(3rd and last Hostess story)
Why do people get offended when they don't get what they want? Why does it bring out the worst in some of them? Even for a petty thing, like a reservation?!
Another question. (I think questioning is becoming my trademark. So I have been told by a friend.) When you plan for a big get together with friends, is it usually last minute? I am talking of a large group of 10 and more. Do people think that it's their prerogative to demand a reservation and be honoured for making a reservation? Uh-uh!!
My prestigious little restaurant is quite a hot spot during the weekends. Our wait times, under dire circumstances, even run upto 1 hour! The sensible ones, with proper planning, make their reservations days in advance, which is beneficial to them and us hostesses. That way, we can plan seating arrangements for the evening ahead. We usually have large parties ranging from 15 to upto 50 even (and one time a 100 for a christmas party) during the weekends. When we have large parties like that, most of the tables are taken for an expected 3 hours atleast. And so, we also have to make sure that there is room for the people who come in without reservations. Mind you, once we have one party of 20 or more on the list, it's difficult to take another big party.
One weekend, we got overbooked with our reservations. We had a party of 50 and a party of 30 for the same evening. That means about half of the restaurant is taken over by campers (restaurant lingo: customers who will just sit and talk despite having been done with food). So obviously, we couldn't take on any more parties. However, one very mean woman did try to make a last minute reservation, and unfortunately, got her way.
My fellow hostess took the call for this woman's reservation. She very politely explained the situation to the customer as to why we couldn't take the reservation. But the woman refused to understand and demanded to know who was in-charge of reservations. When told it was the hostess itself, she was deeply offended, and wanted to speak to the manager. The manager had just stepped out and was unavailable. The woman went into a rage. She tells my colleague, "You better take my reservation, you fucking bitch. It's because of reservations made by people like me that your fucking restaurant runs. So you better stop showing me your attitude, and take my reservation, bitch!" Oh my God! How can anyone talk like that?! Is making a dinner reservation such big an issue?
Then, the woman called back later and spoke to the manager. She had the audacity to tell him that the hostess was extremely rude to her daughter and made her cry. And so, my manager had to take the reservation.
What about the nonsense my colleague had to bear? The manager later called my colleague to know what had happened. She told him that the customer called her a bitch and that it was her that was rude. Well, the reservation had already been taken and nothing could be done.
The day such people come, we really don't bother about them because it's the weekend and we are way too busy trying to get a quick turnover for the rest of the customers. If they have a problem, and have to wait for the table to be ready (which they usually have to despite the reservation), they are directed to the manager.
But seriously, is a reservation such big a deal that a person has to stoop so low as to use profanity to get their way? You may have the money, but it definitely doesn't buy you any manners.
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