Could table reservations be a thing of the past? One thing is for sure, customers who don’t keep their reservations are costing the restaurants dearly. The scourge, commonly referred to as a no-show, results in annual losses averaging nearly $50,000 for the facilities that face it.
Posted at 7:18pm
For a franchise restaurant, the amounts lost are estimated at around $62,000 while for an independent restaurant it would reach $43,000. Nearly 65.6% of restaurateurs say the number of tables left empty by customers asking them for a rabbit is increasing, according to results of a survey by Association Restoration Québec (ARQ).
Due to the scale of the plague, ARQ surveyed its members in January to estimate the financial loss from unfulfilled reservations. A first. These are the few data available on the subject, confirms Martin Vézina, ARQ vice-president for public and state affairs. La Presse was able to see the results of this survey entitled Le no show et l’industrie de la restoration.
Given this data, the association would like to have another argument to convince the government to allow restaurateurs to fine unruly customers. She questions herself in view of the continued existence of the classic reservation model.
“If the number of missed reservations continues to increase, it is highly likely that the number of restaurants accepting reservations will decrease,” according to ARQ Stats’ members-only bulletin. For example, establishments have decided to no longer welcome groups, while others are only taking reservations for tables of six or more guests.
The reservation model still applies. But yes, some establishments may be considering whether or not to continue taking reservations. We see more and more different models. It creates changes in the management of reservations.
mentions Martin Vézina in an interview
At the moment it is still possible for customers to reserve a table in 94% of establishments in Quebec. Of the refusers, 66.7% made this decision to avoid being confronted with no-show cases.
Change the rules of the game
For their part, unwilling to permanently close their reservation book, some restaurateurs have reexamined the rules of the game in the way they greet their customers. In Chambly, at La Cochonne Laughs restaurant, we say we are “cautious” with groups of 10 or more, manager Philippe Michaud admits.
“Very big groups, it’s very overwhelming,” he says. Often they arrive, they are more than expected or even less than expected. Sometimes they cancel at the last minute, sometimes they don’t show up. »
“Instead of pawning an entire evening with groups, we prefer to keep space for our regular customers. We really want to give them priority. We want to be sure that there is room for our regular customers who come to visit us every week. »
The Satay Brothers site, on Montreal’s Notre-Dame Street, only accepts reservations for groups of six or more. For smaller tables, we work on a first-come, first-served basis, explains co-owner Alex Winnicki.
“People are often late for their reservations,” he says. If we had to wait after two people made reservations every time we had tables open while people showed up at the door ready to eat during that time, it would be difficult to manage. »
“We like to keep a lot of tables open,” he says, calling it a “two-tier system.”
“I think everyone in the hospitality industry would like to revise the booking model a bit, especially to be able to protect themselves. However, reservations are still required. There are many restaurateurs who want to take reservations to ensure a minimum of customers. »
The ARQ shares the same view: reservations remain the best tool for managing staff and food. That is why she is committed to “creating a legal framework that allows the imposition of a contractual penalty if a customer does not show up for his reservation”. This penalty would be around $20. At the moment, the law does not allow restaurateurs to impose this type of penalty.
“What is forbidden must be determined in advance [par écrit ou verbalement] an amount that would be due if the customer failed to comply with the contract,” Charles Tanguay, spokesman for the Office for Consumer Protection (OPC), told La Presse a few months ago. “One of the legal principles underlying Article 13 is that no one should take the law into their own hands, that one cannot arbitrarily determine the amount of damage,” he adds.
Meetings between ARQ and OPC have been taking place since January. “The file is currently being examined, but there is a possibility to consider our solution, which could take the form of a law or a regulation,” says Martin Vézina. The latter claims that the file could be settled by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, restaurateurs are multiplying strategies to prevent customers from disappointing them. Some even go so far as to blacklist people known not to respect their reservations. Others, as in the case of the Les vilains Garçons restaurant, publicly denounced on Facebook that a customer failed to show up, the daily Le Droit reported in February. Some establishments require a credit card number and charge a fee if the customer does not show up. A practice that is illegal, however, at least for now.
” [Ce que l’on propose]it’s a simple solution that might avoid overflows,” argues Martin Vézina.
Reservations not considered
Some numbers
32.9%
Percentage of restaurateurs who frequently face the scourge
44.5%
Percentage of restaurateurs who are occasionally confronted with it
2.8%
Percentage of restaurateurs who are never confronted with no-shows
65.6%
Percentage of respondents who say the phenomenon is increasing
Weekly financial losses from unfulfilled reservations
Bar with food: $595
Restaurant in a hotel: $1150
Deductible: $1196
Independent Restaurant: $832
Overall average: $943
Source: Quebec Conservation Association