Here’s the Right Way to Cancel a Restaurant Reservation

With the popularity of some restaurants there’s almost no way to have any spontaneity when going because a reservation has to be made weeks in advance. The newest hot spot in town is booked solid and the only way to get a table is to know you want to go there a month from the time you first think about it and you hope you’re still available when the day comes. It’s like when I go to the dentist and they want to book my next cleaning six months later and ask if I’m free. I don’t know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow night, but sure, I’ll commit to something 182 days away. 

If you’re making reservations for the next day or for weeks into the future, make sure you understand the cancelation policy. Every restaurant approaches reservations differently.

Read and respect the cancellation policy

Some places will ask for a credit card number to confirm your reservation. While some customers may balk at the idea, there is a reason they might require it. First of all, you won’t be charged anything unless you cancel and break the rules of the agreement. I know of a restaurant in Boston that has a strict cancellation policy. The restaurant has very few tables and all diners eat the same meal at the same time. The food is bought and prepared for exactly that many customers, so if someone cancels at the last minute, the restaurant loses money. One would think if it’s so busy they should be able to fill that seat with ease, but there’s no guarantee a restaurant can call someone on a waiting list and have them there within a few hours. 

For this reason, if anyone cancels on the day of, they are charged the full cost of the meal. Harsh? Perhaps. Some places will just charge a cancellation fee, so know what you’re agreeing to when reserving. 

Apologize, do not lie about why you are canceling, and be polite

What if you absolutely cannot make the reservation? First of all, call the restaurant and tell the truth. Don’t create an elaborate story about an emergency appendectomy and how on the way to the hospital you got a flat tire and you couldn’t call sooner because your dog ate your cell phone. Apologize, acknowledge the cancellation policy and be nice about it. Even though a restaurant is in the hospitality business, it is first and foremost a business that needs to make money. If you cancel and knew that canceling would cost you $50, it’s on you. 

See if you can reschedule your reservation

Ask if you can reschedule without penalty or offer your reservation to someone else. The restaurant is much more likely to cancel without charge to a friendly customer than an angry one who won’t take ownership of the situation.Some people think it takes a lot of nerve for a restaurant to require a credit card deposit to make a reservation, but I would counter that by saying it takes a lot of nerve for a customer to make a reservation and then simply not show up for it. Staffing and food preparation is all based on expected covers, and no-shows can really affect the overall business.

Uphold your end of the bargain 

Some restaurants won’t take reservations at all because it’s just too complicated. Someone makes one for 8 p.m. and then gets upset that at 8:10 p.m., they’re still waiting. This is a good moment to remind customers that reservation times are not set in stone. Hosts do their best to seat people when they expect to be seated, but on the other hand, it’s not easy to control how quickly another customer will eat, pay, and relinquish a table. 

If you make a reservation, do your best to uphold your end of the deal and the restaurant will do the same. And know that if you do cancel, the restaurant is entitled to whatever you agreed to when you made the reservation. At the very least, your cancellation will go down on your permanent record and the next time you make a reservation, they’ll question whether or not you’re going to show up.