the managers are stepping up to the plate in the face of the increase in non-honored reservations

The reservation book of Julien Damide, restaurateur “Au Bistronome” in Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais), is full. He now hopes that customers will be there, which is far from always the case. July 2 was a black day for the establishment: a reservation not held for ten people, without the slightest phone call and without being reachable for the evening. “That night, we still have another table of four, and another table of two people who didn’t come.“, laments the restaurateur.

From now on, Julien asks for a bank imprint for tables of more than four people. It will charge between 10 and 15 euros per cover in the event of a reservation not being honored. What compensate for his shortfall: on July 2, he lost 1,000 euros.

On the customer side, the approach is fairly well understood, even if the bank footprint frightens some. “J‘believes that anyone who makes a reservation, which he cannot honor, must notify the restaurateur. That’s normal“, says a customer. At Grégory Bluszcz, restaurateur at “Claire’Marais”, rabbits are also common. “I leave 15 minutes of delay. (…) I call back after 15 minutes, and if no one answers me, the table is vacant again“, he explains.