We dine early, mostly due to our daughter’s sleep schedule.
Recently, I’ve noticed a pattern of a few restaurants not being fully ready for our reservation upon arrival.
A 5pm dinner guest is entitled to the full experience, don’t you think?
✔️ We received no greeting by staff at the host stand, because there was nobody there.
✔️ The tables were bare and fresh floral center pieces weren’t yet distributed.
✔️ Music was not yet on in the dining room.
The restaurants were open and we had a reservation, they just weren’t fully ready.
Is this a time management issue? (ie: they aren’t allotting enough time for the pre-opening tasks)
A procedural one? (ie: staff isn’t scheduled to arrive early enough)
Or a staffing one? (ie: they are short staffed leaving other employees over committed)
Regardless, it made me reflect on the concept that every paying guest should be treated as a VIP, regardless of how much they are spending at your establishment, or in this case, regardless of what time they choose to dine.
Have you been in a similar situation?