Voicemail Greetings
Professional Voicemail Greetings for Caterers
As a caterer, you miss calls for the same reason you’re booked: you’re cooking, plating, loading hot boxes, or serving in a loud room. These voicemail greetings are built for real catering calls—wedding dates, corporate lunch headcounts, dietary requests, and last-minute changes—so clients know exactly what to do and when you’ll call back.
Standard Business Hours Greeting (Weekdays)
Use when you’re open but often can’t answer because you’re prepping, cooking, or on-site at an event.
“Hi, you’ve reached [Business Name], a catering company for weddings, corporate lunches, and private parties. We’re likely in the kitchen or on-site serving and can’t pick up right now. Please leave your name, event date, venue/city, guest count, and the best number to call back. If you have dietary needs (gluten-free, nut allergy, halal, vegan), mention those too. We return calls the same business day—usually within 2–4 hours. If this is for a corporate lunch this week, say ‘corporate rush’ in your message so we can prioritize it.”
Tips for this scenario
- -Ask for the 4 details that decide everything fast: date, guest count, location, budget range.
- -The phrase “corporate rush” helps you quickly spot higher-volume, fast-turn calls ($15–$40/person).
- -Mention dietary needs up front so you can respond with safe menu options, not just a generic callback.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
!Your greeting doesn’t ask for the event date, so you waste time calling back just to learn you’re already booked.
!You don’t ask for guest count, so you can’t tell if it’s a $500–$1,500 small party of 20 or a $5,000–$20,000 wedding.
!You don’t prompt for service style (drop-off, buffet, plated, stations), which causes quotes to be off and leads to awkward follow-ups.
!You say ‘leave a message’ but don’t give a callback timeframe, so clients call the next caterer who answers first.
!You don’t mention dietary and allergy info, so you get last-minute ‘can you do gluten-free?’ calls that derail prep and increase risk.
