No reservation needed

THE WALK-IN TRADITION (no reservation needed) seems part of our service culture.

Highly patronized restaurants, usually found in the malls, do not even accept reservations. They prefer a walk-in protocol to ensure that tables are immediately occupied rather than idle and waiting for the reserving party to show up. A single “placeholder” taking over an otherwise empty table for 10 and waiting for the rest of his party to show up is asked to wait outside at the queue to free up space.

The fast-food model, which dominates our dining experience, is designed for walk-in customers who order on the screen and then queue up to pay. And then they wait for the order to be available for pick-up and dining, or for takeaway.

There are services that expect the walk-in customer. For emergency rooms of hospitals, the unexpected customer (usually accompanied and not always mobile) defines the target market. Here a “triage” approach determines priority of being attended to. It is not a first-come/first-served basis of queuing. Other services that don’t expect reservations for future need include funeral parlors, theme parks, and pop-up stores in open spaces on weekends.

There are advantages to dropping in without prior notice. It foils kidnappers monitoring the fixed schedules of targets. It also allows a customer to change her mind and switch from burgers to raw fish at the last minute, or simply to opt to stay home and order food online.

There may be some discomfort in locking ourselves to a fixed plan, except for the most necessary ones involving pre-nuptial agreements and wedding receptions. Indeed, some events require so many moving parts that a planner needs to be employed to get everything done.

A pre-determined schedule with the required reservation may run counter to our go-with-the-flow and walk-in culture. Travelers can give vague hints of a forthcoming visit (sometime in July) and consider this message as sufficient notice for a possible drop-in. Unexpected guests can show up at the front door with luggage, gifts of dried mangoes, and a coterie of relatives in tow. This is a scenario that haunts permanent residents in North America, especially those living in popular destinations near theme parks. (What if they’re also out of town when the visitors show up?)

Reservations are still required for very expensive restaurants, especially those with no printed menus. Some Michelin stars may have been bestowed on such establishments. These restaurants (sometimes featured in a hotel suite adjacent to a mall) require reservations for a particular seating period. Booking a table can be from noon to 1:30 p.m. only, for the first lunch seating. The reservation is held for 15 minutes. A penalty fee is imposed for cancellations at the last minute. This amount can be the cost of the meal itself without a senior-citizen discount.

There are venues that only cater to planned events with reservations made three weeks in advance. They have a curated menu by a celebrated chef and require a down payment upon the acceptance of the reservation. This can be a hefty percentage of the expected cost. Such venues are only activated with table settings and waiters for planned events.

Is a reservation protocol making any headway in our freewheeling culture?

Even a party at the home of a host cannot just be crashed before the appointed time, even with an invitation and gate pass. Being 30 minutes ahead of the designated time can be considered a social breach. The eager beaver may interrupt the caterers as they set up the buffet table in the garden. Even the hostess may still be in her room fixing up.

A restaurant may welcome a walk-in culture as it makes full use of the tables available, keeping the orders coming and the kitchen busy. The peak crowd at the mall restaurants and elsewhere shows the efficiency of the walk-in practice. Service is only interrupted by cleaning vacated tables and ushering in a new group. (Please check the menu while waiting for your turn.)

What if the diners stay too long after dessert and coffee? This is when an officious waiter descends on the table to ask politely — Sir, do you want to bill out now? The guests are supposed to take the hint… and order more coffee.

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda.

ar.samson@yahoo.com