rounded research made for informed choices -
(and a great holiday).
Backstory: Our client has a demanding Executive position at a large bank, and had a much-anticipated family holiday coming up. They were going away with two other families, with 8 children between them, and they were staying together in a large and beautiful villa with an infinity pool. There was sailing and lots of water sports to look forward to.
Problem: Although it was a self-catering villa, none of the adults wanted to spend too much of their precious holiday in the kitchen preparing meals for everyone, but at the same time they wanted to eat healthily and not always from the same restaurant menu. Plus some of the children had particular food requirements. There were allergies and different ages and tastes to cater for. They were not sure that everything they ate at home would be available and they didn’t want to drive miles to supermarkets.
They wanted to work out whether it was achievable to hire a private chef for the duration of the holiday – whether it was feasible at peak season and how expensive it would be.
Solution: The client briefed their Consider it Done PA on the varied requirements. Our findings would allow the client to talk to the other families and decide what to do. It was important to our client that they did not compromise on the quality and deliciousness of the food they ate while on holiday.
What CiD did: Our PA carried out thorough research of the area via different avenues and found limited availability of private chefs for the dates in question. Many chefs were booked on large yachts for stretches of time. Undeterred, our resourceful PA found three recommended and experienced chefs that would be able to cater for the varied needs of each family through the holiday at different times. Resumes were collated and we made contact with each, calculating a budget based on the chefs’ fees.
Thinking outside the box, the CiD PA also looked into possibilities at local restaurants. She struck up a rapport with a local restaurant owner who proposed a combination of having his chef team prepare meals in advance to be left in the fridge at the villa; chef-served meals at the villa; picnics to take out; and table bookings at the restaurant at different times around water sports events and in varying group sizes. We checked the quality and reputation of the restaurant, speaking to a number of people along the way, and felt confident that this was a reliable, high-quality option.
Outcome: Our client and the other families were delighted with the flexibility and creativity that had been offered by the restaurant owner and felt that it represented great value for money. So while the original brief had been around exploring a decision to hire a private chef for the whole holiday, in the end the families decided to take up a range of different options provided by the local restaurant, and also hired a top chef for the last night of their holiday.
Our client was so grateful that our PA had undertaken the time-consuming groundwork and provided information that allowed them to come to a collective decision that worked for everyone.
The secret: Perseverance. Our initial research looked as though it might not be fruitful, but we didn’t give up, instead tenaciously and ingeniously finding a great solution, which allowed the client to make an informed decision they were extremely happy with.
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