Wish I Lived In a Shopping Mall

Bob says:

Still swamped with work here in the sprawling Hynes Convention Center/Copley Place complex in Boston.  I'll try and post something of substance later. 

But in the meantime, I leave you with a little contest:

Suppose your organization is hosting a convention, and you've brought over 6,000 people into a convention center on the week after Thanksgiving -- traditionally a "tough sell" for those in the travel industry.

Now suppose further that during the meeting, you have a lunchtime session that will be attended by around 500 people, and that you want to serve pizza during said session.  The convention center insists that you use their pizza, and not order from Domino's.  They provide a 24-cut Sicilian-style pie.

Here's the quiz.  How much do you suppose the convention center charges for one 24-cut pizza?  Winner receives a prize to be determined at a later date.

Comments

[Smokey]

Well, given the fact that not only does the hotel have to pay for the food, but they have to cover the costs of the labor to cut the pizza, serve the pizza, the dinnerware, etc. I'm going to say $68.75.

[Joey D]

More to the point, how do you get 500 people to agree on toppings? 'Cause I can't do mushrooms... or pork products... or actual cheese...

$32.25.

If you're using Price is Right rules, I'll be back later to bid $1.

[Bob]

Yes, I should've spelled out the rules a little better. Closest to the actual price, regardless of going over or under, wins. Entries must be postmarked by midnight tonight.

[deadlytoque]

My guess is $40 even.

My question is how do they force you not to order outside pizza? Did you sign a contract that says they can cancel your booking at any time?

[Joe]

There isn't a per person charge? And then a chef charge for cutting and serving? That's the way these things often work, right? Okay, if it's per pizza I'm going to say $75.

Better be the best damned pizza ever. But I'm betting cafeteria pizza that has a thick and somewhat dry crust.

[Library Cat]

$56.27 Was it nasty? I'll bet it was nasty. Convention center food is terrible. Bartle Hall in KC ran off the street vendors from in front of the building with various regs. For the three dollars I spent on a watered down coke inside at the Home Show, I could have had a Brat, a bag of chips, a can of coke and had a dollar left over.

[Mountain Mama]

Let's see.....you're in Boston, at a convention center and they're forced you to use their catering......$80 per. Places like that can be evil.

[Chris]

I gotta go with $72

[Ding]

I'm going with $48. And I'm sure it was yummy!

[Jason]

I'm going with $4 per slice, or $96 per pie.

And in answer to 'toque's question, at big-city convention centers, they have friendly, helpful Teamsters who will volunteer to re-arrange your features if you bring in outside food, plug in your own extension cords, move your own chairs, etc.

Yooz gotta problem wit dat?

[Ol'Froth]

I'm going to say $56.00. No reason for that, just making up a number.

[Alice]

I'll say $36, just to bid low.

[deadlytoque]

I never would have imagined the Teamsters' influence would be so widespread! Pretty impressive from a bunch of guys whose Union was originally a guild for wagon-drivers.

I'm now curious to go to one of these convention centres and see if I can't push the limits a bit... sadly, most law-themed conventions that I've been to have been on University campuses, where most of the labour was made up of coerced student "volunteers" and maintenance staff who barely made minimum wage, and the others are all at swanky hotel ballrooms. I will have to have my own convention!

[yellojkt]

If it's more than $25, they are ripping you off. Which means it has to be a lot more.

[Cathy]

I just returned from vacation (ten days in Phoenix), so I probably missed the deadline. I have been at said Convention Center/Copley Place in Boston for a convention (last December), in which 6,000 people were in attendance (including the speakers, association staff, etc.). I would say the pizza is $25 per pie. I somehow think they would give some sort of discount for "mass production." Maybe I'm naiive and hoping they were carrying the Christmas spirit. I also think they will set up "troughs" to feed the masses. Why bother with plates and flatware...with that much pizza, it's a frenzied gorgefest anyway. :-)

[gunn lino]

Boston. Union controlled center. Boston, Big Dig, how much over budget? Unions, right! Falling cielings? What falling cielings? Unions, the saviour of the working man. Just so every "member" gets their share of the vig......lets go for the nice round figure of $49.99 per.