Why are credit cards required on Reservations at J’s

Unfortunately, due to the increased number of no-shows, we are now requiring credit card information when making a reservation with the policy that the credit card will be charged $15/pp if you do not show up for your reservation or if you cancel with less than 48 hours left prior to your reservation.

A request for a credit card before locking down a reservation might seem like a hassle you don’t want to deal with. But before you click away, know that a cancellation fee isn’t some random extra charge; it’s a request for you to pay a small part of your meal if you do not show or if you cancel after 5 pm 2 days prior to your reservation.

Reservations help make service predictable especially for small restaurants in rural areas that are unlikely to be able to fill reservations with walk-ins . When you know how many people to expect, you can order inventory and staff up accordingly. When guests don’t show up, it can lead to wasted food and added payroll costs – not to mention lower staff retention. In turn, this leads restaurants to increase menu prices, tighten purse strings and even let staff go. Reservation deposits cushion your restaurant from these kinds of losses by incentivizing guests to show up and recouping a fraction of a cover’s bill if they don’t.

Take staffing; decisions about how many cooks and servers will work are based on the reservations on the books. If you’ve reserved a table for six and don’t show up, that’s a loss for the restaurant. But it’s also a loss for the server who was scheduled. Menu planning and ingredient orders are based on reservations  as well, so a high no-show night can result in wasted food and lost money both.  During a typical evening at J’s we book approximately 60 people with 4 servers each being assiged 15 customers.  If a six top that is assigned to a server does not show, the server loses 40% of his or her potential tips.  At J’s, forfeited deposits are paid to that server to partially compensate him or her for the loss.

You may only cancelled a reservation by email as y

our email will be marked with the date and time to ensure the accuracy of the time you canceled. We do not accept cancellations or modifications by phone. Email notices must be sent to support@nashobawinery.com.