FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WHEN BOOKING A CATERING OR FOOD TRUCK
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Client's Ask Us...
Q: Does your food truck have a minimum?
Yes. Dope Soul Catering + Food Truck has a 2 Hour & $1,200 minimum Monday - Thursday or 2 Hour & $1,500 minimum Friday - Sunday. Additional time, if available, is provided in 30-minute increments and the equivalent rate.
Q: Do you require a deposit?
Yes. We require a 50% deposit for Food Truck bookings and Catering services. The remainder is due 14 days or 10 business days prior to the event. Deposits are non-refundable but are transferable for up to 6 months for a mutually agreed upon date. Additional reschedules will require an additional deposit. Additional details are available in our invoice and agreements.
Q: Do You Charge for Travel?
Yes. The rate is discussed beforehand and agreed to in our invoice. It is generally charged at market price for gas based on estimated travel outside of Tulsa, OK.
Q: I'm having a big event. Do you have enough staff?
We work with an excellent staffing agency with highly trained personnel to ensure proper staffing for any event size and to provide the quality of service you desire. We do not charge more than what we pay that agency, which is $30/hour per staff member. We recommend one (1) staff member per 25 guests depending on the setup. An additional bill may be sent if staff is required to stay longer than anticipated; for example, if a wedding ceremony doesn't start on time or a speeches at an event run longer than the itinerary allotted.
Q: Do you add gratuity to the bill?
No. Gratuity has been an unreliable form of compensation within the service industry which is why our team is paid an appropriate hourly rate. However, gratuity is always appreciated when staff meets or exceeds your expectations. No portion of gratuity is retained by ownership or management.
Q: Is there a service fee?
Yes. An 20% service fee is added to all catered events where a host is paying for a set menu. Please see our blog about Service Fees to further understand why they are included.
Q: Will you cater or bring your food truck to *insert event type*?
More than likely the answer is, yes. We serve large corporate events, small business office lunches, wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners, birthdays, anniversary parties, fundraising galas, food truck festivals, funerals, etc.
We are happy to accommodate special and dietray needs as well. We offer vegan, kosher, gluten free, organic and other diet restricted menu options; however, since we are producing in such a small space, we cannot guarantee that some items have not been exposed to others.
Q: We are using an event planner for our event. Can you meet with them?
Yes.We provide an event liaison for planning.
Want to book a food truck or catering for your public event or private party? Here is what we will ask you...
Q: The date and location of your event?
Food trucks and caterers book weeks or months in advance. We do our best to accommodate multiple events each day but we operate on a first-paid, first-booked basis. Please let us know when cloning technology catches up so we can be in multiple places at the same time.
Q: How many guests will be at the event?
This isn't actually about money. We base how many events we can accommodate based on headcount and menu to ensure quality service for our clients and their guests. We understand that attendance may fluctuate but we have limited the acceptable range to a 25% difference. We feel this range allows us to accept additional bookings without needing to cancel others.
The number of people attending your party will also dictate how many food trucks you will need. Most food trucks have a formula for how many attendees are required during the scheduled time frame to have a successful event. This formula also includes accounting for the number of other food trucks and types of food being provided.
Q: What kind of food truck or catering menu do you want?
Dope Soul Catering & Food Truck will create a custom menu for your event to represent your vision. We offer suggested menus on our Easy Catering page to help you get an idea of what we offer but if you have a different plan, we are happy to follow your inspiration.
Q: Is the first event you have managed or booked for catering or food truck services?
We are happy to provide consultation services to help you have a successful event. We know event planning can be stressful but we are part of a professional event industry and can guide you through the technical details. If you need further assistance, we are in contact with some of the best event planners in the Tulsa area.
Q: What happens to the leftover food?
In efforts to be environmentally friendly, we follow best practices to minimize waste; however, occasionally there is a significant amount of food left after an event. In this instance, we have two preferred options. First, the catered food belongs to the client and they are welcome to have it packaged and take it with them or they can decide if there is a shelter or organization to which they would prefer the food donated. Second, since we prepare fresh food so we don't reheat or reuse our food so food truck or catering staff will donate the food to those in need. Tulsa is our home and no one should go hungry and we do our best to help in that effort.
Q: Do we need to have electrical hookups or will you run a generator?
Food Truck Specific. Either is fine and while we do have a quiet generator, we understand some events prefer silence. In that case, we need 50 amp, 4 prong access.
Q: Where will the food trucks be located in relation to the main activity?
Food Truck Specific. This is an important factor in determining how much food we will need to prepare and may also be an important factor in accepting the event. We will also need to know if our location will impede our ability to enter the event for setup or leave the event after we close.
Q: Will you be duplicating vendors?
Food Truck Specific. We understand that crowds have favorite food items but it is generally unnecessary to have multiple vendors selling the same item unless it is a very, very large crowd. It is not about competition but respecting that another food trucker's menu is their means to a successful event. If we can make anything, it will not be what someone else is selling.
Q: Will your event have wifi?
Food Truck Specific. Wi-fi availability isn't a deal breaker but it will determine our ability to transact credit card purchases. Depending on the available network for mobile hotspots, it may even be irrelevant. A slow network can also slow down lines as transactions take longer to process. We can accommodate a cash-only service but need to be prepared with appropriate change.
Q: Are you advertising/ promoting this event?
Food Truck Specific. If Dope Soul is chosen to be your food truck, we can boost your event on the Tulsa Food Trucks Facebook page to a target market of 50K Tulsans that love food trucks. We do not keep any boost money, it is all paid directly to Facebook and we do this as a service for your event. Posting without a boost is free.
Q: What type of event is this - target audience?
The menu we offer can vary widely based on the prospective customers. Is it mostly adults in a popular bar area or a family-friendly event expecting a large child attendance? We take these factors into consideration when planning our menu and the quantities we need to prepare for each item.
Q: Is your event primarily inside or outside?
We can do both, with a full set up for inside events if the space is adequate to maneuver the food truck. If it is a catered event, we need to take into consideration the possibility of inclement weather and prepare our staff. Additional fees may apply for extreme heat or cold.
Common misconceptions when booking a food truck are:
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We suggest not asking 7 trucks to come to an event for 15 people. It's usually recommended to hire 1 truck per 100 guests. Or one entrée truck and one dessert truck for the event. Most of the owners can give you menu options (change menus) to meet the need of your event, so just ask.
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Food trucks are asked to come for an event that the project coordinator says will have 30K people attending and only 50 people show up: Food truck owners cannot take a food loss like that, that's why we ask so many questions and require a minimum. Good news, most owners will try to help with getting numbers for your events up, if given enough time.
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A food truck cannot show up with 30 minutes notice to serve 100's of people 99.9% of the time. Owners have to prep for service and depending on the menu of the truck, it takes 8-48 hours to complete.
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During food truck season February - November (depending on weather) it is best to let food truck owners know weeks in advance because they book up quickly. The owners also have a system in place to contact other owners quickly to see if anyone is available to serve if you do happen to be in a crunch... so don't panic, we will get you covered to the best of our ability.
How to be the best food truck customer ever:
Give reviews on Facebook, Yelp and Google.
Post pictures of your food and talk about the Truck you went too.
Heart/Like and share food and event posts to support local business
# hashtag the trucks name
# hashtag TulsaFoodTrucks #TulsaStreetFood
And invite your friends to Tulsa Food Trucks and individual owners pages so that they can get more business.
More tips on how to get the most from the food-truck experience:
1. Follow social media for the location, time of operation, and quality of specific trucks. Everyone has an opinion on Yelp and other foodie websites.
2. If you have a favorite food truck, be sure and show up when the doors open or you might have to dine elsewhere. Supplies are limited in such limited space.
3. Bring cash in small bills and change. Have your money ready so you don’t hold up the line.
4. Know what you want ahead of time so as not to keep others waiting.
Tipping Food Trucks:
• Mobile Cuisine, which deems itself as, “The Complete Online Resource Destination for the Mobile Food Industry” says:
Even if you order from a truck or cart that offers only pre-packaged food you are still expected tip at least 10%. Usually, the person that takes your order has to jump through hoops to get your order together complete with utensils, extra napkins, bags etc. They go out of their way to take care of you, so you should take care of them back.
• The Food Network, which has a show called, "The Great Food Truck Race":
Be generous — Tipping etiquette is a little fuzzy when it comes to food trucks. You tip at a restaurant, but not always when you’re ordering from a counter. Not only are you not in a restaurant, but you are ordering from a counter when you eat at a food truck. Technically, you don’t need to tip, but if you think about the operation of creating a gourmet meal in the confines of a truck, those folks sort of deserve a little extra praise. Tipping customers make happy chefs, and sometimes it can mean the difference between a latte and a whole breakfast. “We tip back by giving goodies on the house.” — Brasil Kiss
We reserve the right to change these answers without notice.