Restaurant cancellation policies.

[Mjx]

Agree with much of what you wrote, Phil. FWIW, this summer when a close family member had extraordinary health issues (ICU, etc.), we needed to cancel a trip to France and all reservations for food and lodging. First class airline forfeitures were in the thousands per person, restaurants zero, lodging $300. for one sticky country inn. Life happens.

That's a shame, I would have expected travel insurance to pick that up.

Of course, travel insurance isn't going to help when you have to cancel/reschedule a reservation in your home town because you're stuck in casualty waiting for the report on the x-ray of your arm, but I'm hoping that, at least when faced with concrete evidence of a legitimate reason for cancelling, most restaurants are reasonable.

I've often wondered about this, in fact: What is the usual policy, when someone can't make it owing to accident/violent illness/etc, and provides incontrovertible proof of it?

[Sidney]

A large percentage of people are selfish and thoughtless with everybody including family.When I ran a shop making conversation with customers I would often ask if their childen where coming for a special occasion only to be told "Not if they get a better offer".Restaurant bookings the same,the only way is to hit them in the pocket hard.We used to be a country where a handshake or promise was a bond.Now unfortunately a large proportion of people in the UK are bullshitters.

[Paul Kierstead]

My gut feeling is that any restaurant that requires more then 24 hours for cancellation notice for groups of 4 or less people doesn't need reservations. I think it is unreasonable. For any restaurant that is busy enough to need reservations, they should be able to fill in small groups in 24 hours. There may be the odd exception, but it should be very rare. And the Fat Duck? Seriously? They take (and have) a waiting list! I'd be they could fill a vacancy in 5 minutes.

[Edward J]

I see.....

Well, If all wishes came true, then you would be managing a cute little 50 seater Italian place. I'm not talking about the 1% of the really top dining places, but the kind of places that charge a decent $30-$40 per meal.

One of the hardest things in the world is getting customer's rear-ends into your dining room chairs. And most reservations are usually made a good 3 days to a week in advance.

[Paul Kierstead]

"Most", sure. But are you telling me that a place can sell out 3+ days in advance, but can't fill in a small percentage of tables in the last 24 hours? For the majority of cases, I find that hard to believe.

No-shows I think are a whole different ballgame. Your only hope is a walk-in. Now I've managed to get into quite a few restaurants even after calling them and being told they were fully booked, but obviously they had no-shows and I have the utmost sympathy for that.

If a restaurant insists on 3 days of warning, I'd suggest they should be selling tickets, refundable against the meal, so at least you can re-sell/scalp the tickets.

[PhilD]

No-shows I think are a whole different ballgame. Your only hope is a walk-in. Now I've managed to get into quite a few restaurants even after calling them and being told they were fully booked, but obviously they had no-shows and I have the utmost sympathy for that.

But Paul isn't this the real issue. People who are polite enough to call and cancel with notice re fine, it is the very last minute cancellations or the no-shows that are the big issue that make deposits/credit cards sensible.

Obviously the cancellation window depends on a restaurants situation. I have been waitlisted a few times and called a few hours before service and rarely can I change my plans at short notice. I often have other reservations and so am reluctant to let others down. So whilst the theory that a Heavily booked place can fill cancellations easily the reality may be different.

[prasantrin]

What about all the people who don't show for a doctor/dentist visit. Should they be charged? I'd wager its a larger number than the resto no-show rate.

Cost of doing business.

In my part of the world (Canada), dentists do charge for no shows. I would bet doctors do, as well, but they don't charge the patient directly since doctors are paid through whatever provincial medical insurance you're a part of.

I was once charged for a missed dentist's appointment. I showed up, but an hour late (I got the time wrong). I didn't mind paying, but the attitude of the receptionist pissed me off so much that I never went back to that dentist, and I had been his patient for close to 10 years.

And I would wager that restaurant no-show rates are much, much higher than missed doctor/dentist appointments. Much. Most people have some respect for those professions, but little, if any, for owners of restaurants much less general staff.

[Harters]

I have no problem with this. Business is business. When I was last at Fraiche, Marc was telling how much no shows cost him until he introduced the penalty charge. Gobsmacking effect on a small business.

Looking at another service industry, if I book a chain hotel, I can often get a much cheaper deal by paying their "no refund" price, rather than their price which permits cancellation.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

What about all the people who don't show for a doctor/dentist visit. Should they be charged? I'd wager its a larger number than the resto no-show rate.

Cost of doing business.

In my part of the world (Canada), dentists do charge for no shows. I would bet doctors do, as well, but they don't charge the patient directly since doctors are paid through whatever provincial medical insurance you're a part of.

I was once charged for a missed dentist's appointment. I showed up, but an hour late (I got the time wrong). I didn't mind paying, but the attitude of the receptionist pissed me off so much that I never went back to that dentist, and I had been his patient for close to 10 years.

And I would wager that restaurant no-show rates are much, much higher than missed doctor/dentist appointments. Much. Most people have some respect for those professions, but little, if any, for owners of restaurants much less general staff.

My hairdresser charges the full amount of the service that would have been performed during the appointment. All she has to sell is her time. I make an appointment and then plan my life accordingly.