How to respond to catering inquiries and win the order
Catering inquiries usually arrive at the worst time: in the middle of lunch rush, on a Saturday night, while the manager is on the line. They sit until the next morning. By then the person asking has heard back from another restaurant.
If you change one thing about your catering program, change how fast and how well you answer.
The data on speed
Two sources are worth knowing.
Harvard Business Review, 2011. In an audit of how companies respond to web leads, firms that contacted a lead within an hour were nearly seven times more likely to qualify it than firms that waited even one more hour, and more than 60 times more likely than firms that waited 24 hours or longer (HBR). That study covered many industries, not restaurants, so treat the multipliers as directional.
Hermetic AI, 2026. A study that submitted 807 private-event inquiries to 734 restaurant, bar and venue locations between November 2025 and January 2026 found (source): - 19% never got a reply from a person - 13% got a human reply within one hour - The median wait for a first human reply was 23.6 hours - Weekend inquiries waited a median of 32.5 hours - Every first reply came by email, even though each inquiry included a working mobile number
It is a vendor's study (they sell response software), so read it with that in mind. Even so, the picture is clear: the bar is low. A restaurant that calls back within the hour is ahead of most of its competition before it says a word about food.
Set a response standard
Write it down and make one person responsible for it.
- Every catering inquiry gets a personal call or text within one business hour.
- After-hours inquiries get a personal reply first thing the next business morning, before service starts.
- The auto-confirmation email does not count as a reply.
- Every inquiry is logged in one place with its stage.
If nobody on your team can do this during service, that is the problem to solve before spending a dollar on getting more inquiries.
What to send the moment an inquiry arrives
If you cannot call right away, a short text buys you time and shows a real person saw it.
Hi Maria, this is Luis from [Restaurant]. Got your catering request for Thursday the 14th for about 30 people. I will call you within the hour to go over the menu. Is this a good number?
Use their name, the date and the headcount from the form. It proves you read it.
The first call: a simple structure
Keep it under ten minutes. The goal is a confirmed quote, not a menu tasting over the phone.
- Confirm the basics. Date, time, headcount, address, delivery or pickup.
- Ask about the occasion. Team lunch, client meeting, birthday, holiday party. It tells you what to recommend.
- Ask about dietary needs. How many vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, allergies.
- Ask about budget. "Do you have a per-person budget in mind?" Most buyers do and will tell you.
- Recommend one package. Do not read the whole menu. "For 30 people at a team lunch with that budget, most people go with our [package]. That comes to $X with delivery."
- Set the next step. "I will send the quote by email in the next 30 minutes. If it looks right, a deposit holds the date."
The quote email
Send it while they are still thinking about it. It should fit on one screen:
- Date, time, address
- Package and what is included
- Headcount and per-person price
- Delivery fee, tax and total
- Deposit amount and how to pay
- Cancellation and headcount change deadline
- Your direct phone number
More detail in how to write a catering quote that closes and setting a catering deposit policy.
Follow-up that does not annoy people
Many catering inquiries do not close on the first call because the buyer is waiting on a boss, a final headcount or two other quotes.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Same day | Quote sent, with a short note |
| Next business day | Short text: "Any questions on the quote for the 14th?" |
| 3 days later | Call. Offer to hold the date. |
| 1 week before the event date | Final check-in, then mark Lost if no answer |
Stop after that. A clear "no" is better than a maybe that eats your time.
Track it so you can fix it
Use stages: New, Contacted, No reply, In conversation, Quoted, Won, Lost. Once a week, look at: - Median time from inquiry to first personal reply - Share of inquiries that reached Quoted - Share of quotes that became Won
If inquiries are not reaching Quoted, the issue is response speed or the first call. If quotes are not closing, it is price, package or follow-up.
Common questions
Should I reply to catering inquiries by email or phone?
Call or text first when you have a phone number. Email is fine for the written quote. In the 2026 study above, no venue replied by text or phone first, which is an easy way to stand out.
What if I cannot answer during service?
Assign the inquiries to someone who is not on the line, or set a fixed check every hour. If no one can, pick a reply window you can always meet and tell the customer in the auto-confirmation.
How many times should I follow up on a catering quote?
Two or three touches across about a week is reasonable. More than that rarely changes the outcome.
Does responding fast really matter for small orders?
Yes. A small office lunch can turn into a recurring account, and offices often ask more than one restaurant at once.
Get inquiries that are ready for that first call
ModernClicks brings independent restaurants catering inquiries from Meta ads, with date, headcount, event type and budget already captured, and sends each one to your pipeline with an instant alert so your team can call within the hour. Book a call to see if it fits your restaurant.
Want more catering inquiries?
ModernClicks runs catering-focused Meta ads for independent restaurants and sends every inquiry, with date, headcount, event type and budget, to your own pipeline with an instant alert.
Book a call