Restaurateurs tackle no-shows
UK restaurateurs say they may try a touch of applied psychology to reduce no-shows after a simple experiment in a US restaurant cut by two thirds the number of customers failing to honour their bookings.
According to the latest issue of the Scientific American magazine, Gordon Sinclair, owner of Chicago's landmark Gordon restaurant, slashed his no-show rate from 30% to 10% in 1998 by asking his receptionist to slightly adapt what she said to people ringing to make reservations.
Instead of saying, "Please call if you have to change your plans," she asked, "Will you please call if you have to change your plans" and then paused. This, said scientists, provoked a verbal commitment from customers that made them more likely to keep their word.
Bill McGuigan, owner of the 28-seat Bank restaurant in Crieff, Perthshire, said he would give the technique a go and see what happened.
McGuigan lost a quarter of a night's trade, worth £330, when a table of seven failed to show one New Year's Eve. He now demands a deposit for special nights, and says he has become more aggressive at pinning people down on their plans.
Giorgio Abis, manager at London's 55-seat Zafferano, also thought the Gordon's approach was worth a try.
Despite the fact that Zafferano has to turn people away each day and that it routinely calls customers on the day of their booking to confirm their plans, Abis said some still failed to honour their confirmation.
Shaun Hill, proprietor of the 24-seat Merchant House restaurant in Ludlow, Shropshire, said taking customers' phone and credit card numbers had a way of jogging their memories.
He believes most no-shows can be attributed to ignorance rather than malice, so restaurateurs need to make a "song and dance" about explaining to customers how important it is to call if they intend to cancel.
"We get quite ferocious after a big spate of no-shows," said Hill. "We are tough and harsh with nice people who are going to show up. Then we get lax, and it starts to happen again."
He added that he always phoned no-shows, who were usually astounded and thought he was rude to do so.
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