xmas work dinner

Pollycat

nuttyarab wrote: »

I paid a £10 deposit for each person including the no shows. When I informed the manager that two hadn't turned up he just said thanks for letting them know, it was never said I would still have to pay or was it said they would still serve the food. I gathered I would lose the deposit but didn't expect for it to be added to our bill.
My husband got the bill and quietly paid for it, he didn't want to go through it in front of everyone and we didn't expect to be charged, I always thought that is what a deposit is for?

I think the time to settle the issue of what you were going to pay for the no-shows was when you told the manager about them.

And as you didn't do that, it should have been raised when the bill was produced.

marliepanda

nuttyarab wrote: »

I paid a £10 deposit for each person including the no shows. When I informed the manager that two hadn't turned up he just said thanks for letting them know, it was never said I would still have to pay or was it said they would still serve the food. I gathered I would lose the deposit but didn't expect for it to be added to our bill.
My husband got the bill and quietly paid for it, he didn't want to go through it in front of everyone and we didn't expect to be charged, I always thought that is what a deposit is for?

Have you actually asked the restaurant about it?

It could be an oversight.

marliepanda

Pollycat wrote: »

Yes but at the end of the day, the meal was booked for x people at £x.
And that's the payment that the restaurant received.
Thus incurring no financial loss (except maybe on # drinks consumed).
The restaurant would have assessed the income/expenditure of accepting a party booking so would possibly have considered the scenarios you list.
But once the booking had been accepted and the whole party had paid in full - even the no-shows - then they would not have lost anything.

Or am I missing something?

I agree they havent lost anything currently.

If they gave the OP a freebie, or refunded the extra £40, then they may suffer a loss.

Not sure what you mean either, wires crossed maybe.

Poppie68

Pollycat wrote: »

Why would the restaurant have lost money because of the no-shows?

Say 10 people booked and all paid £10 deposit for a (for example) £30 meal.

According to the OP they were charged in full for all 10 people even though only 8 people attended.

So the restaurant was paid in full for 10 people (i.e. 10 x £30) but only served 8 meals.

The no-shows paid £10 deposit and the OP's husband paid the remaining £20 x 2 for the no-shows.

I said they....would...of lost money not that they did lose money.

Pollycat

Poppie68 wrote: »

I doubt they are going to provide a freebie, the restaurant would of lost money because of the no shows..

Poppie68 wrote: »

I said they....would...of lost money not that they did lose money.

But the restaurant didn't lose money because of the no-shows.........

They would have lost money if they had given the OP a freebie - not because of the no-shows.

SuperHan

Pollycat wrote: »

But the restaurant didn't lose money because of the no-shows.........

They would have lost money if they had given the OP a freebie - not because of the no-shows.

They would have lost money if they hadn't charged the OP for the no shows. As they did, it's the OP's loss.

What the other posters are getting at is why should the restaurant not charge the OP and incur the loss themselves, when it's nothing to do with them. The hypothetical loss has been outlined in earlier posts.

arcon5

marliepanda wrote: »

Many scenarios.

The meal was prebooked, so the meals may have been prepared in advance of arrival/ingredients bought?

Someone may have tried to book a table for two, but due to limitations on seating, they may have been turned away.

Another larger party may have tried to book, but may have been two short because OP booking 10 so decided to take their custom elsewhere.

Extra staff may have been employed because 10 people was too much for one server to handle who was originally planned.

None of which provable losses.

Some of which highly unlikely.

arcon5

bris wrote: »

They are legally allowed to charge for the no shows. They need to mitigate their losses but who would want 2 seats at someone else's night out so in that respect it would be impossible to mitigate this loss.


The contract was for X amount of people, they charged for X amount of people, all legal.

On what grounds?

If op breached the contract then they are entitled to provable losses.. which are what?

As it stands the restaurant have profited from the breach as their cost of sales was reduced.

Poppie68

Pollycat wrote: »

But the restaurant didn't lose money because of the no-shows.........

They would have lost money if they had given the OP a freebie - not because of the no-shows.

I didn't say they had lost money...
They would of lost money if the no shows hadn't been paid for...and then to then give a freebie would again put them at a loss.

arcon5

Go back in and ask them if this was an error op... i'd be pushing for at least a partial refund, or tell them to bag up the food for the two meals and you'll take it away with you.