Restaurant owners want to pay for “no-shows.”

Quebec restaurants are doing it again and are demanding that the justice minister amend the Consumer Protection Act to charge customers a fee when they don’t honor a reservation. Minister Simon Jolin-Barrett is analyzing the request.

• Also Read: Six Montreal restaurateurs bare their hearts out in “no-shows.”

“We have received correspondence from the Association Restaurante Quebec (ARQ) regarding this phenomenon. It is currently being analyzed,” confirmed Élisabeth Gosselin, spokeswoman for Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrett.

ARQ claims the right to charge a credit card between $5 and $20 to customers who do not show up after making a reservation at the restaurant.

“What we want is that if the restaurant has the opportunity, if he wants … it is not mandatory to charge minimum and modest fees for invisible people”, Dominique Tremblay, Director of Public and Government Affairs ARQ. “It’s about breaking bad habits, discouraging those who don’t measure the consequences in the whole chain.”

She reports that restaurants follow the reservation and schedule the staff and food accordingly.

Recidivism

The association made this request to Philippe Couillard’s Liberal government in 2017. It didn’t work. She decided to come back.

“We want that to change,” said Ms. Tremblay of the ARQ underlines.

Consumer Protection Act is strict: this practice is illegal.

“All sectoral activities are subject to this prohibition provided in the LPC, the aim of which is to make the losses suffered by the trader presentable rather than settling them in advance with an arbitrary amount,” suggests Head of Public Affairs , Charles Tanguay.

“When taking a reservation, if the customer is not present, the restaurateur cannot determine in advance the amount of his compensation or deduct an amount from his credit card, which can be placed in the restaurant. The costs, penalties or damages are not visible to the consumer.

The only option available to the restaurants is for the customers to directly claim the loss they have actually incurred, once they have made the booking. Courts can also be approached for compensation.

Card printing

Therefore, restaurants use their imagination to protect themselves from “no-shows”.

Already, reservation websites like Libro allow restaurants to request a credit card printout to make a reservation. They reserve the right to charge amounts in case of “no-shows”.

Examples are multiplying in restaurants in the Quebec region.

However, the OPC argued that this route was also illegal.

“It is prohibited for any trader to include in the contract a clause to the effect that the consumer must pay an amount that will be kept as a penalty in the event that the consumer does not honor his obligation,” said Mr. Tanguay.

Libro’s founder and owner, Jean-Sebastien Pothier, says that no money is taken directly from credit cards, but rather a simple printout of the credit card, which usually prompts the customer to notify when canceling a reservation.

“It’s an added safeguard to help the restaurant (…) As we ask for the card number, it raises awareness,” he explained, adding that the restaurant probably wouldn’t have been charged the amount if the customer had been warned enough earlier in the evening. begins.

respect

Mr. Pothier recalls that 25% of customers don’t show up when they book.

The Justice Minister’s office said it “obviously” understands the restaurateurs’ frustration.

“We invite citizens to be more vigilant and take the time to cancel their reservation when they do not wish to attend. It’s the least you can do and it’s more of an honor for our Quebec founders,” said Ms. Gosselin.