"NO SHOWS”, CUSTOMERS WHO CANCEL AT THE LAST MINUTE, ARE AN ECONOMIC DAMAGE TO RESTAURANTS. WHAT TO DO? THE "THE CLOVE CLUB", STARRED LONDON RESTAURANT, SAYS PAY IN ADVANCE. NO SHOW, NO REFUND

Canceling a reservation at the restaurant at the last minute, in addition to not being polite can also cause problems, including economic ones, to the restaurant itself. But, it is not easy to turn this trend around.
It is especially troubling in London, where restaurants find they have reserved tables, full refrigerators, empty rooms and business below expectations.

"The Clove Club", a starred restaurant in England’s capital, has found a solution to fight the "no shows" (as they are called, or customers who cancel at the last minute or do not show up at all). They have decided to make customers pay in advance. Customers will have a choice between two tasting menus, one at 65 pounds and one at 95 pounds. After dinner, they will be paying only wine and beverages. Needless to say, the "no shows" and last minute cancellations will not be refunded.

“We are a motivated restaurant, and by the time customers arrive in the evening for dinner, we have already spent a lot of money buying the right amount of ingredients and hiring the right number of waiters and cooks, so a cancellation without notice is very expensive for us”, says Isaac McHale, head chef of "the Clove Club". “We hope that the experiment works. The "well-meaning" customer will not have any objections about pre-paying. The old system of asking for a deposit when booking, or leaving the a credit card number was considered offensive, and "soft" systems like sending email messages to customers reminding them of their reservation, have proven ineffective”.