $50 late fee. Same-day orders will be referred to Tufts Dining retail locations for take-out service. No late charge for take-out.

Full Service orders received less than 5 full business days before an event may not be fulfilled due to the availability of staff attendants, servers, or bartenders.