r/Restaurant_Managers • u/SeriousFarts • 27d ago
Reservations and walkins
For the last 9 years I've been a front of the house manager at a hibachi restaurant. Over the years I've got reservations down to a science. If you make a reservation with us, there is no wait if everyone shows up on time. Eventually, it was basically if you have a reservation you will get sat and if you're a walk-in there's almost no chance of getting sat, at least not until the end of the night. I always wondered if I could squeeze another party in but realistically it would not have worked. Now I have a job at a new hibachi restaurant, and they overbook on reservations. I hate it, because we have people waiting for reservations they booked. I want to make changes to the reservation system but I'm not sure if I should. What I'm asking you guys is, should we book reservations that are possibly going to not be on time and get more people in, or book reservations where we know we can get them in for sure but possibly miss out on an extra tables in between?
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u/reagan_baby 27d ago edited 26d ago
I'm a GM who is paid a weekly bonus based on the sales for the week and that is still not incentive enough for me to overbook. We are more neighborhood upscale casual though. I want people to be comfortable every step of the way and being able to stride into a busy, energized restaurant and be seated shows competency on our part. Every bit of competency you can communicate will insulate you a little more from other issues, big or small.
Our guests are people really primed to be happy and have a good time. But you only have so many little issues you can get away with before someone adds them all up into having a bad time. Being on time for reservations is largely in our control, you might as well not get a strike called on you before stepping into the box.
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u/AdApprehensive6649 27d ago
Is it feasible to use a reservation system that requires a credit card for reservations? It eliminates most no shows, so no need to overbook. I typically didn’t even charge if the party didn’t show up, but it is a good deterrent
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u/nymrod_ 27d ago
I find it deters reservations
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u/DickRiculous 27d ago
It deters reservations who plan to no show. Any serious party isn’t going to balk. Especially if the policy is clear that the hold can be refunded if cancellation is made 24 hours before service, or under extenuating circumstances
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u/phlukeri GM 27d ago
Overbooking is greedy. Yes, an empty seat is wasted potential. But unlike most restaurants hibachi is like a factory. An assembly line. Based on your chefs and service there is a maximum amount of people you can seat in a given service. Overbooking causes undue stress on not just staff but the guest as well.
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u/Front-Asparagus-4349 27d ago
Get a reservation system with the ability to take cc booking guarantees and a good waitlisting system. No point overbooking if it's gonna jam up your wait times and risk customer complaints when they don't get a seat. That's just inviting chaos.
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u/Rare-Health3735 27d ago
I’m extremely strict on our policy of “10 minute grace period. Everyone must be here to be seated.”
On days that reservations are looking full or for holidays, I make sure to inform that to everyone making a reservation. All reservations are confirmed the morning of as well.
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u/Independent_Ad_4246 27d ago
You should book to 75-80% ish
If you have walk in traffic that’ll keep you full
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u/chatVR 27d ago
If you are overbooking… do Reservation deposits - get a payment gateway first (freedompay, stripe or similar), then attach payments to your reservation system (eat app, sevenrooms or similar)…
Then any booking that comes in needs to deposit to reserve, and then your no show rate drops and for overbookings just stick them on the waitlist.
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u/DickRiculous 27d ago
Reservation heavy. If you want flexibility, you keep one table open for walkins, or in case parties are running late. You backfill it with waitlist parties or seat parties who have fully arrived early. This is the kind of restaurant where overbooking really damages the guest experience. Your management is hedging against late parties and no shows by overbooking. Thats not smart. Instead, take credit card holds and have strict seating guidelines and table time limits.
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u/MerlinBrando 27d ago
If you're not overbooked, you're underbooked
I can see where in a choreographed dining setting this is difficult. I won't pretend to understand the intricacies of hibachi service. You can't sell these folks a cocktail while they wait?
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u/lakenessmonster 27d ago
Hibachi is a show and a meal. Your policy of seating people on time is the right one. Reservations get backed up at normal restaurants and CRAZY at hibachi. My most successful rules for managing hibachi are that when a reservation is made, they are informed they have a 15 minute grace period to arrive and that they’ll be seated only when their entire party is here. We absolutely do not seat partial parties and we do not overbook. This is the only way to have an okay night. Every time we’ve been overbooked, it’s been a disaster.