[Rail Paul]

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article by Michael Bauer which looks at how restaurants are handling no show reservations. For some big nights, it's become a huge problem. Credit card deposits are looking increasingly likely in some places.

Option 1 - take a credit card, and charge it with a deposit big enough to assure the diner shows up on time.

Option 2 - overbook, and sort out the tables at the reservations desk, knowing that 60 and 90 minute waits are likely. This is the current preferred treatment in many places

Option 3 - book a limited number of tables, and leave the rest open for walk-in traffic

Our New Year's eve dinner was quite successful - we did 250. The problem was the 40 no-shows. We don't take credit card numbers because we don't want to offend or scare anyone away - I guess I still believe that a reservation is an oral contract. We open up all slots on OpenTable, which is how most reservations come in these days. We call a day or two ahead to confirm and frequently get the, "now which restaurant is this" from people who made multiple bookings so they could decide at the last minute where to go. The problem is that people who want to come can't get a spot.

Our only solutions to this behavior are to take credit cards or overbook by 10-20% assuming people will no-show, come late, or change party size. We could have a waiting list, but most people want to get a sure thing for a busy night like Thanksgiving, New Year's or Valentine's Day.

We're a big house, so we can be (and are) more flexible, but I can't imagine the 40 seat dining room that winds up with an empty 6 top because of a no-call/no show or last minute cancellation and has no way to fill the seats.

So I guess my question is, from your perspective, is it better for us to become like airlines or hotels (who both overbook and charge you anyway), continue to be at the whim of ill-mannered, would-be diners, and practice old school hospitality at our own expense, or is there a third way?

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mbauer...3#ixzz0c4WhEKHU

So, does a credit card deposit mean I get my table within an hour of the agreed on, and paid for, time?

So, is my table ready?

[The Scream]

In this economy? Good luck. Also, I call bullshit. If your fucking business model/finances don't make allowances for not being booked every single hour of peak dining times, you're a moron in need of a reality check. I can see why this is more problematic for very small high-end restaurants and can sympathize more in these cases. Holidays or special events are something that customers might be more likely to go for. Depending on the market they might feel like they have to agree to a deposit in order to lock in a reservation.

As a frequent (probably too frequent, at this point) diner at Boulevard, I expected her to simply say "there is a $50 deposit, how shall I take that deposit"

$50 seems excessive considering their menu prices. I just checked their website and I'd probably have to order an appetizer, main, dessert and quite a bit of wine for them to net that much profit from a diner.

[The Scream]

I've worked in restaurants, you really don't want to give out your credit card number to just any employee over the phone. Sending it by email seems just as stupid.

[Daniel]

I always change the last three digits of my credit card when giving them to a restaurant.

[Suzanne F]

This may seem odd coming from me, but I side with the restaurateurs who want to take a credit card number and then charge the account something if the party is a no-show.* Maybe that will teach the rude customers some manners. And quite frankly, if it were my place and someone pulled a stunt like Daniel says he does (btw, I think it might be possible to get almost instantaneous confirmation of the account number, so I kind of doubt him) and was a no-show, I'd seriously consider denying him any reservation in the future; he might call foul on me, but then he's trying to screw me so we're even.

So much depends on having a good idea of the number of covers you might do at any given service. How many staff will you need? How much product will you need to prep? You've got to come in very close, without under- or overstaffing and without wasting product. Margins are thinner than ever. Sure, you can keep stats on your own that help make predictions, but a solid reservation base is a good start.

If you were expecting to do 290 covers but only did 250, you just lost 14% income while still incurring close to 100% expenses. And maybe you can't make it all up on walk-ins because people expect not to be able to get in without a reservation and so won't even try. This is especially possible on a "big occasion" night when customers are not so willing to take a chance on getting in. In that case, why not charge the no-shows the difference? You should know your average check; the math is not that difficult.

*Only charge the account if the party is a complete no-show, though. I still seethe over Per Se charging $150 because only three of our reserved party of four came. Esp. after we three spent over a grand on lunch. But I still have no problem giving a card number to a reservationist; for one thing, I'd never do it over a cell phone, and for another, if I can't trust that restaurant's staff, I'm not so sure I would want to be a customer there anyway.

It seems to me that Open Table will not allow for multiple reservations in the same time slot. Maybe it does if the person making the reservation does it for others, but iirc, I've not been able to as an individual. Of course, there's nothing to prevent anyone from making multiples by phone.

[Sneakeater]

I have to agree with Suzanne on this.

[Suzanne F]

You say that as if it were a bad thing.

[Sneakeater]

Oh no: a pleasure.

[Daniel]

And quite frankly, if it were my place and someone pulled a stunt like Daniel says he does (btw, I think it might be possible to get almost instantaneous confirmation of the account number, so I kind of doubt him)

I do it all the time.. I have only once been told by the reservationist that the number didnt go through.. I did not make the reservation though. I certainly give them the right to do whatever they want. My circumstance was that I was at a hotel in Vegas and I was making the reservation for 30 minutes in the future.. I felt it ridiculous that they would take my card under those circumstances.. We showed up and the we got the table anyway.

[Rail Paul]

I'm not sure how the procedures work for taking credit card deposits today. In the past, MC and V would treat a deposit as a sale, and make you contest it if you blew off the reservation. I remember being charged $20, and later fighting it when I was told my reservation would be delayed an hour. We went elsewhere.

AmEx rejects the charge if the customer complains.

I don't what the current rules are, these experiences are a decade old.

It seems to me that if the restaurant wants to charge you for making a reservation, they've entered into an agreement / contract to deliver you a table at the agreed upon time.