No-shows serve up menu for trouble

Patrons who don't keep reservations throw everything off.
By GREG MORAGO
HARTFORD COURANT
We all know what a restaurant is supposed to do to keep its customers happy and healthy: Run a courteous and clean establishment. Restaurateurs are expected to be polite, punctual, entertaining, innovative, generous and ultra-conscious of food safety.
But what are a customer's responsibilities? It seems like the only thing expected of them is to simply show up.
That's if they decide to show up.
Customers who don't keep their reservations -- the notorious "no-shows" -- can wreak havoc with restaurant operations and imperil the delicate balance that managers fine-tune throughout the evening. If you think no-shows are of no consequence to the enjoyment of your dining experience, you would be wrong. Ever wait impatiently for your reservation, despite the fact you arrive on time? It could be the fault of no-shows who have thrown bookings into disarray.
Wait list
"It affects everyone. When I'm holding a table for someone who's late, I'm literally watching my clock. I have people on a wait list who are also counting the minutes," said Jeein Ha, general manager of Min Ghung in Glastonbury, Conn., an Asian bistro. "People need to realize that if you make a reservation, you have to show up. Otherwise people have to sit there and wait, and that's plain rude."
Late arrivals also can be a problem. Most restaurants will hold a table for 15 minutes. Some even longer -- as much as half an hour. Sometimes these parties show up, and that's a relief. But when a table sits empty for that long waiting for no-shows, the restaurants lose money, and anxious wait-listed customers lose patience.
"It's a Catch-22. You might turn away walk-ins while you're holding a table. You don't know if you should give it away," said Debra Aguda, general manager of the popular Acqua Oyster Bar & amp; Grill in Vernon, Conn. "When it's twos and fours that don't show up, you can recover. But if it's eights and 10s, you can't get that back. It affects the kitchen, and it affects the servers. I've had situations where the server thinks they're going to wait on an eight-top. When the eight-top doesn't show up, that server might go home not making any money on tips. Not only does the restaurant lose out in revenue, but the poor waiter walks out without making any money."
Serial offenders
The occasional no-show is bad enough, but there are even serial no-shows that strike several restaurants in one night. This usually happens on holidays (Mother's Day and Easter are good examples) or, most recently, on a busy graduation weekend when "customers" make multiple reservations at local restaurants.
"They come in, call around to several places so they have a choice. Then they decide where they're going, and they don't call to cancel their other reservations," said Mark Resnisky, owner of Back Porch Bistro in West Hartford, Conn. "You've turned away big parties, and then your reservations don't show up."
Resnisky said he had a recent request to open his restaurant an hour early to accommodate a graduation party of 15. He did. His staff was ready. And the party never showed.
"Put yourself in my shoes. You'd be upset, too, if you invited me to your house at 7 p.m., and I just didn't show up," Min Ghung's Ha said.
It's a nationwide problem for the industry. Some of the country's more popular and upscale restaurants have gone to elaborate extremes to eliminate no-shows, requiring credit cards, deposits and reservation forms to secure a table. Others require multiple telephone confirmations. Diners might find this annoying, but it illustrates the lengths restaurants will go to protect themselves.