A fine-dining restaurant is open two days a week, Friday and Saturday, from 5 PM to 9 PM. Nearly all seating is by reservation. They've always unlocked the door at 5 PM sharp. It's been proposed to unlock the door 5 or 10 minutes before 5 PM so early arrivers can come in. Staff is sharply divided on this question. Owners are also divided.
So I thought I'd get some opinions from people who are not personally involved. Feel free to express your opinion / boost. I'm looking for input.
If you were a customer with a 5 PM reservation, would you expect the door to be unlocked:
@shuttersparks What’s the expectation for customers with other reservation times? I.e., do they arrive early? Right on time? Consistently late?
That answer might point the way towards a reasonable opening time?
@matt Good question. Our customers are almost always right on time. If the reservation is for 6:45 PM, they're usually there on the dot. They sometimes call while en-route to let us know.
More than half of our customers are "regulars" and order hot appetizers to be on the table when they walk in. So timing is pretty precise.
@shuttersparks if I had a reservation at 5pm, I would expect to be seated at 5pm. That said, there is nothing stopping the restaurant from making my booking 5:05pm to give us time to be seated. Also, it depends on the customer turnover. It's easier and more acceptable to run late than it is to run early. Closing late vs opening early, I know which I'd choose. Closing later means you can spend more time building customer relationships, and in turn more loyal customers.
@mntle Except on nights like New Years Eve and Valentines Day, customers are encouraged to go slow and spend as much time as they like. A lot of our food is cooked to order so it takes a while. We lock the door at 9 PM but anyone already in can stay. We'll stay as long as necessary to serve them. Last week we had a party of 15 spend 4 hours in the restaurant. Hah.
Its extra work. Will there be extra pay?
@kevinrns Lol. Staff is here working two to five hours before opening time.
Of course they are, why not open 2 hours earlier?
@kevinrns Because what's being done is all the prep -- salad made, bread prepped, tables set, candles lit, fireplace started, coffee made, broiler preheated, on and on. They're not ready for people to come in until 5 PM. It takes hours to get ready for customers to come in.
That's why people are divided on the question of whether to open a few minutes early.
(she/her)
@shuttersparks If I have a 5 pm reservation, I expect to be seated at 5 pm. I can't do that if I'm still waiting to enter at that time.
@shuttersparks I have to say that if my table was booked for 5 pm, I would expect the outside door to be open five or 10 minutes early to give me time to come in and take my coat off and wash my hands.
especially if there is no protection from the weather outside.
@peterbrown Understood. Thank you.
@shuttersparks this survey is shaping up to be about as clear as mud! 😂
@kinsey Hah! Well, it's confirmation that there are a variety of opinions on this.
At first glance the voting seems clear as mud, but the result would have been more definitive had I asked a different question. Thus far, "5 PM sharp" is clearly outnumbered by "open a few minutes early". Once it's over I'll extract the thoughts expressed in the thread and present all the results to the staff and owners. There may be points raised here that change some minds.
Again, I thank everyone for participating.
The poll is still running but I want to thank everyone who has voted and expressed views and opinions. This poll is turning out much more useful and informative than I expected.
Thank you all!!!