Pimp My Food Truck

Sometimes I get crazy ideas.

I have a client in Atlanta who's very intent to have the hottest food truck in that metro area. I wrote her business plan early this year and have helped her research and negotiate a brick and morter restaurant to partner with, per Atlanta's code.

Over the last four months we've been negotiating to get the truck. We finally, about three months ago, settled on a food truck manufacturer. Good to go, let's get started and here's a $5,000 deposit. The manufacturer stated the cost would be $80,000. 

Just after the client put down the deposit, we decided to ask for a line item breakdown of the major components. Meanwhile, the manufacturer said they'd lined up a truck and that my client needed to approve it. We sent a mechanic over, who returned to us a street value of $12,000. Then we continued to ask for the major item line item breakdown.

This stretched on for over two and half months. The manufacturer repeatedly stated, while taking a few long vacations, that they did not provide breakdowns.

Last week, we'd had enough.

Let me ask you this.. how long would you as a project manager have dealt with this level of recalitrance?

And here's the crazy idea...

Late Friday afternoon, I pitched the client, in a Facebook chat. 

What if we do this? What if we go buy a used truck and on a Monday morning in August, you drop it off at a custom vehicle shop for three days? Then over the next three days, you and your crew go get trained at the restaurant on their menu? At the end of day three, you pick up your pimped out food truck.. In the morning of day four, you and your crew take the new truck to the restaurant, load it up and do a soft-open to the restaurant staff at noon. Then, at 5pm, you open for business on a strategic street corner.

 

Chalkboarder (my company) will come down and be logistical help and we'll produce Pimp My Food Truck on Youtube for you - getting social media attention to not only your truck, but also to the restaurant and to the custom vehicle shop.. Whaddya think?

She loves it. Stay tuned.