For being annoyed at restaurant for giving our table away?

[diamondsareforever5]

Had a Father's Day meal booked for 4:30 at a restaurant today. Miraculously managed to get the kids out the house with plenty of time to get there (restaurant is 20 mins away and left at 3:45). Satnav said we would arrive just after 5 past.

Around 10 minutes into the journey, we got stuck in grid lock traffic. By the time we started moving, the satnav was now saying we wouldn't get to the restaurant until 4:40. I called the restaurant to let them know we would be 10 minutes late.

We finally got to the car park at around 4:42. I rang the restaurant again, as they have a 15 minute grace period, so I was aware that we only had 3 minutes to get to the restaurant and the car park was around a 5 minute walk away. Whoever I spoke to on the phone assured me they would hold the table.

We got to the restaurant just after 4:45 only to be told that our table had just been given away! I explained that I had just spoken to someone literally minutes before who said they would hold the table for us. The lady just shrugged and said "sorry, it's our policy" and that another table wouldn't be available until another hour and a half!

I understand that we were late and had just missed the grace period, but I was told that they would hold the table for us! AIBU to be really pissed off about this?

We did end up in another restaurant which everyone enjoyed so Father's Day wasn't completely ruined I suppose, but just annoying as I really wanted to try this new restaurant!

She did leave plenty of time! She left 45 mins to do a 20 min journey. How early would you have left?

Let's face it, you'd told them you were going to be 10 minutes late, then 2 minutes after you'd said you'd be there, you told them you'd be another 5 minutes. How were they to know how much later you were actually going to rock up?

This point has been raised on here a million times already. I'm not stupid enough to not check what the traffic is like before I travel on the motorway. I checked Google maps and it was showing that the motorway was clear. I couldn't have predicted that there would be an accident as soon as we got onto the motorway. I'm not Mystic Meg.

She didn't set off late. And she set off 45 mins before her booking which is significantly more time than your suggested 30 minutes. So rather than being so smug with your 'I manage to get 2 add people out the door' perhaps just read the OP's posts.

I suppose it was a difficult call for the restaurant - they had a group right there so guaranteed money or you, calling and saying you were on the way. In your situation I would definitely have dropped a couple of the party before parking in order to keep the table & order drinks. I think you're right to feel cheesed off though - glad you still found somewhere to eat.

I would be cross, its not that you didnt call, including from the carpark!

I'd be annoyed if I'd called to let them know and then they gave the table away.

I'd perhaps expect to have less time to eat if they needed the table back by a certain time.

The restaurant aren’t unreasonable for doing whatever they want with your table but it’s definitely shit and I would also be annoyed in your situation. Never mind though! You had a lovely Father’s Day and that’s what counts. You will feel annoyed about this table malarkey for exactly as long as you allow yourself to feel annoyed about it.

YANBU. The restaurant staff were impatient and unreasonable, or had poor communication between staff. I mean sure, on a busy day and you don't show at all, don't let the know or are half an hour late I'd probably expect the table to be gone, but not for 15 minutes, and you let them know you were arriving with at least two updates. They should reasonably allow for people getting stuck in traffic and I'm sure more than one lot of customers was affected. I would leave them a negative review. With their attitude/disorganisation they will probably go under in a few months anyway.

YABU

I worked yesterday, it was hot, it was sticky, we did 450 covers which meant we turned over 4 times + as we don't have enough tables but we are popular for Sunday lunch.. We don't have time to be waiting around for late shows. We had people as walk in for tables of 6 and no we don't turn them away if we have a no show warning on our system - maybe you are or Arne't in the carpark we don't know as it often happens we will get a call and they show up 20 minutes later on top of being late.

The restaurant aren’t unreasonable for doing whatever they want with your table but it’s definitely shit and I would also be annoyed in your situation

This. I can understand why you are annoyed, but at the end of the day, the restaurant are trying to make money, and you weren't there on time. The only thing that they did wrong was telling you that they would hold the table longer than the 15 minute grace period, and then they didn't. It sounds like a breakdown in communication somewhere along the line.

Completely understand that restaurants are very busy places, especially on days like Father's Day, but that still doesn't excuse the fact that there should have been better communication with staff. If the person on the phone who told me they would hold the table didn't have the authority to do that, then they should have queried it with their manager, who would have obviously told them that our table couldn't be held. This would have saved the embarrassment of being turned away from the restaurant in front of everyone.

It's not your fault you were late but your lateness is also not the restaurants responsibility. No one is at fault here. You just have to suck it up and eat elsewhere.

I guess the only other thing the OP could realistically have done differently (other than drop off a person before parking) is ask for the name of the person she spoke to on the phone who said the table would be held. It's been drummed into us by my dad when dealing with any 'service' phone calls (banks, plumbers and - yes - restaurant bookings) that you ask for the person's name. That way, you have better trail of evidence of who talked to whom and when - "Oh, but I spoke to someone called Tom when I called 10 minutes ago...".

Even if it wouldn't have changed the restaurant's actions re reassigning the table, human nature being what it is, often if you've given your name in relation to something/someone who has booked with you, it's more likely that you'll make sure things happen the way you've said they will (in other words, the person who took the OP's call may have been more pro-active in ensuring manager/front of house to expect a short delay over and above the grace period)

But then again, it's hard to criticise the restaurant's policy if they've been stung before with people lying about how late they'll be, so this is one I think just gets chalked up to experience!

Yes, it's annoying. But, business is business. There must be loads of people who don't show up, so it makes sense to give the table to someone who is actually there. Annoying at the lacks of comms between the two staff, but I bet it was pandemonium in there and they were busy. At least you got in somewhere else.

We don't have time to be waiting around for late shows. We had people as walk in for tables of 6 and no we don't turn them away if we have a no show warning on our system - maybe you are or Arne't in the carpark we don't know as it often happens we will get a call and they show up 20 minutes later on top of being late.

That's fine if they are that late and don't let you know. But if they have let you know and are within/borderline for fifteen minutes, you should be prioritising the table of 6 who have been organised enough to book, and have been delayed through no fault of their own, not a table of 6 cheeky fuckers turning up without a reservation on one of the busiest days of the year and expecting to be seated. And if you are so big that you can't give individual customer service like that then you need more staff or a better system.

The problem is there may have been two things happening simultaneously and you just unfortunately got caught in the miscommunication due to the tight timescales - nobody did anything wrong it was just a matter of circumstances not working in your favour.

There could easily have been someone on the phone to you as it's coming up to 4:45 saying "Yes we can hold the table a few minutes past the grace period" as they didn't need your table immediately ; meanwhile the host has a group walk in and ask for a table, they see you haven't arrived and it's 15 minutes past your booking time so they give them your table ... A minute or two later the person you spoke to comes to update the host on your ETA to find out that they have already given the table away.

At this point there is no advantage gained from them trying to call you back as, by your call, you were only a couple of minutes away so it was better to wait for you to arrive and explain the situation than try to call you as you walked in the door anyway (or by the time the person you spoke to found out what had happened, got to the phone, found your number to call you back you had already arrived).

Leaving a bad review would be unfair. Send an email saying you are disappointed by the miscommunication and lack of concern by the person on the door and how much you were looking forward to eating there. Messages were obviously not passed on (probably because they were busy and person on the phone maybe taking another call). If you're lucky you'll get an apology and a free drink voucher.

Then forget about it.

"I'm imagining that a restaurant that takes sittings at 4.30 is a "familyesque" outfit: Frankie & Benny's/Harvester, etc. I'm sorry your booking was dropped but surely it would have been more hellish than usual on fathers' day.

FWIW my DH would rather have stuck pins in his eyes than go to a family restaurant heaving with under 10s. He might have given me £50 to take the DC to the cinema/bowling/out whilst he settled down to some tinnies and the cricket in peace"

Fuck me. Some people will always find a way to be snobby on a thread. Loads of restaurants take bookings throughout the day. Why would it be Frankie and bennies?

Why do you need to wait for your husband to give you £50 and tell you to give him peace? I've my own money and I'd be thinking what a shit dad if he would rather watch cricket than spend Father's Day with his kids. Even in a (shock horror) family restaurant.

YANBU

You initially left with plenty of time. As everyone who does not live in the middle of nowhere knows, Google maps is not infallible, it just reflects conditions at the time. Sometimes traffic conditions will change suddenly, it readjusts and the travel time is radically different from what it first said.

It would be completely different if you didn’t call and let them know or if they didn’t agree to hold the table. I’d be annoyed and would write a bad review. They could have just reduced the time you had the table and let you know up front.

One of the busiest days of the year for restaurants, they adhered to their policy. Traffic is always extra busy on Father’s Day, you should have allowed for it tbh. Pleased you got a table elsewhere and had a nice time though. I wouldn’t give a bad review, that is really unfair in the circumstances.

But that is where you are being unrealistic OP.

You are expecting perfection. And you are expecting it immediately.

In 3, possibly 2 minutes, you expected a message to be passed from the receptionist to the manager or the front of house in a busy restaurant. The equivalent of the unexpected traffic jam could have prevented that.

Of course mistakes shouldn't be made but your language is very strong. You concede that the restaurant as very busy but say that still doesn't excuse a mis-communication. May I ask what would excuse such a mistake being made?

Oh my god I can’t believe these responses 🤦🏻‍♀️ OP you did everything right by having the decency to call them. I think it’s outrageous that they have your table away! Not great customer service at all.

I think this is just one of those unfortunate things.

You left in plenty of time. You could not have foreseen the unexpected traffic.
It's the delay to the journey (that is neither you nor the restaurant's fault) that caused the meal to not take place.

Yes, it's poor on the restaurant's behalf that they didn't keep the table for you after you'd got in touch. However it still would have been equally annoying for you if they'd told you this when you rang up to say you were just parking.