“There are two types of rabbit setters: those who have reserved their table well in advance and those who reserve a few hours before. All of them are more severe in summer than in winter and strike especially at weekends. Manager of three bistronomic establishments in the 9th arrondissement, Arthur Lecomte has learned to juggle the “no-show”, or, in the language of Molière, the non-honored reservations of his customers. “It has always existed but the confinements have had a real accelerator effect”, explains the man who has run a restaurant ironically called “Bien Élevé” for almost ten years. Well behaved, his customers are not always: every week, the indelicacy of some of them causes him to lose more than twenty covers. On arrival, the weekly shortfall is around 1000 euros per establishment. “This is not negligible for our overall turnover, insists the manager. But everyone is affected, including the stars…”
Highlighted last year, the “no-show” has become one of the first concerns among restaurateurs. Many are those who have challenged their customers on social networks to try to reason with them. A column entitled “No more no-show” even appeared on the Fooding site in June 2022. A way of reminding us that, in addition to the financial loss, missed reservations impact the entire life of a restaurant: spoiled products, disrupted cuisine, shaken organization … “It’s hard to accept especially when you consider the hardships that restaurants have been going through since the end of the Covid”, annoys Mattia Taiuti, co-founder of Casa Bini, Italian table in the district of the Odeon in Paris.
With rising commodity prices and labor shortages, the tolerance of restaurateurs has waned. They have therefore multiplied initiatives to combat this phenomenon. There are countless establishments that have taken the step of booking by bank imprint. “I had always refused because I did not find it welcoming for the client. But it had become untenable, insofar as we operate almost exclusively by reservation”, pleads Mattia Taiuti. The restaurateur does not regret having crossed the Rubicon. “The rate of non-honored reservations, which could reach 30% during certain evenings, has been divided by three”, he assures.
Like many of his colleagues, the manager of Casa Bini has set his sights on the French leader in technological solutions dedicated to the catering sector, Zenchef. Present in 15 countries, the reservation platform has already won over more than 7,000 restaurants, including several major catering groups such as Groupe Bertrand, Del Arte and La Criée. The principle, modeled on the hotel industry, is simple: when reserving their table, the customer is invited to fill in their bank details. In case of non-honored reservations or late cancellation, it is directly debited from his account. While restaurateurs are free to choose the extent of the punishment themselves, it generally depends on the range of prices charged by the restaurant. “The goal is not to exaggerate,” argues Mattia Taitu. The manager takes 20 euros per absent customer. “In Scandinavian countries, the customer pays for his entire meal in advance. So we don’t make money with that!” he defends.
Especially since Zenchef has a cost. Each year, the restaurateur pays a little less than 2000 euros to benefit from the service, in addition to the commissions deducted from the samples in the event of a no-show. “Given the efficiency of the platform, it’s not huge,” said Mattia Taitu, whose two Germanopratin restaurants record two million in turnover per year.
“It’s not cheap, but for the added value, it’s worth it,” concedes, more timidly, Arthur Lecomte. The latter handles the reservation by bank imprint with caution. He only uses it in two of his restaurants, only on large tables with more than six covers and on weekends. For his third address, more popular, he refuses. “I am afraid of the blockages that this could cause for our customers. Psychologically and financially, it is not easy to deposit 20 euros for each guest on a table of five during a birthday, for example”. Arthur Lecomte relies on the “civility” of his clients, more than on coercion. “The ‘no-show’ is starting to recede on its own, and I remain convinced that those who firmly believe in the banking footprint are missing part of the picture,” he squeaks.
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The French will however have to get used to taking out their credit card before benefiting from a service, whatever it may be. After the hotel and catering industry, beauty institutes are getting into it. Here again, it is the explosion of non-honored reservations that has pushed establishment managers to tighten the screw. “It became a real problem at the time of the Covid, from the moment when the institutes made it easier to make appointments by accepting online reservations”, explains Planity, one of the reservation platforms in the sector.
Pendant of Zenchef, Planity presents itself as an antidote to no-show in the world of beauty. “With the introduction of online payment, in full or in part, missed appointments are reduced by half,” proclaims the company, which indicates that it does not charge commissions on slots reserved online. The institutes still pay a fixed subscription, which also includes a profitability estimator and an intelligent agenda. “Our clientele is seduced and continues to grow”, assures the platform.
Still, the reservation by bank imprint lends itself more to luxury care than to a simple brushing at the hairdresser. The latter have not yet found the magic formula. “Every day, at least three or four appointments are skipped, depending on the size of the show. How are we going to curb this growing phenomenon?” worries Christophe Doré, president of the Federation of hairdressers. Like restaurateurs, the hair craftsman never stops probing the psychology of ghost customers. “Rabbits are facilitated by the click, of course, but not only since it also happens frequently with telephone reservations. It is a loss of respect and civility, relatively unprecedented vis-à-vis local shops, ”he deciphers bitterly.
While waiting to unravel the mysteries of the human race, Christophe Doré multiplies meetings with his pairs and “reservation platforms”. These can already be rubbing their hands. With the rise in failed reservations, their business has grown dramatically. Founded only four years ago, Planity already has a 75% market share in France and is preparing to conquer Germany, thanks to a fundraising of 30 million euros in July. Zenchef, for its part, has partnered with PSG Equity, a leading growth equity firm to continue its expansion. After France, the young shoot aims to seduce other countries in Europe. If the incivilities have something to exasperate, it is clear that they are recipe for some.
