Montreal City Weblog

Kate 10:06 on 2023-09-17 Permalink Reply  

• steph 10:43 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  “to make a reservation you must pre-order and pay for an appetizer… please provide your credit card number merci and thank you 🙂 ”

  There’s always creative ways to skirt the law like places without bar permits that require you to “buy” food to also order alcohol, yet the kitchen is closed and you never get that 2$ hotdog.

• DeWolf 11:26 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  I haven’t noticed it in Montreal but a lot of restaurants in Quebec City charge a deposit through an online reservation platform. I suppose because it’s the online platform charging and not the restaurant itself, it skirts the law.

  @steph Now that restaurants can serve booze without food, it’s been awhile since I’ve thought of that. It was always disappointing when there was a crackdown and you actually did have to order and pay for the gross olives that had been sitting around forever.

• Meezly 11:40 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  Quite annoying the inconsiderate ones are making it hard on both restaurant workers and considerate customers.

  Most reservations are done online now and they almost always send text or email reminders. If you need to cancel, just click on the link and cancel – how hard can it be?

• Ephraim 11:47 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  To make a reservation, we require that you have a gift card. Do you have a gift card. Can we have the gift card number, please. You aren’t charging, there is no fee. You can use the gift card at any time. But will you have the guts to call a second time if you don’t show to use that gift card?

• MB 14:49 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  I hope people read this article with critical thinking skills. The only sources quoted are resto owners and the resto owners association.

  Are no-shows as significant an issue as portrayed, requiring a legal change? Are resto owners struggling financially in a way that requires special legal interventions for them and not others?

  You won’t see an opinion on these topics from resto workers, or their labour unions.

  For example, resto owners association could ask the government to widen and broaden what’s covered by RAMQ so that their members wouldn’t be on the hook as individual businesses to provide benefits.

  They could add their voice to calls for more and cheaper housing because if rents go down then the pressure on wages to rise will be that much more relieved.

  But they don’t do those things. And this PR piece for their association, far from the first one, certainly won’t ask those questions.

• azrhey 16:40 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  I don’t know how wide the problem is, but I know at least two people who who have said in my presence “I’ll just book a table at both restaurants, we can figure out later which one we want to go to”
  It annoyed me to no end and my McJudgy Face hasn’t socialized with them since.

• Meezly 18:00 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  I think if it’s a few two-tops, it’s not such a big deal. It’s really the large groups that can screw things up. I once had dinner at a lovely neighbourhood restaurant that no longer exists sadly. The server told us he just learned that a large party never showed up, which resulted in the restaurant being over-staffed on a week night. Maybe he mentioned it as a way to garner sympathy. Nevertheless, we had very attentive service that night and left a generous tip. But I could tell that no-show definitely messed up the staff, who ended up stuck with a slow shift and not earning the tips they were hoping for.

• carswell 18:44 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  I know several people in the business — front of house and back of house — only two of whom are owners (chef-owners actually). Almost all of them complain about this.

  These days the profit margin at most restaurants is razor thin and when tables that were supposed to be filled aren’t, it can be a blow, and that’s especially true for small places, of which the city has many, with a capacity of 20 or 30 diners.

  And it’s not just the missed receipts and tips that are the problem; staffing and food shopping are based on expected traffic and if the traffic doesn’t materialize, the employees still have to be paid and food, especially produce, often ends up being thrown out.

• Kate 19:42 on 2023-09-17 Permalink

  I don’t see how it would not be embittering if you turned people away from your restaurant on a busy night because some of your tables had been reserved, and then the people who made the reservations never showed.

  How can it be so hard to call a restaurant, say your plans have changed and you’ve got to cancel? Even if you did this at the last minute, the resto could at least offer the table to someone else.

• Ephraim 07:38 on 2023-09-18 Permalink

  @Kate – And yet, people don’t, because they have no skin in the game. Maybe some of these restaurants should keep track of the phone numbers and black list them. Maybe some should warn that if you are running late, you better call, because they will only hold the table for 5 minutes, otherwise. And maybe in other cases, only hold tables for those who want to voluntarily put down a deposit. You don’t have to, but if you aren’t on time, we give it away, because you have no skin in the game.