Thursday, May 11, 2006 by Ospite.


I'm sure most of you are aware of the upcoming Mother's Day. This is our second busiest day of the year after Valentine's Day. Like Valentine's Day, we create a separate reservation book and take larger parties than normal. There are several reasons why MD is worse than VD and I'm not exactly looking forward to it.

1. Customers don't splurge on MD. They are out for dinner or lunch with mom because they feel inclined to treat her to a meal once a year. Sometimes the meal itself is the present for her...i.e. time spent together is the present. While that's all well and good, it means they are probably cheap and trying to get away with spending as little money as possible. Or they're broke. Neither one works out well for us. But really it's a lose-lose because if they are present people, it means they've already spent money on the present and they're hoping to spend less on the meal and use it more like a gesture to mom: "gift and a meal...clearly I'm impressive."

2. Mother's Day diners don't understand that while we like that they want to spend the special time communing together, we really need them to eat and leave so we can get to the next party in the book. Seriously, I'm expecting tents and sleeping bags at the tables this year. This is an occasion to milk the event for all its worth. These parties will stay until we've bussed the tables, taken the checks and then given them evil looks for 40 minutes. Camping is inevitable.

3. It's the family's "special day" out together. Everyone assumes they will receive special treatment because this is an occasion for them. A holiday. News flash: It's everyone's special day. Suck it up and realize you're not the only ones celebrating Mother's Day. It's a wild concept that there might be more mothers out there that you or your own mom. Don't look for a sympathetic ear from your wait staff for walking in with 16 people and saying "But it's Mother's Day and we're all together as a family...surely you can take good care of us. It's a special occasion." There is a danger we might actually laugh in your face.

4. For some reason, people don't understand the concept that Mother's Day is an annual occurrence. It apparently springs up on some people and they are shocked by its arrival. They will call me either Saturday or even Sunday and attempt an 8top reservation. I am expecting about 20 calls Sunday at noon for reservations of 8 people or more at 1pm. These callers need to be tarred and feathered. After that, they need to be informed that it's possible to book reservations for Mother's Day sometimes months in advance. The first reservation I took for MD was on the first week in April. I thanked this person profusely, and when they come in on Sunday, I will shake their hand, and give them a free dessert. Alright, I'll probably just shake their hand. Either way, just like guys sooner or later learn they need to book Valentine's Day reservations earlier than Feb. 13th, restaurant goers should understand Friday is simply too late for the party of 23 that has family in from Ohio and Nebraska that I "absolutely must have room for."

2 Comments:

Blogger Arhyarion said...

Oh, how I look forward to Mother's Day dinner.

9:08 AM  
Blogger Lobster Boy said...

Great blog. I posted on Mother's torture...err...Day as well.

Lobster Boy

11:34 AM  

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At your service, Ospite

I am not in the restaurant business, I am in the people business. I use every opportunity to people watch, because to me, even the most mundane is fascinating.

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