What happens with a reservation being no-show?

A reservation which doesn’t show up is called a no-show. It happens everywhere, even when people already paid a deposit for a certain product or service, so no need to stress. If you followed all my steps in my blogs on reservations, we have some options. Let’s look at them step-by-step:

  • Re-read the reservation, maybe you missed something.
  • Find their number, you should have it according to my guide of handling reservations.
  • Call them, but be nice. Ask if they realize they had a reservation.

They might just be running late. In a perfect world the guest would call ahead and let you know, in the real world; not so much. Try figuring out when they expect to arrive and if this gives you any problems further along the road. If not, just wait. If it interferes with shifts, closing times, etcetera than inform them.

The other option: they have forgotten about it and if not, they will most probably lie that they did. Either way the result is the same. No guests and no money. Waste of time and space. It is important to not let this get the best of you. You should definitely make a note of it, also for future reference. When working with an app, there credentials can be stored which means next time the same person wants to make a reservation you can be warned.
Personal note:

No-shows? Horrible. I get angry about this. With all the hard work we do people just feel too good to let us know? When you do this at a doctors appointment, they charge you anyway. Yet we are just screwed and lose money. They better believe there will be no next time for them.
The biggest problem here really is just the fact people feel so entitled, which makes a lot of us feel disrespected and underappreciated.
The main focus should be not to show this bitterness to other guests, they deserve nothing but the best for trusting us with their business. If I feel like getting it off my chest, I always have a few co-workers who know the works. We bitch to each other about those things, and that works for me.

In the end these no-shows are just like a relationship which didn’t work out: “It’s not me, it’s you…”

 

Sincerely,


Den The Man

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