Diners fail to show up for afternoon tea at café - then cancel their credit card
A group of diners failed to show up for their afternoon tea booking at a café and then cancelled their own credit card, leaving the business out of pocket.
Sarah Gallacher, owner of Cocoa Cabana, a small independent café in West Didsbury, Manchester, had prepared the treats for the group as all afternoon teas have to be booked in advance.
The group had left credit card details as part of café policy to secure their booking. But after they failed to turn up last week, the diners cancelled the credit card used so now Ms Gallacher has no way of covering the costs.
There are two Cocoa Cabana cafés in Manchester, including the West Didsbury branch (STEVE ALLEN)Writing on social media, she said: "We had a table of 4 booked for today, we only have 3 tables. We made their afternoon teas which we then had to throw away. They didn't show up, they didn't call, they didn't answer our call and they cancelled their card."
Giving further details on what happened, Ms Gallacher told the Manchester Evening News: "We used to take deposits, but we found that put people off booking, so we changed it to taking card details instead. It explains when you book that we need 48 hours to cancel otherwise you will be charged.
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"But I think this is what people do now, they either put fake details in when they book, or they cancel their card. We knew it was a valid card when they made the booking, so we know they must have then cancelled it.
"It's just the fact you're phoning people and they don't answer. Most people are reasonable, and we've had people who have had to cancel who say they'll come and pick up the afternoon teas instead as they know the costs involved in making it all. I'm sure lots of hospitality businesses are having similar issues to this right now."
Denise Welch, pictured on Loose Women, sparked ire after her tweet about the booking process (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Denise Welch, the Loose Women panellist and actress, shared her frustration over the amount of detail now required to make a restaurant reservation earlier this month. Her tweet read: "Do you remember the days when you could make a restaurant reservation without having to basically give your financial history, bank details and the day your grandmother entered menopause!!! FFS."
But many hospitality businesses replied to Denise on Twitter to explain exactly why so many details are now needed. These included Ms Gallacher, who also has a café in the Ancoats area of Manchester.
Another hospitality business owner replied to Denise's tweet with: "Do you remember when the public were polite enough to honour a booking and not dump the restaurant owners with empty tables? A culture of disregard has taken hold in our country.
"Taking your details is surely a way to protect small businesses from being left out of pocket."
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