Charge customers who book but don't turn up
Very few treats or tragedies to report this month. The restaurant still fills but there has been a rash of no-shows and late cancellations once again. These gaps in our trade at times when we should be full are a real nuisance.
It amused me to read the press coverage of prominent restaurants such as Marco Pierre White's and those in the Conran chain, which have introduced a policy of taking credit card numbers, especially from large parties, and charging a cancellation fee to those that do not make an appearance. They are quite right, and help the rest of us by penalising those who make a habit of this.
The reaction from radio and newspapers has been strangely hostile. This is all the more perverse when coming from restaurant and food journalists who should know better. For the benefit of any journalists reading this article who do not understand, let me explain.
If my restaurant is half full, or even if it is full but we have not turned anyone away, there is no loss and no problem for anyone if clients who have booked don't turn up.
Empty tables
But if we have turned customers away there is a loss. We have empty tables when we should - and could - have filled them, and we have disappointed people who actually wanted to eat with us. I may still have the raw materials in the fridge to use again, but the overheads remain the same. The viability of a restaurant such as ours depends on being full most of the time.
It isn't the unforeseeable disaster - illness or the like - which grates, it's the lack of consideration. Last week we had a call from a couple in Plymouth, 150 miles away, at 7pm to say that they would not, after all, be needing their table at 7.30pm as they were unwell. Even the most sympathetic person might wonder why a little more notice wasn't possible and whether a cancellation charge might have prompted an earlier message. Those who do not even bother with this courtesy deserve no sympathy at all.
On a more pleasant note, we have a bit more competition looming on the horizon. The Bradleys, who ran the top-rated Mr Underhill restaurant in Suffolk - Michelin star and 4/5 in the GFG - are transferring their skills to sunny Ludlow. This will be good for us and for The Oaks, which is Ludlow's other ambitious restaurant.
While icy, midweek February evenings may find all three of us competing for the same half-dozen local punters celebrating their birthday or anniversary, I think the greater choice will make the area more of an attraction for everyone in the good grub market.
Anja and I hope the Bradleys' opening hours will be different from ours so we will have another good restaurant to eat in. At least you may be sure we will turn up.
Next diary from Shaun Hill will be on 1 January
