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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Restaurant demanding table back?

149 replies

Wildflower123 · 03/01/2020 16:28

Came over and (we’d only just finished our food and were still enjoying the rest of our bottle of wine) and said we need this table back in 5 minutes.

There was no prior warning given at any point. Sing to think this is bad service?

OP posts:

Nicknacky · 03/01/2020 17:02

I was in a restaurant last week that said this, they gave us a booth to sit at and we were both polite about it. Was no big deal and no point hogging a table when there was somewhere else to sit and have our drinks.

Did they offer anywhere?

BlueCornsihPixie · 03/01/2020 17:02

I also think even if you has been sat there for hours, I would expect them to come over and give say 15 minutes notice. Not 5. It's rude, crappy service.

Original poster

Wildflower123 · 03/01/2020 17:03

We didn’t book, we just went in and they seated us.

Wouldn’t bother me if I’d had prior warning.

I’m not sure of the exact time, less than 2 hours though.

We also ordered off the dinner menu.

OP posts:

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 03/01/2020 17:03

I don’t mind if they are upfront when booking and speedy with service. I mind very much when they spring it on you as a surprise. Last time I booked a restaurant and they needed the table back for a later reservation, they were really friendly and polite about it, we actually arrived a bit early, and they made sure to be prompt with everything. We were so happy with them that we went back the next week. In another restaurant with colleagues, they sprang it on us rather rudely as a surprise which we were not at all happy about. Unfortunately for them the regional manager was with us and they received no future business from our firm.

Redyoyo · 03/01/2020 17:07

If you never booked then you can't moan really especially at this time of year.

Topseyt · 03/01/2020 17:07

How long had you been sitting there? If you had been there for over two hours and were showing no signs of moving then maybe they had a point, providing that they had been prompt with their service after your arrival. If they weren't prompt and service was slow then that would be their own problem.

They may have had a further reservation on the table due in soon. They should, perhaps, have given you a bit more notice.

StillCoughingandLaughing · 03/01/2020 17:09

If they say ‘The table’s booked from 8 so we’ll need it back by ten to’, it’s fine. You then have the choice to decide you’ll be finished by then or to go elsewhere. If they give you a table and pop up at five to eight telling you that they need it back and you have to go, not fine. It isn’t your problem that they can’t organise themselves properly.

IHaveBrilloHair · 03/01/2020 17:09

I'd leave an honest review on Trip Advisor.

sirmione16 · 03/01/2020 17:12

As a restaurant manager in multiple companies, I would never ask a table to leave without giving them prior notice. Either it would be in your booking conditions, or made clear as you entered that the table was booked out again in such a time. Very rude and unprofessional to simply ask someone to leave off guard like that. Yes restaurants do rely on the turnover of tables however it's not proper etiquette in the way they asked you.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 03/01/2020 17:13

Yes, I would expect to be told on arrival whether I'd booked or not. Absolutely don't mind especially if booking at a busy time or managing to get a table without booking. We would most likely go straight to mains rather than starters for example, so we weren't rushed.

MissConductUS · 03/01/2020 17:13

I once had lunch at an inexpensive Chinese restaurant in NYC with some friends from work. A few minutes after we'd paid the proprietor came over and said very matter of factly "You leave now.".

We all burst out laughing, then left.

StillCoughingandLaughing · 03/01/2020 17:15

How long had you been sitting there?

Not relevant if they hadn’t said from the start ‘We need the table back by X time’. It’s not the customer’s role to organise the restaurant’s schedule.

TheTurnOfTheScrew · 03/01/2020 17:16

you should be advised when booking/taking your seats, and the service should be immaculate - prompt, but not so much you feel rushed at any point.

Intensicle · 03/01/2020 17:17

If you took 90 minutes for one course and were showing no signs of moving then I can understand it. If you had 3 courses and had barely finished your food it was OTT. Do they have a bar area? We’re they asking you to move there rather than drink up?

MustardScreams · 03/01/2020 17:17

It’s normal, you’re a walk-in. They should have mentioned it to you when they say you, but maybe the waiter was new and didn’t understand the table needed to be turned.

BaolFan · 03/01/2020 17:18

We frequently eat in a restaurant where a condition of service is that the table is only available for 90 minutes. The place is very popular and quite small. Service is very good (and quick) so I don't mind the time limit.

It does piss me off if I've gone somewhere and the service is really slow. I've only ever had to argue once in quite a fancy restaurant, when we got to a 90 minute limit and our main courses still hadn't turned up! Asked the manager what they thought we should do - leave without eating what we'd ordered, or sit on the floor next to the table to let the next diners on and share our experience with them? We were left to eat in peace when the food eventually turned up, and showed willing by not ordering coffee or dessert. The 'discretionary' 12.5% service charge got removed after I asked them if they though it was appropriate for me to tip. We didn't go back...

olivertwistwantsmore · 03/01/2020 17:21

Less than two hours and you were still drinking wine?? YANBU at all. Restaurant staff shuold have asked when you booked if you were ok with giving up the table at a certain time. Poor service.

TheReluctantCountess · 03/01/2020 17:25

Have they got a bar area you can move to, in order to finish your wine?

JosefKeller · 03/01/2020 17:28

If you never booked then you can't moan really especially at this time of year.

as long as the restaurant was happy to give you a table, you are not a second-class citizen but a client just as anyone with a previous booking.

It's just rude to tell people to leave in 5 minutes!

starfishmummy · 03/01/2020 17:37

Happened to us, we certainly weren't lingering long after we had finished - in fact we were waiting for the dessert and coffees we had ordered about two minutes before a different member of staff came up and asked us to vacate!

We had no idea they wanted a speedy turnaround.

teenagetrainer · 03/01/2020 17:41

Hi if you booked online it’s usually in the terms and conditions. It’s usually fine but one popular restaurant near us often says you can have a table for just an hour! We don’t bother with that as it’s too stressful

Ghoulestofmums · 03/01/2020 17:46

We once booked a table in a restaurant. No indication they needed the table,back,at any particular time. After an hour, when we had just finished our mains the waiter asked us to have dessert in the bar s the table was needed! Needless to say, we didn’t stay and will never go there again

NoSauce · 03/01/2020 17:48

At busy periods a popular restaurant we go to will tell you that they need the table back after a certain amount of time. Usually 2.5 hours. That’s fine by us.

OP they should have let you know this when you first arrived.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 03/01/2020 17:50

We didn’t book, we just went in and they seated us

Same thing applies: if they needed the table back for a certain time you should have been told, so you could deceide if it was going to be the right choice for you or not

Bluebutterfly90 · 03/01/2020 17:53

Did you have a lot of people with you?
If it was a big party they may have had a prior booking for the table you were sat at.

It's not good service either way, but I think they probably had a reason.

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