104. Different Perspectives: Pre-Arrival Email from a Michelin-star Restaurant

My friend shared the following experience with a Michelin restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. 

She had received the confirmation via email few weeks ago and on the day prior to her dinner booking, she received another email. This message informed that there was a group booking of 5 the following evening and "sought her understanding in case there was any inconvenience".

(Note that this restaurant does not have private rooms)

My friend quipped, "What do they want me to do with this message? At least give me the choice to cancel with no penalty or tell me where I would be seated...hopefully the furthest away from the group!"

While some may feel that it was nice of the restaurant to give the heads up, my friend was not wrong to feel that the message was somehow ominous and hence made her feel stressed. To her, the email had compromised her positive anticipation of the upcoming dining experience. More importantly, she felt she was left with uncertainty, without a choice or resolution,

So what could the restaurant have done differently to avoid such negative emotions and perception?

Myself, I don't agree with my friend's suggestion of asking customers if they would like cancel or change their reservation. This may cause customers to be more upset as they retort, "Why me and not them?" Besides, it is not as if the restaurant could not cope with this capacity.

Her second suggestion - informing guests where they and the group would be seated in advance......Would that really help or give rise to more issues to resolve? I can already imagine the operational nightmare if all diners were to start choosing the tables they prefer...

Or, how about not informing the guests beforehand? (After all, it is just a group of 5, not 50. Sometimes, a table of 3 could make more noise than a group of 6!). On the actual day, when walking the guests to the table, the service staff could still offer option of different tables/sections if need be.

While I believe the restaurant team had good intention to "forewarn" its diners - an anticipatory gesture - it leads one to think, "Does it help?"


Reflective thoughts: How would you do it differently? What factors may influence the restaurant to pre-inform the diners? 

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