I’d like to speak the manager!!!

So the following has happened like 15 times in the last two weeks.  At first I thought it was funny and silly.  But after the fourth, fifth, tenth person did it; I asked myself are we doing something wrong here.

We are open till 8:30 Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. 

We are open till 8:45 on Friday and Saturday.

The times aren’t published anywhere by us.  We say we are open 5:00 to Close. That way we are not chained to a specific time. 

We take our last reservation right at closing time.  We close at 8:30 we take our last reservation at 8:30. 

And here is what’s happening. 

Two weeks ago, I get a phone call for a reservation.  I offer the lady an 8:30 time slot as that is all we have.  Shen then asks what time we close and I say 8:30.  And she gets angry and says well isn’t that just fine, we’d have to order and eat in 15 minutes, if you close at 8:30. 

And at least dozen other times people have inferred that if we close at 8:30 they have to be out at 8:30.  Tonight a man called to change his reservation to earlier because he didn’t want to have to eat and run. 

And nowhere have we indicated that this is the case. 

Of course if you are seated at 8:30 you don’t have to eat and run.  We might, after 20 or 30 minutes ask you to order, but you can then take as much time as you need and stay as long as you like.  You have to legally be out by 1:00 am but I assure you that you won’t stay that long. 

Am I silly for thinking it’s strange that I have to answer this question?

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I was on the door tonight, as I am likely to be for the next few days, weeks, and months.

We opened the doors at 4:50 and one of the first people through the door was a couple. They walked in, didn’t acknowledge anyone and headed to the bar.

The host interrupted their mad dash and asked if they needed help. They told her they were going to the bar and she asked if they had a reservation.

You’d have thought she asked for them to give up their first born to her. They were stunned.

What do you mean a reservation at the bar? Of course not it’s the bar.

She explained that we take reservations at the bar and he said, since when and why?

I’m standing there watching the whole thing take place, thinking what a dick.

The wife then explains that they are there because they have friends dining with us and asks if they can join them. I find their reservation and unfortunately that can’t happen.

At this point the man angrily asks if we have open seats at the bar, and by now he has annoyed me so I say no. We had two. But he wasn’t getting them.

The hosts then asks if they’d like a table. The wife says yes and the host says inside or outside and the man loses it on his wife about how he is not eating outside, he doesn’t want to eat outside and he is not going to eat outside.

Then he makes a show of letting everyone know he has been here before.

He says, is Chef here, using his first name? I need to speak with him about this reservation business. He then asks if the bartender is here using is first name. He keeps going and going.

Finally he asks if they can at least go in and say hi to the bartender and they do.

The host whispers did you notice how he dropped Chef’s name like we were supposed to magically make seats appear because he knows him.

I say, did you notice how they didn’t get bar seats because the man is a jerk.

Finally they come out and I find out later went to the patio bar and had dinner there.

Of course when they got there the host outside asked if they had a reservations and the man was like, oh my god, if you tell me I need a reservation I’m going to lose it.

Fun facts that I know to be very true:

If you were a regular as your pretend to be, you’d know we take reservations. It’s been going on for over 2 years.

You’d be far better off dropping my name than Chef’s. Chef is only going to arrange for reservations for about 6 people. He tells everyone else to reach out to me. The hosts know that if someone drops Chef’s name they don’t know him, because he’d have made their reservation.

Meanwhile, if you drop my name, the hosts know that I probably do know them and might have an arrangement with them. Yesterday, I got to work at 2:30 which is late for me. One of my hosts came in early to help with phone calls because I knew I was going to be late. At least four people she returned calls to, ask for me to call them specifically.

And I did. Today. All of them were people I love and they all got what they needed. And two of them got things that were beyond the scope of what the host is allowed to do.

I can break the rules. They can’t.

So be nice to me, because I can make sure you always get the table you want. Or I can make sure we are always booked when you call.