ABSTRACT
The case of Earl’s Family Restaurants involves two roles, each played from a different perspective. One is the regional sales manager for a foodservice manufacturing firm in the Midwestern US; the other is the chief buyer for a mid-size chain of restaurants, also in the Midwest. Exceptional Food Products, Inc. provides a full range of packaged goods to restaurants, clubs, schools, institutions and military installations throughout the country. The chief buyer for Earl’s Family Restaurants has called and asked to meet directly with the regional sales manager for Exceptional Food Products. The chief buyer for Earl’s Family Restaurants resides in Indianapolis and supervises purchasing for a 54-restaurant chain located throughout the Midwestern US The firm is publicly held, but the majority shareholder is Earl Tolliver, III, grandson of the company’s founder. From the chief buyer’s perspective, the problems are entirely about the relationship between the supplier and the restaurant chain, and are focused on deficiencies in service.
