CASE STUDY "It's really tough to get lower prices from vendors, isn't it?" asked Jake, the chef and food buyer at Carmel Straits Restaurant. "Yes," replied Ilze, the restaurant's manager. "I think we've tried lots of things to reduce our prices. Maybe we should reduce our quality standards and then just shop around with different vendors to get the lowest price." "Well." Jake said, "you might be right. But quality is important, and I think we need to determine the quality of products that we need and then look for vendors that will give us the best price." 1. Who do you think has better ideas about reducing prices: Ilze or Jake? Why? 2. What are some things that the chef and manager can do to reduce the cost of food products without sacrificing quality? 117

CASE STUDY "It's really tough to get lower prices from vendors, isn't it?" asked Jake, the chef and food buyer at Carmel Straits Restaurant. "Yes," replied Ilze, the restaurant's manager. "I think we've tried lots of things to reduce our prices. Maybe we should reduce our quality standards and then just shop around with different vendors to get the lowest price." "Well," Jake said. "you might be right. But quality is important, and I think we need to determine the quality of products that we need and then look for vendors that will give us the best price." 1. Who do you think has better ideas about reducing prices: Ilze or Jake? Why? 2. What are some things that the chef and manager can do to reduce the cost of food products without sacrificing quality? 117