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!

Gosh, OP, I’m really surprised at the responses here. You called TWICE and were told they’d keep your table for you. I think it’s appalling they then gave it away. (Completely different if they’d have said really sorry, we can’t hold it — although still annoying for you, of course.) Also, for those commenting on no shows costing money — absolutely, but I’d put money on the fact that 99.99% of no shows don’t bother to call. Twice. I wouldn’t leave a bad review but would email the manager showing your call log and take it up with them — at the very least, staff need to know not to make promises that won’t be kept…

What's wrong with 4:30?

They may have communicated but one staff member overruled the person who said they'd hold your table.

Another one... 😂

She checked Google maps. It was clear and estimated 20 minutes. She allowed 45.

While en-route someone had an accident.

Traffic got fucked.

She phoned restaurant twice to inform them of their progress.

She was told that was fine. (This is why the OP is not unreasonable. If they were going to strictly enforce the 15 minute rule, this is when they should have told her).

They gave her table away for arriving two minutes after the allotted time.

How do some of you cope with things like washing instructions, letters home from school and recipes?!!

Then they did not communicate effectively. I.e. making sure all staff understand the policy for late-comers ahead of time, thus ensuring that staff did not make promises to customers that they were not able to honour. It is bad customer service regardless of whether staff talked to each other or even if a manager overruled a member of staff - the customer does not have to give a monkey's about that - a promise was made and not honoured.

Unfortunately if you’re late it delays the table for the next family who has booked it. The person on the phone probably shouldn’t have told you they’d hold the table

But the restaurant was not actually in the wrong, the booking was for 4.30, the customer did phone twice, but at the end of the day they were still later than the time given in the second call, it’s one of their busiest days of the year and they will have bookings for later in the day that would potentially be made late which isn’t fair on their experience either.

Glad you found somewhere else to eat, but In those circs I’d be very annoyed, too.

But maybe not quite as boiling mad as I was, when a hotel in Cork gave our 2 rooms away, when I’d told them on initial booking that we’d be arriving after 10 pm (coming from London for a wedding) and had phoned that morning to remind them that we’d be arriving after 10 pm!

I will never book any wretched Jury’s Inn again.
The (Irish) mother of the bridegroom - waiting for us in the bar - was even more livid than we were!

How entitled are you? Your lack of planning and inability to manage your time isn’t the restaurants fault. You were given a grace period and you missed it.

You were late. Most people only hold the table ten or 15 mins if you're late. As for them saying they'd hold the table you were already outside and late by then. It's not as if you set off based on them saying they'd definitely hold the table until that time.

I wouldn't leave a bad review because you didn't actually eat there. We had similar yesterday. Accident on motorway meant a few junctions were closed so we were re routed. I had phoned ahead and booked a table for 7.30pm (original was 6.30pm) got there 7.35pm and table was gone. Luckily we only had a 20 minute wait and they seated us as quickly as they could. Just one of those things.

Sounds like the last person didn’t pass the message on but nonetheless YABU, it was Father’s Day, restaurant business is tough and a group of guests in the hand is better than those who are late and still 5 minutes away in the bush.

Fair enough, on the AIBU of being annoyed it wasn't held when they told you it would be YANBU. That's crap, because I can see how if they'd just told you on the phone that if you weren't there by 4.35, for example, then you could have moved straight to plan B.

You were not only late but later than the 15 min late grace period. You can call a hundred times but the fact is, they said no when you got there as you were later than the grace period and they turned you away in front of everyone because of that. You want heads to roll. No.

The person who said they’d hold the table is not the same person who had the authority to turn you away and embarrass you in front of everyone. Two different people. Not an amalgamation into one and you’re scratching your head trying to figure out how to reconcile the change in how the restaurant responded. Two different people. They may have communicated but the higher up made a decision based on what he or she deemed to be right and fair to the other customers and the restaurant’s policy. And it was a busy time. Things could have just gotten too chaotic and they didn’t have time to cater to your ‘we’re on our way’ ‘we’re still on our way’ phone calls and lateness beyond the grace period. Probably a combination of factors.

Likewise, what you want and what you get are two different things. Move on from this tiny ‘offense’.

This

@diamondsareforever5 - you seem to getting a tough time from a number of posters - so much so that I'm beginning to suspect that I haven't understood your post! The way I read it - you left home in plenty of time, having checked Google maps. Prior to leaving there was no indication that there were any delays. En route an accident occurred, and delays occurred. You called the restaurant to let them know. You were assured it is was okay. You called them again when you were nearby to update them. You were again told it was okay. When you arrived your table had been given away, and the person you spoke to was somewhat dismissive. If that is indeed the case, I would be pretty mad too. The restaurant staff failed to communicate both their policies and their intentions in a clear manner. You are not unreasonable to be miffed about that.

It was no doubt a combination of factors. The key being the person who spoke to you on the phone not being the greeter with the booking screen in front of them.

Telephone person may well have walked to see greeter and by this time the table has been released under the no show policy.

On a very busy Sunday with walk ins aplenty they just activated the no show policy and accepted custom from people physically present at the time. They haven’t really got time to be dealing with telephone calls from people who are late when they have other customers wanting the tables. It’s just unfortunate you were caught in traffic.

I think they weren't being very nice. Its father's day..... you'd rung to say you were coming.

I'd be annoyed, you didn't just turn up late after the grace period, you had called twice! I'd send a complaint to be honest, not good customer service at all and not good for their reputation.

I'd leave a bad review, someone needs more training.

Given you’d rung ahead to update them I think they should’ve held the table. It would different if you hadn’t updated them.

I imagine you spoke to someone different on the phone to who actually gave the table away and given it was a busy Father’s Day they didn’t have time to let the team know.

I don’t really blame anyone in this situation it’s just one of those things.

One of the busiest services of the year and you’ve phoned twice and are 20 minutes late. You’re a pain in the arse customer. There’s another table waiting- I rather have their business as well TBH

It’s not just one of those things- if a customer is promised something and the message is time sensitive, then if have been passed on right away.

If it wasn’t possible to pass on the message or keep the table, then the promise to do so shouldn’t have been made.

It would have been different if the person had told OP they would try their best, but there was no guarantee.

@diamondsareforever5 - How annoyed would you have been if instead the restaurant had held your table but rushed you off it again before you'd had dessert because the next booking for that table was now waiting?

You were late in one of their busiest days. It's not the restaurant's fault. Bad traffic isn't a valid excuse.

I think several of you have completely misunderstood the post. I do not need you all to point out to me how many minutes late I was. I am fully aware.

My issue (as I've already stated so many times) is being told one thing by one member of staff and then a different thing by another. If the person on the phone would have said 'sorry, we can't hold the table for you', I would have had no issue. I understand that they have policies in place and people waiting and would have just put it down to 'one of those things'. But no, that is not what I was told. I was told, "don't worry, we will keep the table for you until you get here" only to arrive and find out that actually no, they didn't keep my table. This is poor communication and bad customer service. I am not a pain in the ass or entitled.