Table of Six, Part II
A CornerShot that ran in the Extra section of The Roanoke Times earlier this week generated a healthy debate over restaurant etiquette. But since CornerShots are very short, the writer, Susan Stilwell of Roanoke County, was not able to include all the details we craved as we attempted to analyze the situation she described.
Fortunately, Susan was kind enough to stop by the blog and elaborate a little on what happened when her party of eight had to wait for a table of six to clear out, even though the table of six was finished with its meal.
I’m going to share the original CornerShot again, followed by Susan’s follow-up comment. Does knowing more change what any of you had to say the first time around?
CornerShot, Feb. 27, 2012
Dear Table of Six,
We’re glad you had the chance to catch up over lunch. It looks like y’all had a great time.
We’re not so glad that after you paid your bill and your table had been cleared, you spent the next hour sitting there chatting.
You see, we were next in line for that table. We didn’t mind standing the first 10 minutes, but when 10 turned into 20, we were a little peeved.
The hostess apologetically squeezed us into another table where we enjoyed our lunch, a meal that lasted 40 minutes.
As our server cleared our plates, your group inched away from the table and said their goodbyes.
May I offer a little piece of restaurant etiquette? The next time you clear your calendars for a 2-hour lunch, please remember to leave your server a generous tip. This will help make up for the one you cost her.
Sincerely, Table of Eight
— Susan Stilwell, a reader in Roanoke County
Susan’s Comment, Feb. 28, 2013
Wow, I never expected this to generate any buzz. Of course there was a backstory that couldn’t be fully developed within the Cornershot word count, so this might clarify things a bit:
The restaurant in question is a small bistro-style place. We eat there often and know that lunch is their money-maker.
We DID call ahead to reserve the table. The hostess told us that Table of 6 had finished, was paying their bill, and the table would be ready in 15 minutes. We arrived at our appointed time, and then waited 20 minutes until another table became available. This is a busy bistro and we weren’t the only people waiting to be seated.
The hostess was gracious and apologized for the wait. We weren’t angry and we never expected her to ask Table of 6 to leave. We just felt it was inconsiderate for a big group to stay so long after they’d paid their bill.
I intended this entry to be a quirky reminder to be considerate, especially during a restaurant’s busy hours. And to leave a good tip if you take a little extra time.
February 28, 2013 - 5:35 PM
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I don’t know the name of the establishment or their seating policies, but I can tell you that any restaurant that is busy during lunches and takes reservations won’t be busy for long. People waiting in line during their lunch, seeing an empty table being held, breeds A LOT of hostility. I don’t know of any restaurant doing any volume that wil take reservations during lunch. It doesn’t make good business sense.
As far as the campers go, you always have that one never ending table. Murphy’s Law is that the server who gets them is the one who is supposed to be first cut. They end up being there long after the other servers are gone, which in most cases makes them late to their second job or picking up the kids. It’s just luck of the draw; part of the job.
It’s the restaurants fault then. They should have informed them that another party had that table reserved at a certain time. I have been told that a few times before and made sure we were gone on time. What restaurant was it?
I will leave it up to Susan to identify the restaurant if she wants. I have no idea which one it was.
Again, I don’t know that restaurant’s policies, I would say that the hostess was just trying to accomodate a customer’s request ( a reservation) , saw a table that she assumed was about to open up and told them to come in. Lack of communication, lack of experience, no established policy regarding reservations? Who’s to say for sure.
#1 – Yes, even busy restaurants take reservations at lunch time, usually for parties of six or more. It makes GOOD business sense to accommodate and accept reservations ofr larger parties as they will return as a group and they will return individually. Most restaurants should be able to make accommodations for the next reservation if a table isn’t cleared, as this Bistro did. If you tell someone to leave or move, and the restuarant isn’t closing for the day, you risk losing their business. The hostess made a judgement call and it didn’t work out. The party of eight was not so upset that thay won’t be back. A little patience and a nice tips go a long way!
Folks in my office often get together for lunch at local restaurants, sometimes just for the heck of it, sometimes to celebrate someone’s birthday…but when we go, we usually have a group of 6-10, and we make reservations so that the restaurant knows a large party is arriving, and to hopefully have a table set up and ready ahead of time.
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The restaurant in question erred by assuming one party would be vacating their table immediately after paying. Perhaps that is typically what happens, but it’s always bad business to rely upon a customer to behave in a certain predictable manner! When the second party arrived, new accomodations should have been set up immediately, rather than making them wait…that’s about all there is to it.
I agree with Other John. On special occasions like New Years Eve and Valentines Day, it’s not unusual to be informed of seating times and be told that the table is reserved for another party following your seating. I have been on both sides of the situation, and know that I am expected to vacate within that time frame, which is usually generous. However, turning over a table as quickly as possible is how a restaurant makes money, so this bistro was greedy in assuming it could turn the table with a large group occupying it during a busy serving time without informing them another large group was expected at a reserved time. That’s the hazard of dining in a large party- ordering takes longer and servers are told to bring everyone’s meal at the same time so eating is delayed. I would not return to a restaurant that didn’t inform me up front of its policy, and requested me to vacate the table because others were waiting.
I’m in complete agreement with Other John. Upon the arrival of the party of eight, seating at another table should have been made available immediately instead of making them wait 20 minutes. Like Sandy, if a restaurant requested that my party vacate the table, I would not be a return customer unless I had been told initially that the table was reserved for another party at a certain time and was asked if I was willing to comply with the time restraints. Also, the Cornershot “talking” to the lingering party didn’t seem to be a quirky reminder – it just seemed like complaining. My mind hasn’t been changed by further explanation. Anyone who was not at the lingering party’s table has no idea why they stayed and I doubt that anyone else knew the size of the tip, not to mention that it’s not the business of anyone else.