Hi everybody,
why are groups of customers such a PITA? I don't seem to be alone in thinking that, as quite a few restaurants in the US and the UK add a "discretionary charge" to a group's bill, although I don't understand what problem exactly is alleviated by doing so.
My main gripe with groups is their unreliability. I own a small destination restaurant in a rural setting, and apart from our normal customers who appreciate our country cuisine and high-welfare meats etc., we increasingly attract small groups of hikers (8-20 people) who pre-book weeks ahead. Invariably they cause problems in that they're hardly ever on time and always considerably fewer people than originally booked (and cheapskates to boot - they tend to order the cheapest meal on the menu plus a single drink). The restaurant only seats 30, so our (much-needed) turnover takes a serious dent if we reserve tables for those groups while at the same time having to turn further customers away who would most likely spend a lot more. On weekends we're usually booked out, yet almost every time we accept a group we end up with empty tables, because they can't be asked to tell us in advance that some of their fellow hikers have cancelled.
Furthermore, being a one-man kitchen, we plan our bookings with military precision to avoid getting slammed and keeping waiting times under control. More often than not, said groups of hikers don't turn up on time. Last night a group of ten arrived over an hour late, completely screwing our bookings and organisation of the evening service.
How do you guys deal with groups and no-shows? I hear that in the US restaurants take customers' credit card numbers over the phone and charge no-show fees. We clearly can't do that over here. How do you deal with partial no-shows? Do you accept groups at all? The risk of generating less turnover than needed is immense after all.
Thanks for your opinions!
Cheers,
Recky
why are groups of customers such a PITA? I don't seem to be alone in thinking that, as quite a few restaurants in the US and the UK add a "discretionary charge" to a group's bill, although I don't understand what problem exactly is alleviated by doing so.
My main gripe with groups is their unreliability. I own a small destination restaurant in a rural setting, and apart from our normal customers who appreciate our country cuisine and high-welfare meats etc., we increasingly attract small groups of hikers (8-20 people) who pre-book weeks ahead. Invariably they cause problems in that they're hardly ever on time and always considerably fewer people than originally booked (and cheapskates to boot - they tend to order the cheapest meal on the menu plus a single drink). The restaurant only seats 30, so our (much-needed) turnover takes a serious dent if we reserve tables for those groups while at the same time having to turn further customers away who would most likely spend a lot more. On weekends we're usually booked out, yet almost every time we accept a group we end up with empty tables, because they can't be asked to tell us in advance that some of their fellow hikers have cancelled.
Furthermore, being a one-man kitchen, we plan our bookings with military precision to avoid getting slammed and keeping waiting times under control. More often than not, said groups of hikers don't turn up on time. Last night a group of ten arrived over an hour late, completely screwing our bookings and organisation of the evening service.
How do you guys deal with groups and no-shows? I hear that in the US restaurants take customers' credit card numbers over the phone and charge no-show fees. We clearly can't do that over here. How do you deal with partial no-shows? Do you accept groups at all? The risk of generating less turnover than needed is immense after all.
Thanks for your opinions!
Cheers,
Recky