When we go to Sylvain’s restaurant, located on Place Monge in Chambéry, and we ask him about the “no show”, he sighs right away. “It’s every week, especially on weekends”. the “no show”it is the fact of book a table but never come to sit down and order food. A practice that weakens the catering sector. A hundred restaurateurs had signed a forum last June to alert on this dishonest phenomenon.
“I had a table of eleven people planned a week ago”continues Sylvain. “They had booked for 8:30 p.m. and no one came. I tried to call but no answer. That’s how we deal with it”. However, according to the Chambériens crossed in the city center, no one admitted having failed a restaurateur. “Never”replies Véronique. “It’s not in our habits, you have to respect the restaurateurs”said Natalie. “And then even if it happens to cancel, because it happens, I always call to warn”finishes Vincent.
– Bastien Thomas
Net loss of turnover
“An empty table, on an evening where you have to refuse customers, is a loss of turnover”says Michel Naas, owner of another restaurant on Place Monge in Chambéry. “During these periods when we need numbers, when we have difficulty filling or accepting people, you can understand that it is very infuriating at the end of the evening”.
So to avoid unpleasant surprises, he takes a phone number at time of booking. “We try to call back customers to find out if they will be there or not”he continues. “There are also people who arrive early, late or many more than expected. You can’t put two people on the same chair. People have to understand how a restaurant works”.
Prepayment?
This is already a widespread practice. abroad or in certain gourmet restaurants French. “It’s not yet commonplace in France, but there are systems for reserving a table after prepayment. We’ll have to get there, people will have to understand”. “I often take the example of the train or the plane. If you have a ticket and you do not show up, you are not reimbursed”ends Michel Naas.