agers obtain and use feedback to improve Case Studies The Typographical Error Jessica Alexander smiles as she walks out of the Hotel Granada's catering office. "This is going to be a great banquet," she muses. Jessica has just finished meeting with Whitney Casir, the catering manager of the hotel. Jessica is the social chair for the Senior League, a women's volunteer organiza- tion that takes on various community projects. She has just completed arrangements for the group's annual recognition banquet. This is the second year she has been in charge of arrangements and she was so pleased with the results of the evening last year that she made it a point to return to the Hotel Granada. "The 400 women who will be attending will surely like what we're doing this year," she thinks. Whitney Casir prepares the banquet event order (BEO) based on her conver- sation with Jessica. An undiscovered error creeps into the BEO. Instead of insert- ing 400 on the number-of-guests line, the number 300 is inserted. Inexplicably, this typographical error is not noticed by anyone right up to the start of the opening reception. Jessica didn't pay any attention to the confirmation she received, "because the hotel did such a good job last year." All the purchas- ing, flower centerpiece counts, linen supply, and related items were based on the incorrect count of 300. When Jessica enters the hotel's ballroom thirty minutes before the doors open, she thinks, "This setup looks small." So she takes a count. There is a head table for ten, and 31 rounds with ten seats at each table for a total of 320. (The hotel has an overset policy of setting 5 percent or so more than the guarantee, to provide for last-minute emergencies.) 468 Chapter 13 Jessica spots Whitney across the room. "Whitney! Whitney!" she nearly screams. "Why are there only 320 seats? We have 400 women in the foyer." Whit- ney checks the BEO and it says 300. "What are we going to do? What are we going to do, Whitney?" Jessica asks, near tears. ne Whitney realizes she has to move quickly. She needs to check with house- keeping and the kitchen right away. Discussion Question 1. If you were Whitney Casir, what would you do? This case was taken from William P. Fisher, Case Studies in Food Service Management: Business Perspectives, Second Edition (Lansing, Mich.: American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute, 2008).