Empty tables, food thrown in the trash and part of the turnover going up in smoke. Restaurateurs warn of a new phenomenon: “no shows”. Understand: customers who do not go to the restaurant despite their reservation. In the middle of the tourist season, the phenomenon jeopardizes a good number of establishments already weakened by the health crisis.
Tom Meyer, chef of the gourmet restaurant Granite in the center of Paris, is used to “no shows”. “We are full for lunch and dinner on average so we do our 300 covers per week. We quickly have around thirty of our shows over this same period. That’s still 10%.”explains the restorer.
“These tables that we are going to lose over lunch or dinner, that may make us one less employee at the end of the year”, summarizes Tom Meyer. It is therefore a big shortfall for restaurants.
Chef Matthias Marc remembers an evening in the Champions League when he counted 22 “no shows”. He then takes the radical decision to ask for a bank imprint at the time of booking. “I think if you’re legit there’s no problem,” he defends himself. Absent customers are also placed on a red list and will never be able to book a table in his restaurant again.
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