Have you ever made three different dinner reservations simply because you weren’t sure what you were in the mood for? We’re willing to bet that you never bothered to cancel the other two, and you’re not alone. Customers have a terrible habit of abandoning reservations without batting an eye. And restaurants are getting fed up. In light of these chronic no-shows, Tab Payments, a dinner reservation and payment app, is introducing a new feature to crack down on empty tables.
Tab Payments is a Toronto-based restaurant app that carries users through the dining experience from beginning to end. Diners can use Tab at 93 participating restaurants across Toronto and Montreal, where users are given access to hard-to-get seats. At the end of the night, Tab forwards the bill to your email.
However, as per Thursday, May 21, should you decide to cancel a reservation, Tab will require diners to pay a $10 cancellation fee. Users who don’t bother to cancel reservations will be forced to accept a $30 no-show fee.
“For restaurants, we’ve fundamentally seen a shift in major American cities in which high demand restaurants are leveraging credit cards on file to shift the power dynamics of booking tables in their favour,” said Adam Epstein, the co-founder of Tab Payments.
The pilot program is currently live on iPhone and will integrate 25 well-regarded Toronto restaurants including Terroni, Gusto 101, Marben, Bestellen, Portland Variety, Zucca and Rasa. So for those who leave their tables empty, it looks like the tables have finally turned.
Related Link: The Future Has Arrived: Restaurants Now Accepting Mobile Payments
What are your thoughts on Tab Payments charging for no-shows? Let Vv Magazine know in the comments below or tweet us @ViewTheVibe.
