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2. Decision on Whether to Accept Reservations
Each restaurant must decide whether to
Accept
Rely on
Reservation
A promise for a table in a restaurant
Walk-in
Guests who patronize the restaurant without a reservation
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3. Decision on Whether to Accept Reservations (continued)
One of the MOST important considerations in NOT accepting reservations is the LOCATION of the restaurant
All restaurants are NOT alike
Required to have different policies for seating
Key to being profitable: Build loyalty among your repeat guests
Copyright 2008 Delmar Learning.
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4. Decision on Whether to Accept Reservations (continued)
Reservations should ALWAYS be accepted on holidays:
Easter, Thanksgiving, and Mother’s Day
Special holidays for families
Copyright 2008 Delmar Learning.
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5. Accepting Reservations
Once a decision has been made to accept reservations, the restaurant needs to create a policy to deal with reserving tables for guests
Restaurant can
Reserve a certain percentage of tables
Reserve the dining room completely
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6. Accepting Reservations (continued)
Reservations work in two ways:
Restaurant promises to have a table available for the guest
Guest promises to show up for the reservation
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7. Accepting Reservations (continued)
Provides a mutual benefit to both guests and the restaurant
Advantages and disadvantages
For both guests and the restaurant
See pages 221–222
Essential part of reservationist’s job is explaining to the caller the responsibilities regarding the reservation
Copyright 2008 Delmar Learning.
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8. Factors That Affect Taking Reservations
The time it takes a party to eat its meal and pay its bill
Reserve more parties than they have tables for
An easy menu to prepare items
This speeds up the residence time
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9. Taking the Reservation
Can be taken by:
Those taking reservations MUST be trained properly so that they can obtain ALL information needed
This is the guest’s first contact with the restaurant
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10. Taking The Reservation (continued)
Reservations should be taken and placed
On a preprinted form (see Figure 8-2)
Directly into the reservation book
Operations with multiple locations have a centralized call center to take reservations for ALL restaurants
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11. Information to Obtain from the Guest
Name of the guest
Ensure the correct spelling of the name
Date for which the reservation is desired
Request day of the week and date
Time of the reservation
If time is booked, suggest another time
Number of guests in the party
Helps in blocking
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12. Information to Obtain from the Guest (continued)
Any
Special seating or birthday cake
Guest’s phone number
Home, business, and cell
Name of person who took the reservation
Makes people responsible
Date reservation was taken
How far in advance reservations are made
Copyright 2008 Delmar Learning.
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13. Explaining Policies of the Restaurant to the Guest
Inform guests of any special policies
Develop checklist of pertinent policies for reservation takers to use
In order to avoid mistakes repeat the information back to the guest
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14. Not Accepting Reservations
Maximum use of tables is obtained
Not losing money from unoccupied tables
No overbooking occurs
No danger of reserving more tables than guests
Little preplanning of reservations
Only reserves tables for big parties
No-shows are not a problem
No danger of holding a table
Copyright 2008 Delmar Learning.
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15. Not Accepting Reservations (continued)
Disadvantage for the restaurant
Business may be lost because reservations will not be accepted
Guests may refuse to patronize a restaurant
Believe they will have to wait for a table for a long period of time
Disadvantages for the guests
Far outweigh the advantages
See page 230
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16. Reserving Tables Blocking Reservations
To reserve a certain table at a certain time
Purpose is to enable the host to avoid overbooking
Process begins with taking the reservation correctly
Successful blocking depends upon
An organized system
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17. Reserving Tables Blocking Reservations (continued)
All blocking is to be entered in one book or place
Need physical layout of the dining room
Table numbers and number of seats per table
Computers
Programs designed to help blocking
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18. Blocking in a Small Restaurant
Simplest way of blocking tables occurs when a restaurant has a set meal period and a limited number of tables
See Figure 8-3
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19. Restaurants Without Set Meal Times for Reservations
Small restaurants will take reservations on a first-come, first-seated basis
Take reservations at any time during their meal period
See Figure 8-4
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20. Blocking in a Large Restaurant
Principle is the same as for a small restaurant
But impossible to use the same method because of the large number of tables involved
Reservation manager
The person who takes ALL reservations in a large restaurant
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21. Blocking with Set Meal Times
Check-off method
A method of blocking tables
See Figure 8-5 and Figure 8-6
Key factor in making the system work is constant communication between the reservation manager and the people taking the reservations
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22. Accepting Reservations at Any Time
Open seating
A restaurant allows guests to reserve tables for any time
More planning and organizing is needed to avoid overbooking
Use of the check-off sheet
Including the guest’s name and the time of the reservation
See Figure 8-8
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23. Copyright 2008 Delmar Learning.
Blocking Effectively
Involves much planning and organization
To block effectively, three items are needed
Diagram of the dining room
The
Blocking is an organized process
See Figure 8-9
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24. Blocking Effectively (continued)
Problems with the system
Guests do not like their table
Guests stay beyond their residence time
Taking reservations and blocking requires a lot of organization and preplanning to avoid overbooking
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25. Call-Ahead or Priority Seating
Guests call the restaurant and have their names added to the seating list
Holds a waiting spot for the guest
Keeps waiting time to a minimum
Does NOT guarantee a table for a certain time, but a place in line
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26. How to Alleviate No-Shows
Some proven methods
Properly train the person taking reservations to explain ALL policies to the guest
Call and confirm the reservation on the day of the reservation
Take a deposit for the reservation like hotels do for lodging rooms
Use computers to track no-show guests
Check name of guest with list of no-shows
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