In an attempt to crack down on the growing number of ghost reservations in Quebec restaurants and to regulate the fees charged for ‘no-shows’, restaurant owners can impose a conditional and maximum penalty of $10 per person.
“When people make a lot of reservations and there’s a lot of no-shows then we’re saving room for a lot of tables that don’t end up coming which means we have less room for walk-ins,” said Sara Simpson, waitress at Burger Bar Crescent.
The decision was handed down last week by Quebec government Ministers, with it’s official date set to start on Thursday at the discretion of restaurant owners.
Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barette and Minister for the Economy Christopher Skeete, who are responsible for the new regulation, revealed the following guidelines restaurants need to follow in a press release last week:
-The establishment must inform the customer that fees may apply if they do not show up-The reservation must be for at least two people-The restaurant owner must contact the customer six to 48 hours before the reservation to confirm it-Customers must also be able to cancel their reservation easily and at any time using technology-The amount is applicable if no member of the group shows up at the schedule reservation time-Fees cannot be charged to the customer if they cancel the reservation at least three hours before the agreed-upon time
When asked about the new $10 penalty and guidelines instilled by the government, Montrealers had mixed reactions.
“Per person – that’s kind of ridiculous, especially if you have a big group and sometimes plans fall out,” said one local.
“I think it’s fair because it could have been moved to someone else who would like to dine in or something,” said another local.
“I heard a story last week where someone was complaining online, they had a booking in the Old Port and the restaurant charged them $250, so $10 seems not bad,” said another.
While the public had differing opinions on the matter – for restaurant owner Morrie Baker – one issue was clear.
“The government is getting involved in something that is really unnecessary,” said Baker. “I think if a restaurant for whatever their reason is having trouble and they want to start taking credit cards and things like that they can do that. They don’t need the government’s permission.”
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Restaurant staff at Burger Bar also agree that the conditional penalty could potentially turn off their clientele from wanting to come back in the future.
“I definitely do think it would alienate clients because it kind of gives a bad precedent that they owe us money for not coming in the first place so it will kind of stop people from making reservations,” said Simpson.
“We are in the hospitality business, which means we have to be nice to people and charging people 10 dollars for a reservation that either accidentally or maliciously was not honored, won’t bring you a lot of repeat business,” said Baker. “I don’t think it’s the way to go!”
Baker says he’s found other ways of guaranteeing reservations and minimizing last minute-cancellations or no-shows, which apparently other restaurants have been doing as well.
“When we first started like 14 years ago, we would get hosed on a lot of silly reservations and since then we don’t get hosed anymore because again our day starts with calling all the reservations making sure they’re legit,” said Baker.
Over the years, Baker explained that he and his team have also learned to identify red flags: “When we were rookies and we didn’t know what we were doing and someone would pick up the phone and say ‘Yeah, I want to make a reservation for 15 to 20 people,’ it’s red flag,” further saying that they now ask clients to call back when they get the actual number of people listed on the reservation.
But according to some Montrealers, there are other ways of avoiding no-shows.
“Don’t take reservations,” said one Montrealer as he laughed.
“I just hope people enjoy coming to restaurants in Montreal,” said Baker. “It’s a great city to eat in so we’d like to focus on hospitality, but we ask you to do your part and honor reservations.”
