To a restaurant, there are few things more annoying than a no-show customer. Eater National reached out to five top chefs and restaurateurs to get their thoughts on how they handle customers who don't bother to call and cancel a reservation-or do so at the last minute. Alinea co-owner Nick Kokonas gives a lengthy response saying it messes up their profit margin at Alinea if even two tables sits empty on any night and why the Next reservation system has been so effective. NY's John McDonald (Lure Fishbar) has a good solution to no-shows: "If they can't at a minimum pick up the phone, I think it's only fair to not accept a future request." [~E~]
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