Re:Stop The JerkTech
by CaptainZapp on Friday July 04, 2014 @06:53AM
(#7988199)
I'm not a restaurant owner, but very much feel your rage (you don't have to be in a business to violently detest parasitic douche bags).
Here's an idea, slightly based on Alinea's ticket system:
Charge a relatively low deposit. Say if I make a reservation you charge my credit card with 20$ (or whatever). If I cancel (it does happen) up to three hours (or 6, or 24, or whatever) in advance the charge is reversed and the transaction is at no cost to me.
If I show up the 20$ are fully credited and deducted from the bill.
This would certainly only work for restaurants that can generate the necessary demand. Then again those are also the victims of those DoucheScalpers.
As a patron I really wouldn't mind guaranteeing my reservation with a small, up front payment. Especially when I can cancel within a reasonable time frame, no hassle and get fully refunded.
On a off topic side note: I actually cancel reservations if I don't need them. It seems to me just common courtesy and the right thing to do. It may enable somebody else to use the table and I strongly suspect that it doesn't hurt my karma with the restaurant for next time I want to book a table.
Here's an idea, slightly based on Alinea's ticket system:
Charge a relatively low deposit. Say if I make a reservation you charge my credit card with 20$ (or whatever). If I cancel (it does happen) up to three hours (or 6, or 24, or whatever) in advance the charge is reversed and the transaction is at no cost to me.
If I show up the 20$ are fully credited and deducted from the bill.
This would certainly only work for restaurants that can generate the necessary demand. Then again those are also the victims of those DoucheScalpers.
As a patron I really wouldn't mind guaranteeing my reservation with a small, up front payment. Especially when I can cancel within a reasonable time frame, no hassle and get fully refunded.
On a off topic side note: I actually cancel reservations if I don't need them. It seems to me just common courtesy and the right thing to do. It may enable somebody else to use the table and I strongly suspect that it doesn't hurt my karma with the restaurant for next time I want to book a table.