+2
Had been planning to have dinner with a friend last night at a similar-level fine-dining establishment in London (though to be fair, as fine dining goes, this wasn’t that expensive of an establishment or anything). Naturally, when you book, they take card details and a pre-payment (to compensate the establishment in case of no-shows, duh).
Now, generally speaking, I don’t tend to bail out on things, be that films or pre-planned engagements. However, this has been a heck of a week so far, I tore a ligament in my leg (not very bad but unpleasant and walking is painful) and some other routine-disrupting events occurred.
Yes, for sure, in an ideal world I could call them and warn the party (of 2) wasn’t coming, especially given the pandemic difficulties restaurants are facing, etc., but until the last minute, I did intend to go. Then I got a last-minute appointment with a physio that very night, meaning timings would be tight, and also I just didn’t feel up to it. Again, the deposit they take is not insignificant, so while it wouldn’t cover a full meal there, it should cover all reasonable ‘costs’ they could incur.
Long story short, as we don’t show up, the restaurant calls me three times while I was at the doctor’s (that I can understand), then sends an email close to midnight (!) advising they would ‘call me tomorrow to understand what happened’ (like I’m a schoolgirl with an unauthorised absence) and then proceed to call me at 10, 10.15 and 10.20 am at the height of a stressful day. And no, I really don’t see why on Earth I’m meant to be explaining this stuff about my ligament to them. I’ve bailed out of restaurant reservations just because I wanted to stay home and really loved the show I was watching, so this just seems outlandish.
In terms of ‘extending a business a courtesy’, this business is… not small, and customers rarely see courtesies returned to them, especially in recent times.
Not particularly relevant, I suppose, but the experience did give me a new appreciation of The Menu. I like good food and spend time seeking it out, but I’m in no way a foodie and that’s put me off such pretentious, obnoxious shit for life, so again, I suddenly understand much better what the director was getting at and how surreal it looks ‘in the real world’.
Last edited by AgrippinaX; 01-26-23 at 04:15 PM.