6.45pm at a 100-seater restaurant. Based on reservations, we were supposed to be full by now. But this is how it currently looks. 32 last minute cancellations. 1/3 of our night’s revenue gone. And not much likelihood to fill these seats with walk-ins after having told people over the past week that we’re fully booked.
It’s not just today. It’s every week that this happens. All these wasted seats, all the wasted food, and all the over-rostered staff. All this wasted effort and money.
Starting next month, we’re taking deposits for all group bookings over 10 pax. If that pisses you off, too bad. We gotta eat. The 2 groups (12 and 20 pax) that cancelled last minute tonight just caused us a financial loss. And I don’t think they’d even care if they knew.
A reservation is a 2-way promise. We hold your seats for you, turning away others when we are full; and you make it a point to come as you’ve promised. Especially if you’ve made a large group booking. How hard is that to comprehend? We’ve been holding up our end of the deal for 8 years. And if you still can’t honour your end of it, then don’t mind if we have to take deposits or pre-payments to prevent you from playing us time and again.
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