Re: Quebec law to allow restaurants to charge for now shows.

On Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:05:24 +0000, Dave Smith wrote:

On 2025-03-20 11:34 a.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn wrote:

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On Wed, 19 Mar 2025 21:42:42 +0000, Dave Smith wrote:

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It sounds fair enough to me. Quebec is going to allow restaurants to
charge $10 a head for people who make reservations and then fail to show
up.  There are a couple caveats to it. The reservation has to be for at
least 5 people and they cannot charge it if at least one of the party
shows up.
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https://www.thestar.com/business/quebec-says-it-will-allow-
restaurants-to-charge-people-for-no-shows/article_f874394f-
a1f1-5d5c-9830-6e7a1a17a663.html
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How will this be enforced?  Are they required by whomever
makes the reservation to provide a debit or credit card
number?
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It should be simple enough. I imagine that people will have to pay a
deposit for a reservation and it would be deducted from their bill when
they show up for the meal.
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I guess the problem is how they deal with the billing for the person who
shows up. It applies to reservations for 5 or more, so if only one shows
up does that person get the $10 credit or do they get credit for the
whole reservation. That could almost make it a free meal for one.
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I suppose the idea is that if people realize they will lose their money
if they don't show up they will think twice about simply not showing up
for the reservation.
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Honestly?  The last time I've eaten anywhere that required
a reservation was 25 years ago.  The food was great, but
no means packed nor people waiting outside or at the bar
for a table.
For me, a reasonable amount of time is 30 minutes or less.
A restaurant that can't seat me in a reasonable amount of
time, I just go somewhere else.
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