Australia restaurants are really doing their best to stop dinner reservation no-shows.
Last week we wrote about #NoShowShame, a hashtag started by some Australian restaurant owners for publicly shaming dinner reservation deadbeats. And now, Aussie restaurants are about to get compensated for those reservations no-shows.
Dimmi, Australia's largest online restaurant reservation service, has launched a new payment system that requires diners to pay for their food upfront, leave a deposit or risk being charged if they fail to show up for their reservation or properly cancel.
“(Being able to charge diners for no-shows) is security for the guests that we will be ready for them and have food for them, and for us, it makes guests be a little bit more careful and respectful when organizing bookings.”
While the idea may sound extreme to customers, according to the Courier Mail, most Australian restaurants are failing to turn a profit. Diner deadbeats are costing restaurants thousands of dollars, crippling many businesses.
Some restaurants, like Restaurant Two in Brisbane, are using Eventbrite for special events like New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day. Restaurant Two lost thousands of dollars on Valentine's Day because of no-shows, according to Jessica Pugh, the restaurant's event manager.
“The only way you can deal with no-shows is to put the prices up for the people who attend and, as a diner, I find that unpalatable. Why is that fair that I would have to pay for the people who don’t turn up? We think this is the best way to combat that.”
Dimmi has also warned their users that failing to show up for their booking will get them banned from using the service.
How do you deal with diner deadbeats? Let us know in the comment section below.