I’d like to speak to the manager!!!
It was Monday.
Mondays are the worst.
I was hoping that the beginning of the end of our season would break the spell.
It poured here today. The patio was closed. We could only be so busy with just the dining room open.
We opened at 4:50 as always today.
In walks the first couple.
I touch my I-pad and it won’t respond. This isn’t surprising. I have an entire post, in my head, about how lame Resy is for the restaurant.
I close the app and restart it.
The screen is black.
The couple standing in front of me is a 2-top. They say that have a reservation, I seat them, making a note of their name so I can put them at the right table when the system comes back up.
It’s only takes about 90 seconds for the system to start working again.
However, 90 seconds is an eternity and I now have a line at the door.
I get the next 2-top seated.
And then a group steps up to the host stand.
Hi, do you have reservation tonight?
Yes, have a reservation for 6 at the bar.
Insert screeching noise here.
In the 14 months I’ve been manager, we’ve taken exactly two 6 top reservations at the bar. Both were in the last month. Both were for regulars. Both were in the 2nd turn.
I absolutely would not take 6 people at the bar in the first turn.
I ask what the name on the reservation is and they tell me.
Chef had actually pointed out that we had 2 reservations at the bar tonight, at the same time with the same last name. One was a 2-top. The other a 1-top.
This usually means they double booked or wanted a 3-top. I moved them next to each other.
These are the people.
I of course know the name and explain that the reservation was only for 3 people.
They all start talking and in all the chaos they explain that they made multiple reservations.
I ask what the other names are and they tell me.
Only I can’t find it.
Another name.
Can’t find it.
It’s approaching 5:00 and now I really do have a line at the door.
Finally, they give me a name I find. A 2-top at 5:15. At the bar.
Another name. I find it a 1-top at 5:00.
Four reservations, for 6 people at the bar.
So, I send someone in with the 1 top and the 2 top sitting together at the bar. Seats 21, 22, 23.
I send someone else in with the 1-top. Seat 1 at the bar.
And I send someone else in with the final 2-top and they are going to 15 and 16.
Chaos ensues because they are confused.
One of them comes back to the host stand to explain that she doesn’t understand what is happening.
I explain that I have seated their reservations, and they have been shown to their seats. She goes back in but the 6 of them are moving about, and no one is sitting down.
I say excuse me to the line of folks at the door and go into the bar.
I walk up to them and explain that three of them are sitting over there and 2 of them are here and one of them is over there.
They look at me like I’m stupid.
Finally, a woman explains that they made the reservations thinking that if they just showed up at 5:00, we’d work it out.
I explain that it’s not that simple.
She says but if we show up at 5:00, you should just be able to work it out.
She then says, that she tried to make a reservation for 6 but it wouldn’t let her.
I explain that we don’t take reservations for 6 at the bar, and that if they’d put in 6 people as a request a pop up menu would have appeared saying that if you are 6 or more to call the restaurant and we would help you find a reservation.
She keeps protesting and finally says, but we’ve been here several times this summer and it’s never been a problem.
I ask her if she has come with 6 people, and she says no.
I also know that I’ve never seen any other them before. The reservation history, says it’s all of their first times.
I explain again that I can’t accommodate 6 people at the bar. And that unfortunately I can’t seat them together.
She wants to know why.
This is where it gets tricky.
I’m not just being an asshole to be an asshole.
Here’s the thing about our bar.
We reserve it. Meaning all night people will be coming in with seats they are expecting to be able to sit in.
If I seat 6:00 people at 5:00 they will not be up at 6:30, when the computer thought they would. So I will NOT have a place for my five 6:30 reservations. Six people at the bar will be there for 2+ hours and will probably not even be up for my 7:00 reservations.
AND.
The bar is the trickiest of the areas to plan out for the evening.
Why you ask?
Well, you don’t want to seat all the 5:00’s next to each other, because you end up with 6 people clumped together, and they don’t understand why they have to sit right next to each other.
And.
We have regulars. LOTS. And lots of regulars.
They have specific seats. Kristen is seats 9 and 10. Martha is seats 11 and 12. Jean is also seats 11 and 12 on a different day. Brian is always, always, always seats 13 and 14. Beth likes to be able to see the TV’s. Marc and his husband like to see the kitchen. PS. Brian doesn’t like to be seated next to Martha when they are in at the same time. 11 and 12. 13 and 14. So I am to move one of the couples.
I also plan out the night so the end of night bar reservations are not seated next to each other. They make friends and the next thing you know its 10:30 and all the 7:00’s are still here, having a great time, and I just want to go home.
I explain an abbreviated version off all of this and she says, so I guess if you aren’t from here you are just screwed.
I explain that all she had to do was call as Resy explained and that we’d have been happy to get them a table.
At this point the man who is supposed to be sitting by himself starts to get loud. The woman I’m talking to shuts him down and they all sit down.
Unbeknownst to me, they are sharing appetizers 20 minutes later, with each other around the bar.
They don’t say anything else to me, they haven’t left a bad review yet, and they all left separately and were gone by 6:30.
By the time this has been sorted out, it’s after 5:00, my line at the door has grown.
Did I mention I’m the only host today.
I get all my 5:00’s and 5:15 set. Take a few phone calls, just as the 5:30’s start to appear.
And suddenly a man appears at my right, saying hi, we are the 7-top that called and we are here for our reservation.
Hmm. This is interesting as I didn’t take a call for a 7-top.
He says yes, my wife called and left a message saying we were coming, we are a 7-top.
I assure him that if he did not speak with someone that he does not in fact have a reservation.
He then explains that they do have a reservation. For four people at 5:30. But they have arrived with seven. He goes on to explain that his wife called and spoke with someone today about a 11 top and we had room, so logic has it that if we could’ve seated an 11 top, seven must be easy. He says, so we are 7 for dinner.
I find the reservation for four.
Yes. I remember this woman. We had a very pleasant, very funny exchange on the phone.
She called about an 11 top and I explained that we could accommodate the party, but we’d have to use our special pre-fixe menu. To do this she’d need to email me, I would respond immediately and if they were good with everything, I could book the reservation.
In the process of giving her my email address, she read it back to me, changing the name of the restaurant, to a very famous, truly impossible to get a reservation at restaurant with a similar name.
I laugh and explain that although very similar in name we are not an unfound kitchen.
I then ask if she has ever been there. She says no, but she’s tried for the past several years.
I then say, that a friend won the lottery for reservations and invited us to join her and her wife and so we were lucky enough to go.
I then say to her that I actually answered the phone several times when I first started using the other restaurant name instead of ours.
We laugh and laugh, she hangs up.
She sends the email. I send her the information back and I don’t hear from her again.
This is not surprising.
The pre-fixe menu is wonderful. And anyone who orders it will tell you it’s a site to behold. But it’s not inexpensive.
I’m sure if it were 50% less expensive everyone would do it.
I go on about my day, until 5:30 when this woman’s husband is standing in front of me saying they booked a reservation.
I explain that I spoke with his wife, I offered her a table for 11 and never heard back.
He says, yes, you could accommodate us. We are 7 now, so it should be easy. 7 is less than 11.
I explain that the conversation was at 2:00. It’s now 3.5 hours later. We don’t hold tables just in case someone changes their mind. That table was gone by 4:00.
He then says, okay, how about you seat us in one of your private rooms.
I try to explain, but he keeps interrupting say can you seat us in one of your private rooms.
I explain that those rooms are booked but he seems confused.
He still doesn’t get it.
He then says and I quote, “But we cancelled our reservation at the super fancy formal restaurant at an Inn across town, to come here. What are we supposed to do now? What am I supposed to tell the Smiths?”
At this point his wife steps in, asks him to calm down and stands in front of me. She is very kind, very pretty and I want to be her friend. She calmly says, I understand what you are saying but is there anything you can do?
I explain that I can’t. We are booked for anything over 4 tonight. I booked the last large table around 5:00. A walk in of people from the beach, who were going to their hotel to shower and would be back by 7:00.
The husband interrupts and says why can’t you give us that table.
And I have to explain that it’s now almost 5:45 and a 7-top cannot, sit, order, eat and drink and be out in an hour and 15 minutes. It’s not possible.
The wife continues to be kind and finally turns to the husband and says let’s go outside and figure something out.
They leave.
Well sort of.
It’s pouring. So, they stand with the front door open, where the breeze is negative 30 degrees tonight, and they discuss what they are going to tell the Smiths who cancelled their reservation to be here.
They talk for at least 15 minutes.
Finally, the wife comes back to the desk. Apologizes again. Says that they are going to cancel their 4-top reservation. And she’d appreciate if I didn’t charge them $25 per person, but would understand if I did.
I tell her I won’t charge her and will take care of cancelling the reservation.
She tells me she appreciates me, and leaves.
It’s well past 5:45 when I realize John’s hasn’t come in for his 5:30 reservation. He’s often a little late, but never this late. I call and he answers and say that he forgot to cancel the reservation but he’s coming with his parents and grandparents.
I say, huh?
He said, yeah, you spoke with my mom today and made the reservation.
I said yes, for her and your grandparents. She never mentioned you and your wife joining.
He says, we are here and we’ll figure something out.
They walk in about 5 minutes later and they are ALL apologetic about the confusion.
I too am apologetic, because they are the nicest people.
I explain that there is nothing I can do. They discuss amongst themselves and decide that they’ll eat the way the reservations are. Two at the bar. Four at a table.
I get them seated.
It’s 5:55.
I turn around and 5 people are leaving.
What the fuck?
It’s table 37.
What the fuck.
Five tops don’t eat in 65 minutes.
But they did. And table 37 will hold 6 people. And the reservation at 7:00 is for 4 people.
I let them all know that if they can sit tight for about 6 minutes, I can get them seated together.
And by 6:05 they were seated and had a great time.
On their way out they couldn’t stop thanking me enough for working it out.
I told the mom that I was just grateful she was nice.
She put her hand on my arm and said I’m always nice. And I bet that she actually is.
Then she commented on how cold my arm was. I put my hand on hers and she shrieked that they were COLD. I said yes, I’ve been cold all night. She replies, I would love to put them on my neck but I won’t.
Trust me it was not creepy. I’m sure it was only menopause.
It’s now 8:00.
The rest of the night has gone better.
There was a message at 5:10 from the 7 top, saying they were on their way. I probably won’t return the call on Wednesday.
I’m officially glad I only have 4 more Mondays. I don’t think I can take much more of this.
I'd Like to Speak to the Manager!!! 