credit card guarantees

[NulloModo]

While we're busy heaping scorn on the consumer, (hey! That's me!) we should also address the restaurant equivilent of no-shows, the unhonoured reservation, ie. just take a seat at the bar and your table will be ready soon.

Last year it happened to me twice, once at Cru and once at the Lumiere tasting bar. Giving me a complimentary cocktail isn't good enough.

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That is true, and if a restaurant is going to go with the CC requirement (which I think is fair, although how much to charge exactly can become an issue) then the restaurant has to be willing to back it up the same way. Basically, if a diner arrives on time and the table isn't ready, the meal should be comped, end of story (well, perhaps not alcohol as that could lead to some rather interesting tabs). But still, if I book a flight and get bumped, I fully expect, and have always received, a free flight out of it, restaurants should be no different.

[nwyles]

It is a very delicate subject.

If the guest is on time but the table prior is still on free refills of hot water and lemon and laughing it up, it is hard to handle. You need to loosen up the bookings to allow for some variations if you insist on CC. I do not think a 24 hour notice cancellation should be penalized as the restaurant has time to rebook. An out and out no show should pay the price. I recall a party in Ontario, Canada failed to show for an Xmas booking, The restaurant charged them full price. The party ( A Toronto Dominion Bank if I recall ) refused to pay. The restaurant sued and won.

What to do ?

This as I just called a party of 8 that has no showed tonight.

[plunk]

When is a last minute cancellation considered to be too late? I had a reservation for New Year's Eve one year and my spouse came down with a migraine a few hours beforehand. I called the restaurant to cancel and got a lecture. Is that considered to be a last minute situation? Isn't calling still preferable to being a no show?

[nwyles]

When is a last minute cancellation considered to be too late? I had a reservation for New Year's Eve one year and my spouse came down with a migraine a few hours beforehand. I called the restaurant to cancel and got a lecture.  Is that considered to be a last minute situation? Isn't calling still preferable to being a no show?

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It certainly is. It at least gives the restaurant an fighting chance to fill the spot. As to the exect amount of time - hard to say, depends.

A last minute cancelation on a cold miserable Monday night is really no big deal. A last minute cancelation on Valentines Day is a bit of a pain.

[Toliver]

...A last minute cancelation on a cold miserable Monday night is really no big deal. A last minute cancelation on Valentines Day is a bit of a pain.

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I don't follow the logic. There will be a line out the door on Valentine's Day (New Year's Eve, etc) full of people who didn't make resevrations (been there, seen that) so if I get a cancellation I'm gonna do a happy dance because I can seat someone now instead of in an hour or two.

But if it's a cold miserable Monday night, how likely is it that there will be someone waiting for a table? If I get a cancellation on a slow night, I think it would be a bigger deal since I'd be counting on that income from that table because I'm not turning people away. On holidays and crowded nights, anyone I'm not seating is money walking out the door so give me your table if you're not using your reservation.

[nwyles]

...A last minute cancelation on a cold miserable Monday night is really no big deal. A last minute cancelation on Valentines Day is a bit of a pain.

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I don't follow the logic. There will be a line out the door on Valentine's Day (New Year's Eve, etc) full of people who didn't make resevrations (been there, seen that) so if I get a cancellation I'm gonna do a happy dance because I can seat someone now instead of in an hour or two.

But if it's a cold miserable Monday night, how likely is it that there will be someone waiting for a table? If I get a cancellation on a slow night, I think it would be a bigger deal since I'd be counting on that income from that table because I'm not turning people away. On holidays and crowded nights, anyone I'm not seating is money walking out the door so give me your table if you're not using your reservation.

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Sorry , speaking for only myself , Valentines Day is all reservations, a no show means nobody at the table. Having a cancellation on a rainy Monday is a loss in revenue, but I did not turn people away or stop taking reservations that evening because we were fully booked. Something like Valentines Day , you have turn down about 50 reservations, so when someone cancels at the last minute you are probably not going to refill.

[pam claughton]

I'm curious, those of you that feel so strongly about having your reservation available at the reserved time. Why do you suppose it is unavailable? Restaurants book according to average turn time for a table. All it takes it one table that decides to dine in a more leisurely manner, to mess up your reservation. So, what is the solution? Would you want a restaurant to kick the party out? Since I've worked in the industry, I know that things don't always go according to plan, and I'd be happy with a complimentary drink, as long as the wait wasn't too excessive.

[Keith Talent]

I'm curious, those of you that feel so strongly about having your reservation available at the reserved time. 

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I feel strongly about my reservation being held for me due the the very fact that it's a reservation. Just as I the consumer have an obligation to turn up on time, the restaurant has an obligation to ensure tables are booked in such a fashion that delays are minimized if not non-existant. If my table is unavailable due to unforseen circumstances, too bad for the restauranteur, his profit margin on my meal will be non-existant.

You can't have a contract (the reservation) that only puts obligations on one party, both participants must bear some risk, that's why I have no problem with being charged on my CC for a missed reservation.

Anyway, this whole topic would be moot if people conducted themselves like mature adults, instead of self absorbed babies.

[NulloModo]

I'm curious, those of you that feel so strongly about having your reservation available at the reserved time.  Why do you suppose it is unavailable?  Restaurants book according to average turn time for a table.  All it takes it one table that decides to dine in a more leisurely manner, to mess up your reservation.  So, what is the solution? Would you want a restaurant to kick the party out?  Since I've worked in the industry, I know that things don't always go according to plan, and I'd be happy with a complimentary drink, as long as the wait wasn't too excessive.

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To reprise my earlier analogy, airlines and certain restaurants book with the same goal in mind: to maximize profit while incurring 'acceptable' customer service issues. If customer service was the first priority then planes would never be overbooked and restaurants would leave enough of a buffer than even the most leisurely table wouldn't overlap onto another reservation.

When this practice impinges upon the experience of other customers the institution should hold itself financially liable for the situation, and the customer who is put out should not have to pay for an experience that was lessened due to the money-grubbing nature of that institution. If I was treated very well and comped a ticket or meal, I would not hesitate to return to said airline or restaurant. If I am given a brush off or a paltry offering, I will see where this particular institutions priorities are set, and I will not give them any of my business in the future.

[pam claughton]

I'm curious, those of you that feel so strongly about having your reservation available at the reserved time.  Why do you suppose it is unavailable?  Restaurants book according to average turn time for a table.  All it takes it one table that decides to dine in a more leisurely manner, to mess up your reservation.  So, what is the solution? Would you want a restaurant to kick the party out?  Since I've worked in the industry, I know that things don't always go according to plan, and I'd be happy with a complimentary drink, as long as the wait wasn't too excessive.

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To reprise my earlier analogy, airlines and certain restaurants book with the same goal in mind: to maximize profit while incurring 'acceptable' customer service issues. If customer service was the first priority then planes would never be overbooked and restaurants would leave enough of a buffer than even the most leisurely table wouldn't overlap onto another reservation.

When this practice impinges upon the experience of other customers the institution should hold itself financially liable for the situation, and the customer who is put out should not have to pay for an experience that was lessened due to the money-grubbing nature of that institution. If I was treated very well and comped a ticket or meal, I would not hesitate to return to said airline or restaurant. If I am given a brush off or a paltry offering, I will see where this particular institutions priorities are set, and I will not give them any of my business in the future.

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I read somewhere that in many areas of Europe, when you come to the restaurant and are given a table it is yours for the evening. There are no more reservations.

[Taboni]

I read somewhere that in many areas of Europe, when you come to the restaurant and are given a table it is yours for the evening. There are no more reservations.

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I am not sure where you are referring to, but when I lived in England (1990-98) I was introduced rather succinctly to the concept of a "timed reservation" After approximately 2 hours at a table we were asked to leave. The first time I ran into this concept I was livid, but it seems that it has become quite normal. In all defense, when calling for the reservation, one is informed that say for a 7 pm table they will need the table back by 9. Some places handle this with more grace than others (eg give me a table in the bar area if one exists to enjoy after dinner drinks and coffee) while some merely bring you the bill and remind you that they told you in advance of their policy.

I have no problem leaving a credit card and being charged if necessary if I renege on my end of the contract, but I also expect a reserved table to be available within a reasonable amount of time with respect to the time agreed upon. I understand the whole overbooking concept, but unless the restaurant industry is willing to compensate those who are unreasonably delayed as the airline industry does, they can't consider that excuse a reasonable explanation to the problem.

[Shelley G.]

We take credit card numbers for our afternoon teas, which are finicky and require special shopping trips. If someone calls to cancel the day before, there is no charge. If they don't show, or call at the last minute, I charge the credit card, and send out a gift certificate in that amount. If people have booked afternoon tea for 8, and 6 show up, they must pay for 8, but we package the goodies up to take home, or issue a gift certificate for the equivalent amount of the 2 afternoon teas. I really had to do something to protect myself, while trying to be flexible. It has worked very well, and cancellations and no shows are extremely rare.