Photo Credit: Patricia Lindsay, Oakland County Parks photographer
In an effort to provide enhanced customer service at 13 locations and host 1.6-million visitors annually, the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission completely revamped its model to provide food-and-beverage services for weddings, golf outings, family reunions, waterpark visits, and other events.
Since 1974, the parks system—based in Waterford, Mich.—relied upon a single provider to meet all of its food-and-beverage needs. E. A. Fuller Oak Management Corporation was responsible for lunch or dinner for golf outings, concessions at waterparks and campgrounds, limited vending, and high-end banquet services at multiple locations—the largest segment of the contract.
Creating The RFP
“One of our priorities is to mirror the parks system’s exceptional recreation experiences with a superior food-and-beverage service. Changes needed to be made to maintain the highest quality service for our patrons,” says Dan Stencil, executive officer for the parks system. “We weren’t unhappy with Oak Management, but staff realized greater efficiencies could be attained [by] breaking down the single contract into several smaller contracts to allow for more diversity in pricing, products, and services. This allowed vendors to concentrate on particular areas based on their expertise, and ultimately provide specialized service to our guests. The Request for Proposals (RFP) focused on concession operations, approved caterers, vending, and banquet services.”