The blue note contains quite explosive content. With it the dance school barbic addresses the participants of the graduation ball of the two kulmbach high schools next saturday evening in the city hall. There is talk of an unscheduled novelty. "Due to the current lease situation in the stadthalle, this year is unfortunately the first time in 25 years that there will NOT be service by waiters at the tables." The guests will have to get their drinks at two dispensing points in the foyer of the hall.
But not only that. There was also talk of no food being offered in the evenings for the schools and their chaperones. "This is the current status. Otherwise there were always five smaller dishes such as salad, a pasta dish, a small meat dish and dessert. That is also sufficient."
"We are talking about an extra 600 euros
Tanja barbic explains the reasons that led to this unusual step from her point of view. "We have been negotiating for months with the caterer, the paetsch family. Allegedly, so we were told, such bales would not generate enough revenue. As a result, we as organizers had to bear the costs for the service staff completely ourselves, which is usually borne in the catering industry through the sale of food and drinks. We’re talking about up to 600 euros – in addition to the costs we have to bear anyway: hall rental, band, ma fees, fire department and the rental fee for tablecloths. But that in turn meant making the tickets significantly more expensive. But we did not want to inflict that on the visitors."
Mr. And mrs. Barbic could not understand why the caterer does not make a profit on such an event to cover the costs of staff. "There are up to 700 visitors. If the food and drink is good and the price is right, there has to be something left over", says tanja barbic.
Tanja barbic on her part made the offer to organize the catering on her own. "If I had been allowed to use the kitchen, it would have been feasible. Then I had of course also claimed the proceeds from it." But it does not happen, because the use of the kitchen is not possible for her. The move to another hall was taken into account, says the dance teacher. "We have again taken decency from it. The atmosphere and the environment of the city hall are already, we are not eager to turn our backs on kulmbach."
No problem elsewhere
As the organizer she asks for understanding from schools and parents. "Naturally, people ask what is included in the 18 euro entrance fee – the schools get in for free – for food and drink. They have little understanding of the circumstances. We know this from other venues also differently. In wunsiedel they are very accommodating towards us, the caterer there has also taken over the service itself without any problems. The same applies to bischofsgrun and modschiedel."
"I am really shocked"
Editha paetsch, the caterer responsible for the prom, is surprised by the handbill action of the barbic family. "I was really shocked when I was told about it", says the caterer from kulmbach. And she adds: "the last stand was: the organizers renounce the service and any food, there should be only drinks in the foyer. As far as the service staff is concerned, it is common practice that at such events the service staff is paid for by the organizer."
She speaks of "manageable sums". " We are already accommodating the organizers here, because we do not charge any counter staff. And also the waiters in the hall are to be paid only as long as also appropriate visitor quantities are there. We do the same with other events, but no one has ever objected to the fact that the personnel costs are passed on to the organizer."
For the caterer it was difficult to calculate for such an evening in such a way that it would not become an overcharge business. "It is well known that young people like to cater for themselves and independently at such events. It is very difficult to plan in advance. What about what would be left in the hall?? I have a cafe where I can’t put a meat dish on the menu the next day and have had to throw it out. For us it is the first ball with barbic family – but our predecessors have reported that they have always been stuck for food."
Nevertheless, according to editha paetsch, there will be something for the stomach on saturday evening in the stadthalle. "The fact that there are no hot meals was a decision made by the barbic family. We had gladly made some from our side, also as a buffet. Now we are planning to offer snacks in the foyer. We are thinking about wraps, filled dumplings, small burgers, canapes, sandwiches and viennese sausages as cold dishes. We would have liked to offer more than this tasting during the breaks."
Question of liability
According to editha paetsch, the fact that the barbic family cannot do the catering themselves is due to a simple circumstance: "we are contractually liable for the catering and everything that goes with it. We can not take the risk that a third party breaks something and we are responsible for it." Despite all the inconsistencies in the run-up to the event, editha paetsch says that people are positive about cooperating with the organizer. "You can talk to us about anything, we will do our best to help you."
Tuv hopes for agreement
According to helmut volkl, head of the city’s tourism and event service (TUV), the responsibilities are clearly regulated. "We rent the hall for any kind of event and we have a contract with them. Because of the gastronomic conditions in the dr.-stammberger-halle we have two contracted caterers – in this case editha paetsch. With the caterers we sign a yearly contract." Organizers and caterers, on the other hand, had to make their own agreements for the respective use of the space. "Of course, it depends on what the organizer has in mind", says volkl and adds: "both were supposed to come to an agreement, but that always worked out."
Volkl can understand that editha paetsch did not want to leave the catering to the barbic family. "In the contracts it is clearly stated that the caterers are responsible for the kitchen and in case of an incident they are liable for the food. What is broken must then be replaced."