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$435 cancellation fee?

We made a reservation for 4 at Grand Banks Café in New York City, and then at the last minute we couldn't show up. We were then informed that we were to be charged a $435 fee, a $35 cancellation fee, plus $100 per person. Is the Grand Banks Cafe that special? I've never heard of such a thing, is this normal?

by Anonymousreply 57October 18, 2020 12:30 AM

No. Why in the hell would they even have your credit card info??

Humblebrag or full of shit. You be the judge.

by Anonymousreply 1October 17, 2020 4:25 AM

I've heard of places in NYC that charge you if you don't show - that's been going on many years.

But that's excessive - I would dispute the charge.

by Anonymousreply 2October 17, 2020 4:26 AM

Also OP, their website clearly says $25 fee per person for cancellations. You might want to fight that.

by Anonymousreply 3October 17, 2020 4:28 AM

It's been going on for a while at marquee restaurants.

by Anonymousreply 4October 17, 2020 4:28 AM

Why didn't y'all just grab a whopper? Or a double Baconator.

by Anonymousreply 5October 17, 2020 4:29 AM

[quote] We made a reservation for 4 at Grand Banks Café in New York City,

No, you didn't.

by Anonymousreply 6October 17, 2020 4:31 AM

NYC is one giant scam. You got got. Move on.

by Anonymousreply 7October 17, 2020 4:33 AM

Tell them everyone in your party tested positive for COVID the day of the reservation.

by Anonymousreply 8October 17, 2020 4:34 AM

Yes we did! They said we had reserved a private dining room, which was news to us. They also told us there would be a charge if we didn’t show up, but they never said how much. The website says there is a $35 fee for cancellations, but the $100 per person fee was because we had reserved a private dining room, which we had not realized we were doing.

Why is this a humblebrag? Is this a really chic restaurant?

by Anonymousreply 9October 17, 2020 4:36 AM

Why are you speaking in third person?

by Anonymousreply 10October 17, 2020 4:39 AM

Yes I did. We were told we had reserved a private dining room, which was news to us! There is indeed a $35 cancellation fee, but the $100 per person charge was because of the private dining room, which as I said, we didn’t know we were hiring. Certainly nobody told us about a potential $435 charge.

Why is this a humblebrag? Is this a really chic restaurant?

by Anonymousreply 11October 17, 2020 4:40 AM

Sorry about the double post

by Anonymousreply 12October 17, 2020 4:41 AM

Call and tell them you are going to dispute the charge with your card company because they did not tell you that you were being put in a private dining room and the website says 35 dollars cancellation fee. They are trying to screw you over because they need money and figure their clientele generally won't dispute it

by Anonymousreply 13October 17, 2020 4:54 AM

Stick to golden corral OP

by Anonymousreply 14October 17, 2020 5:04 AM

I usually just grab a sleeve of saltines and sit on the curb. No charge.

by Anonymousreply 15October 17, 2020 5:10 AM

Call your credit card company and dispute the charge. The restaurant will have to prove that you were aware of the charges beforehand. The $100 per person charge had to be as clearly stated as the $35 charge.

by Anonymousreply 16October 17, 2020 5:24 AM

It is quite rude to make reservations some where and not show up, or call to cancel.

by Anonymousreply 17October 17, 2020 5:29 AM

Why would 4 people need a private dining room?

by Anonymousreply 18October 17, 2020 5:33 AM

Big fat ugly people that other diners don't want in their field of vision, r18?

by Anonymousreply 19October 17, 2020 5:35 AM

Larry David did an episode on that.

by Anonymousreply 20October 17, 2020 5:37 AM

Here’s what you should do. You should find a police officer and tell him you were assaulted by a horrible man in a restaurant and bring the policeman to the restaurant. When you see the manager let out a high pitched scream and then point at him and cry “THAT’S the man, officer!”

by Anonymousreply 21October 17, 2020 5:37 AM

I'm not sure I like what you are implying r21.

by Anonymousreply 22October 17, 2020 5:43 AM

We have never had that experience at The Cracker Barrell!

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by Anonymousreply 23October 17, 2020 5:44 AM

Today I ordered the double hamburgers off the McDonalds 2 for $3 menu and they only gave me single hamburgers. I didn't realize it until I got home. I feel your pain, OP.

by Anonymousreply 24October 17, 2020 6:38 AM

Yeah - unless that had communicated that you would be in a private dining room and there was an additional charge, then they can't do that.

Besides, most places in NYC will have drop-ins or last minute calls to fill the table. Particularly for 4 people.

This is bullshit - and leave a really awful review.

by Anonymousreply 25October 17, 2020 1:16 PM

OP, you cannot make a reservation for something that you don't even know about.

A dishonest staff member can place your reservation in a private dining room without telling you, but then that staff member is the party booking the room. Not you. Staff was not following your instructions. That is what matters. Let the management exact its revenge on its staff member.

Also look at the statute of frauds. There should be a writing memorializing an agreement for a charge over $500. No writing... no obligation.

by Anonymousreply 26October 17, 2020 1:36 PM

I don't believe this at all. How did they charge you? How did they have your credit card information? I've never had to give my credit card info out when making a reservation. This is a FAKE story OP.

by Anonymousreply 27October 17, 2020 1:40 PM

I don’t believe any of this for a single minute!!

by Anonymousreply 28October 17, 2020 1:53 PM

Were you going to sample their Autumn Harvest?

by Anonymousreply 29October 17, 2020 2:10 PM

A sample would be more Once Around the Garden.

by Anonymousreply 30October 17, 2020 2:18 PM

R27, some of the fine dining establishments, you do have to leave a credit card for a reservation, especially if they have a cancellation policy that charges you for no shows or last minute cancellations.

by Anonymousreply 31October 17, 2020 2:25 PM

Outrageous, OP.

Lucky for me we don’t have that problem here.

by Anonymousreply 32October 17, 2020 2:28 PM

When did DL become Yelp?

by Anonymousreply 33October 17, 2020 2:37 PM

Every time a bottom gets entered.

Oh, you meant the website. Whoops.

by Anonymousreply 34October 17, 2020 2:41 PM

R27, R31 is right. Higher end restaurants in many cities, not just NYC, do require a credit card and will charge you a fee for no-shows or cancellations.

There was a story about a couple in Chicago who couldn't get a babysitter and brought their baby to Alinea and it cried the entire time, ruining the meal for everyone in the dining room. They didn't want to be charged the $500 or $600 cancellation fee.

Alinea is ranked among the top 5 restaurants in the US and it's a pre-fixe, but it stands that it isn't unusual to give your credit card at reservation time.

by Anonymousreply 35October 17, 2020 2:43 PM

Dispute the “private room” fee, but the $35 is fair.

My husband got an indoor seat at a neighborhood bar last night (indoor seating at 25% capacity) and he was happy to get it (pays to be a regular and a good tipper!). I’m sure those spots will be at a premium now that the weather is turning cold.

by Anonymousreply 36October 17, 2020 2:48 PM

[quote]It is quite rude to make reservations some where and not show up, or call to cancel.

"at the last minute we couldn't show up. We were then informed that we were to be charged a $435 fee, a $35 cancellation fee, plus $100 per person." Sounds to me like they informed the restaurant they were cancelling.

This is an arrangement with a business, not a social contract. Not a question of manners. The point is he's being charged over 400 dollars for cancelling when he should be being charged 35 dollars.

by Anonymousreply 37October 17, 2020 2:49 PM

I think charging for no-shows in a restaurant is just wrong. Yes, I know hotels do that and am not a fan of that either; but I can (sort of) understand why hotels do it.

I would think at this point restaurants would be trying to generate goodwill with diners who are actually willing to eat inside at your establishment. I cannot believe that you cancelling your reservation prevented several other parties from being able to make a reservation.

Credit card companies need to disallow restaurants from doing this.

by Anonymousreply 38October 17, 2020 2:58 PM

Didn't happen.

by Anonymousreply 39October 17, 2020 3:04 PM

R27 - I guess I didn't know that "fancy" restaurants required CC info when taking reservations. If I were asked my CC info when making a reservation, IO would politely decline and make plans for another restaurant.

by Anonymousreply 40October 17, 2020 3:09 PM

[quote] I cannot believe that you cancelling your reservation prevented several other parties from being able to make a reservation

If restaurants are allowed to operate with reduced, it's highly likely that, by holding this reservation, they had to turn away other potential diners. Because of the lack of nightlife and tourists, there aren't a lot of people roaming the streets looking for a place to eat, everything these days is pretty much planned out, so drops ins are rare, especially at a destination restaurant on a boat in the river.

I looked at photos and I don't see any 'private dining room', but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

Their website states there is a $25 fee (not $35) for reservations not cancelled within 24 hours. I think that's reasonable. They do not accept cancelations by phone so you don't even have to talk to a person.

The restaurant sets aside a table for 4, thereby precluding them from accepting another party of 4 or two parties of 2, and these clowns don't show up? If the average ticket is $125 (which is what it seems to cost every time my partner and I go out) that's $500 in lost revenue. I think a cancellation fee is definitely in order, but unless they agreed to a higher fee, the $25 stated fee is what should be charged.

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by Anonymousreply 41October 17, 2020 3:25 PM

R34, that made my day.

by Anonymousreply 42October 17, 2020 3:29 PM

R41 - but they probably had some walk-ins or stand-bys who would gladly take the table. People still call or show-up at last-minute to see if there are openings.

I don't have a problem with a reasonable cancellation fee - but this is outrageous.

I also believe that, if you show up more than 15-30 minutes late for a reservation, you lose it. I had a friend who was a host in a restaurant and people showed up late ALL THE TIME. Like 30 minutes or an hour late.

Their usual excuse? Traffic or parking. That's not an excuse and you can't hold tables making no revenue for an hour.

by Anonymousreply 43October 17, 2020 3:39 PM

There is no "Grand Banks Café" in NYC (it's the name of a novel). There is a "Grand Banks" oyster bar at the Piers. Is that what you meant, OP? I never heard of them having a private dining room.

by Anonymousreply 44October 17, 2020 3:40 PM

Only the most in-demand restaurants can get away with this.

by Anonymousreply 45October 17, 2020 3:50 PM

[quote] There is no "Grand Banks Café" in NYC

Thats important. OP's thread collapse is now complete. Even if there was a GBC, he didn't have a reservation, four friends or $435.

by Anonymousreply 46October 17, 2020 3:57 PM

"Only the most in-demand restaurants can get away with this."

Only the most in-demand restaurants in NYC = mediocre joint in any other burg in the USA.

The self-described sophisticates of NYC wouldn't know true sophistication if it bit them in the ass.

Aren't Rudy Giuliani and the entire Trump clan "sophisticated" New Yorkers?

by Anonymousreply 47October 17, 2020 3:59 PM

Sounds like the kind of slow turnover place where the ingredients for their specialty items have been sitting in a freezer for months or years. That's why I go to MacDonald's (Or lately a MacDonald's drive through).

by Anonymousreply 48October 17, 2020 4:09 PM

[quote] Aren't Rudy Giuliani and the entire Trump clan "sophisticated" New Yorkers?

No.

by Anonymousreply 49October 17, 2020 4:13 PM

I just called Grand Banks Oyster and they have NO SUCH policy!! You are a liar OP!!

by Anonymousreply 50October 17, 2020 10:27 PM

OP here...I'm talking about the restaurant on 25 Hudson River Park, is that the one you mean? I've never actually been there.

As I stated earlier, we had inadvertently booked a private dining room, and was then charged $100 per person for that. If you're calling them up, ask about the fee for missing a private dining room reservation.

by Anonymousreply 51October 17, 2020 11:25 PM

Restaurants are in rough shape financially, so it’s possible they’re going to be very restrictive and gouge customers to try and recover lost revenue from period of closure during the pandemic. But, yes, that sounds extreme.

by Anonymousreply 52October 17, 2020 11:33 PM

[quote]That's why I go to MacDonald's (Or lately a MacDonald's drive through).

Is this some new restaurant? I’m sure the McDonald’s corporate office would like to have a word or two about their potential trademark.

by Anonymousreply 53October 17, 2020 11:49 PM

[quote]We have a 15 minute grace period on reservations, after which your table may be given to another party. If you arrive after the grace period, we will still honor your reservation by providing you with the first available table. In the event of a completely missed reservation without 24 hour notice of cancelation, a fee of $25 per guest will apply.

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by Anonymousreply 54October 18, 2020 12:20 AM

"pre-fixe"

Oh, dear, R35.

Pas de gâteau pour vous ce soir.

by Anonymousreply 55October 18, 2020 12:28 AM

I would have just gone alone.

by Anonymousreply 56October 18, 2020 12:30 AM

r47 is correct.

by Anonymousreply 57October 18, 2020 12:30 AM
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