#102

Forgot it was Mother’s Day this weekend.

Last year we went out for a fancy meal. Ended up costing about £600 including booze and parking, etc. I only chipped in about £200, but still, fuck me. Was nice and everything, but Tory prices.

#103

I’d have thought this interpretation went without saying

1 Like
#104

How are you defining a restaurant?

#106

looks like deposits are back on the menu, boys!

5 Likes
#108

What if it’s served on a baking sheet?

#109

thank god i only eat off shards of riven slate and heavy oak chopping boards

3 Likes
#110

hahahaha derby still using the old plate method

5 Likes
#112

Surely it is unfair? The customer knew the rules when booking and then threw their toys out of the pram when the restaurant wasn’t willing to change the rules to suit their situation.

#113

AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE

#114

This is uber for restaurants innit. With slightly less worker exploitation. Last time I was in an uber the driver said he wasn’t going to pick up someone who was popping up on his app thing coz he had less than 80% positive feedback

#115

Ftfy.

#116

You shouldn’t be allowed to book tables in the first place, first come-first served innit. Planning for anything in advance is the most tory thing in the world.

3 Likes
#117

Hot take to table 2 please!

3 Likes
#118

Don’t like it. It isn’t the norm in the industry, so they are never going to win over a good chunk of people. Stuff happens, they still have a table they can fill - do they not get walk-ins? Can they work out some system where they won’t lose money if a few people don’t show up? If they “obsess” over service then they may have to concede they will get petty 1* reviews from people whose money has disappeared.

Disclaimer - it is OK for large groups I think, as that is a touch different. You’d expect to pay a deposit if you were hiring an entire place or booking a party. Not a table for 2.

2 Likes
#119

The customers, literally, couldn’t get to the restaurant because of the snow. If you’re a business that wants to have good reviews/customer service, you should apply the rules with a degree of common sense, surely?

#120

Agreed with this, the decadence of eating out requires spontaneity anyway

#121

also so many people get paid in cash
what about them eh

#123

never met a chef who wasn’t completely frightening

#124

haha you expected good food for £4? this isn’t that kind of place. hahahaha

#127

Not really in to the justification that non-refundable bookings are the norm in other sectors. If I buy a ticket to see a football match, gig or a film, I can sell that on or pass it to a friend so it doesn’t go to waste. Even train tickets etc get sold on eBay/Gumtree. There’s significantly less opportunity to do that with restaurant reservations.

And is there a reason that some restaurants seem to just book out the whole place with no/a minimal allowance for people just turning up? There’s been a few times I’ve tried to go into a place that was half-empty to be told it was fully booked, only to go past there 45 minutes later and see it still half-empty.

I have sympathy with them already paying for produce (if it’s cancelled with sufficient notice, just use it the next day?) and staff, like. It just seems as much a problem with a business model that seems focused solely on reservations.