Limited time availibility / Hourly rates

Forgive me if this had already been addressed, I searched but had no luck. I have had this brought up several times by alot of the employees and managers every year. I do not know if Robin or Marsha have written about it either ?

We frequently have guests that come to our restaurant and dine and enjoy the setting outside, which of course we are grateful for, there are several situations that tables will seat for over 2 to 3 hours, we are looking at 4 people or less alot of those times also the tab has already been closed.We are NOT going to enforce a rule about having a minimum dollar spent on the hour after your meal is done here. But I do know of Hard Rock's and ESPN Zones that have this rule.

Does any local restaurants do this ? What is everyones thoughts on this ?

Servers are all for it ( table turns ), I am on the fence myself

I think you would really have to think highly of your product/establishment to enforce such a charge -especially in this economy.

As the customer, I receive the right to sit as long as I want in exchange for the purchase of a meal. Although not required, I am also expected to tip the wait-staff.

Now, personally, I increase my tip (considerably) if I sit at a table for a long time w/o adding purchases to my check. Also, I am conscious of not over-sitting when there is a considerable wait for tables.

Seems you are in a difficult spot because part of the attraction for your place (CQ?) is the view and the ability to have a slow, restful meal. Would seem unfair then to bill your customer's for something being marketed to them.

As a former server, I'd feel uncomfortable working in such an environment. I can see why many servers would support the idea. Might explain why I am a "former" in this business.

If the restaurant is busy, people should have enough sense to leave. If it is not busy then it shouldn't matter too much. They just can't expect to get unlimited free refills.

I know of a popular tiny restaurant that would ask patrons to move to the bar to have another drink (on them) to free up a table, and the result was outrage 99% of the time. They finally said forget it, because all they got was slander. People may be angry that they wait for a table for an hour and a half, but quickly move to the other side when it's THEM that want to linger. Don't even bother, it's a lose-lose situation.
And very seldom have I experienced an increased tip for holding up a table to conduct business meetings. People don't understand that I could have turned that table again in the amount of time that was eaten up. You will NEVER hear me being less than gracious about it though. I'd rather they took their time and came back then feel rushed. There is no point. I say, you gotta suck it up, because the negative feedback is always more forthcoming then the positive.

I do not see a thing wrong with setting time limits on patio seating. As mentioned before, ESPN Zone requires people to purchase certain amounts during high volume times. Otherwise I'd walk in, order a $5 appetizer, and watch baseball all day long.

Forgive me if this had already been addressed, I searched but had no luck. I have had this brought up several times by alot of the employees and managers every year. I do not know if Robin or Marsha have written about it either ?

We frequently have guests that come to our restaurant and dine and enjoy the setting outside, which of course we are grateful for, there are several situations that tables will seat for over 2 to 3 hours, we are looking at 4 people or less alot of those times also the tab has already been closed.We are NOT going to enforce a rule about having a minimum dollar spent on the hour after your meal is done here. But I do know of Hard Rock's and ESPN Zones that have this rule.

Does any local restaurants do this ? What is everyones thoughts on this ?

Servers are all for it ( table turns ), I am on the fence myself

Alan,

On occasion we have a moderate sized group (5-8) who are guilty of what you describe. When this is going to occur we make a point of telling the server two things when we are seated: (A) We intend to be there for a couple of hours and (B) We understand we are taking up space and will make sure our gratuity reflects this extended service. This seems to work wonders with their "tude" and they get really perky when we tip them 40-50% of the tab. To take this a step further we DO try to keep an eye on the crowd. If there are a bunch of folks waiting for an extended period of time to be seated we will try not to dally quite as long.

Alan, I think Nora got it just right in her response. It's just not worth the ill will it generates, and the potential loss of business from all the people that the outraged (whether justified or not) patrons will tell the story to.

If you did go ahead with the policy, you'd have to make sure every single patron knew about it before being seated, and that would just be a horribly negative note to begin their dining experience with, in my opinion. Not to mention that some of them wouldn't have been planning on lingering anyway, and then they'd just have a negative impression for no reason at all.

Alan,

I certainly understand where the servers are coming from and their frustration, but personally I think that's just part of what comes with the business of having a beautiful outside patio/deck that everyone wants to linger at. From a customer/marketing/PR perspective it'd be very negative to be perceived as "rushing people"off- and some segment of the population will always believe that because they spent their $50+ for food and beer they "own" the table for as long as they chose. That may even be part of the reason they came to CQ in the first place- to hang out for a couple of hours and gab and watch the boats. I think this has become very culturally accepted in the US, particularly now that we've become so used to using coffee shops as meeting places. All that said, I would not institute any kind of real or perceived table limit.

The only thing I could think of would be to create a new lounge area with even more seats. Then after 2 hours or so and a closed tab, your server could ask very gently if the party wanted to move to that area as there were other guests waiting for tables. But I'll admit, even that makes me nervous...


Deb

PS I was interrupted for quite a while while writing this , and had been about to suggest a drink on the house idea until I read Nora's comments...Doesn't surprise me- but I guess it does...

We get a lot of "campers" by us as well. There are times when you just want to ask them to get up, but we never do.

However, there is a restaurant I know of in town that will do that, and I have witnessed it first hand.

They ask the patron for the table, and either move them to another or they will go to the bar.
The restaurant at that time is buying a round of drinks. No complaints!

The only time I have heard of that sort of thing working well was a tiny restaurant (10 tables) called The Hourglass Cafe. It was in a very busy area with a lot of foot traffic- as soon as you placed your order the server turned over a hourglass that gave you 90 min to eat and chat. When the sand ran out, you were out too. Everyone knew the trick going in and it never seemed to be a problem. Rather doubtful it would work on the CQ deck though.

I don't care how much or how little I'm ordering, if someone asked me to move or leave before the UK game was over I'd be mad.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid you just have to grin and bare it when inconsiderate customers camp out like this. Depending on the type of group offering a free round at the bar may work for some groups but certainly wouldn't for others. Setting a time limit would be very difficult because some groups can eat in 30 minutes and then linger 2 hours while another group takes the full 2 1/2 hours to eat, which one is more of a problem?

It sounds like no one has a good solution for this problem especially in an established restaurant. If you work opening a new restaurant and start of the policy immediately it may work to your advantage because people might think you were that exclusive!

Good luck, just make sure the people leave their tables when we want one for a late evening dinner!

personally, i would remind the servers that hey are fortunate to be working (for starters) somewhere that is doing good, consistant business.
also, remember that a) you can shear a sheep 1000 times, but you can only skin it once. happy money comes back mad money doesnt. and b) customers are drawn to full houses. if they cant get a table tonight, they will come back to see what the buzz is about.

one other thing... tables that linger can be HUGE money tables. a server worth their salt knows this. people do NOT stick around in places that arent comfortable to them. accentuate that comfort, connect with guest (professionally, of course), and before you know it youve got a 40% tip and a new call table.

My knee-jerk reaction is that if you have every table filled, and you're still not making money, then you should raise your prices. Or you're doing something wrong. I mean come on. How many people are sitting around all day without buying?

I'm on the customer's side on this one.

i deal with freeloaders on a daily basis. People who want to come in, take one of our patio seats and not even buy ANYTHING. So if someone buys something, yes, they get the right to a seat. One seat, that's it. I have lots of chairs. I know restaurants are different than Bardstown Rd. coffee shops, but c'mon....they are your customers. Giving you their hard earned money. Give them a break! (or they WILL go elsewhere, and you'll have one less customer). Your choice.

That said, I do agree with POLITELY suggesting to people that we really need the table/space, and if they're not going to order anything else (after say an hour or so) that we'd really appreciate it if they move to a different table (inside or around the side of the building or wherever else). But I think you need to give a paying customer a table for as long as he/she wishes.

Cheers,

-Nimbus (former customer at a BUNCH of places in my lifetime, and always looking at things from a customer's perspective)......

" you can shear a sheep 1000 times, but you can only skin it once. "
Ooooh, I like that. You're a wise ol' farmer!