We’re at that time of the year when Bank Holiday Weekends seem to be cropping up on the regular and, for the first time since the 1st January 2020 we can eat and drink INSIDE on a Bank Holiday (not that we’ll want to with the ‘heat wave’ the weather app is promising…).
We get it, it’s been a tough time, go out, have fun, spend spend spend in our independents (they need your £££) but please, don’t be that guy, don’t let your mates be that guy. We aren’t necessarily saying, don’t get hammered but we know how easy it can be to forget about COVID-19 and social distancing after a few. They are there to keep everyone safe, we don’t want another lockdown so keep check on yourself and your mates.
Our main concern though is something that we can’t get our heads around. NO SHOWS!
Honestly, this is ridiculous. We understand that people might be booking places in case they can’t get in somewhere better, we understand plans change but not canceling is just selfish. It takes 30 seconds to call and cancel, if you’ve booked online it’s a couple of clicks and you’re done.
Businesses are currently opening at half capacity because of social distancing, they are having to hire more staff to ensure that they can provide great service, even when everyone turns up many places are struggling to break even, the numbers simply don’t add up.
We know of one restaurant so small that they can only have one table in for each 2 hour period, they’ve had no shows, that’s two hours of wages and ingredients wasted with no income. Last weekend many saw half of bookings didn’t turn up, even though they had paid a deposit (£10 doesn’t really help the business) whilst they had to turn walk-ins away just in case the bookings did turn up. If you’ve decided on a spontaneous night out but being turned away despite seeing empty tables you’ll have no doubt felt frustrated. This has now led to some stop taking bookings all together and open on a first-come-first served basis. Not ideal for all parties but we can understand why.
Thought that wasn’t bad enough for the hospitality sector who’ve already had a challenging 14 month? Last night 3 tables at Gatsby on Division Street did a runner without paying! Seriously! What is wrong with people? They are all on CCTV but the bar have Tweeted saying that if they pop in and pay all we be forgotten. Guys, do the right thing.
To sum up:
This Bank Holiday Weekend
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