Question: My contractor caterer assures me that they already provide me with the best price available so why do I need Price Detective®

Answer: All contract catering companies will portray a ‘value for money’ impression of their company. Price Detective® will simply check that view and provide you with peace of mind that the information you have been given is accurate.

Question: How can I justify the financial outlay on a monthly basis?

Answer: A subscription to Price Detective® can be as little as £2.50 per day and provides you with the potential to save considerably more on your purchase costs. It is probably worth asking how you can afford not to use Price Detective® when you take into consideration the additional support services available as part of the package.

Question: Why should I think that my contractor wouldn’t control my costs?

Answer: It is fair to say that most, if not all, contract caterers will indeed control your costs very effectively. Equally, they may not be aware that they are not getting the best prices available in the market place. By providing information about what they should be paying you could be helping them to deliver better value.

Question: If cost isn’t my issue, but value is, how can Price Detective® help me?

Answer: By understanding the costs better, you may actually be able to improve quality whilst still retaining the same or lower prices, thus considerably increasing the value to your customers.

Question: As a contractor, how do I prove my costs are competitive?

Answer: Price Detective® can be used by you to prove that your costs are as good as you say they are. In this way, Price Detective® effectively gives your Client peace of mind and total confidence in the service and charging structures you work to.

Question: What if my issue is that I don’t just need competitive prices I just need good service?

Answer: By getting better information about purchase costs you will free up funds that can be used to improve service levels. If you link that to the other support services offered, you will soon see that Price Detective® is more than just a money saver, it is actually access to a better way of managing your business.

Question: How do I monitor the catering services I receive against statutory requirements?

Answer: One of the major benefits of being a registered Price Detective® user is that you have access to a wide range of support services that include access to statutory data. As an aside, we can also provide access to a full audit and/or consultancy service to give you added confidence that your service provider is looking after your best interests.

Question: Can I use the same membership for more than one site?

Answer: Sorry, not at the moment. Each site has to be registered separately. The reason for this is that the purchasing and product profiles will be different at each site and will therefore need to be maintained separately.

Question: As a client I am paying a fee but still have to complete a lot of background work to use the facility. Why is the system so labour intensive for me?

Answer: You are right, there is a lot of work to do the first time round, but once completed, the monthly task (or more often if you require) becomes a lot faster and more efficient. As with most things in life, the more you put in, the more you get out. The good thing about Price Detective® is that the more you put in the first time, the more you get out every time thereafter. We can provide help with data entry, contact us at support@pricedetective.com

Question: Why do I need to talk or have contact with other catering providers?

Answer: To get a detailed understanding of the market place or to get answers to difficult situations, the best source of information is usually your peer group. It would be unusual for something to happen only to you, although even the best reference materials may not cover specific circumstances. At times like these, your colleagues in the industry can usually come up with practical advice and/or guidance.

Question: How do I know that Price Detective® is comparing the same quality products, after all brands may differ when carrying out a comparison against a broad range of products?

Answer: All products are identified by product category and brand name where applicable and as such will always give an accurate picture of current market price.

Question: Am I tied in to a long-term contract to use the service?

Answer: No, you can cancel at any time, just send us an email and you will not owe us another penny, we are however confident that once you have seen how much can be saved by using the system, you will want to continue to monitor your costs on a regular basis.

Question: What do I do if the products I use don’t appear on Price Detective®?

Answer: A. Simply let us know and we will research the information you need from our vast database and contact list. Being web based, information can be readily updated as soon as we have validated our findings and are confident that we can provide you with accurate information - on average this takes about 48 hours.