Following celebrity chef Tom Kerridge’s outpouring on Twitter last weekend about guests not honouring their table reservations at his London restaurant, Nick Mosley talks to Hove restaurateur James Thomson of Wild Flor in Church Road as to why a no-show is a no-go.

Independent restaurants run on very tight margins so – at weekends in particular – ensuring a full house is essential.

In normal circumstances, customers who book but then fail to turn up are an annoyance.

However at present – with restaurants having reduced capacity due to social distancing regulations – the negative financial impact is considerable: empty tables don’t pay the rent.

Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge hit out at customers who failed to turn up after lockdown rules lifted partially after months, allowing people to once again enjoy pubs and restaurants in England.

He said 27 customers skipped their reservations at Kerridge’s Bar and Grill in London, which he said puts jobs at risk.

“To the 27 people that booked and then failed to turn up on a Saturday night..... This industry, like many others is on the verge of collapse,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Your behaviour is disgraceful, short-sighted and downright unhelpful..... all of you “no shows” in all restaurants up and down the country are adding to the issues already being faced.... You are putting people’s jobs more at risk..... we put staff levels to the number of covers booked and when you fail to turn up, it now costs us, which in turn will force very uncomfortable and hard decisions about staffing levels. You are the worst kind of guest, and that is “selfish”. I hope you have good look at yourselves...

Here in Sussex restaurants are planning staffing very carefully.

“We have shortened our trading week to keep costs down and demand high,” James at Wild Flor said.

“We currently only trade on Thursday to Saturday evenings and have 40 available seats per evening compared to 56 before lockdown.”

“Last week, 12 seats that were booked across those three days didn’t show up. That’s 10 per cent of our potential revenue lost. At a time when we’re all just hoping to break even, that’s hugely damaging.”

In the post-lockdown trading environment, walk-in guests who could typically be relied upon to fill empty tables are few and far between as eating out has become a much more planned experienced. Simply less people are dining in restaurants at the moment.

“It’s just disappointing that the thoughtless and damaging act of no-showing is still rife,” said James. “In fact, it seems worse than ever.”

Like many restaurants, James and his team at Wild Flor will always hold a table, in case guests are running a little late.

“We always call if 15 minutes passes,” he said.

“We would give them 30 minutes.

“But you can’t expect a walk-in to wait for you to do all of that in order for them to get the table.”.

Within the industry, there is an on-going conversation as to whether to charge a deposit or not. In the UK, diners are averse to this but it’s a trend that is undoubtedly going to become more common.

“I hope that any serial no-show types realise the seriousness of their actions,” James said. “I think more restaurants will start charging them, which should make a change”.

Wild Flor have decided to now take a deposit on all table reservations.

“We’ve only ever taken deposits for larger parties of six or more,” James said. “Effective from this week, guests will be asked to enter card details to secure their booking. Nothing will be charged automatically, and we’ll always give the benefit of the doubt if the customer provides a reasonable excuse, but in most cases no-shows just hang up on you when you call.”

“In the event that no good reason has been provided, we would charge £15 per person. This is only around 25 per cent of typical average seat revenue for a peak service, so from our perspective, not a lot of money, but better than nothing”.

Having been trading for a little over a year, James is thankful for the loyal customers that return time and time again not only to Wild Flor but also to the other quality independent restaurants in the city.

“We’re by no means the worst hit,” he said.

“We are so thankful for all the loyal locals and regulars who continue to dine out in Brighton and Hove, and hope they continue to do so. We need them now more than ever and are working very hard to ensure you continue to love what we do.”