Oswaldtwistle pub say no show customers cost them thousands

The Plough restaurant and bar, in Broadfield, Oswaldtwistle, say customers who fail to show up to their bookings without notice cost the business between £50,000 and £80,000 a year in lost revenue.

Owner of The Plough, Matthew Reid, said between 30 and 50 people a week will fail to turn up to their bookings.

Owner of The Plough, Matthew Reid

As a result, the gastropub has now brought in a £5 per head deposit for bookings of more than six people and £10 a head deposits for their eight course chef’s menu.

Matthew, from Barrowford, said: “No shows and last minute cancellations are having serious effect on the business.

“On average, we are losing around £50,000 to £80,000 a year on no shows.

“I don’t think it’s just our business, I think it’s a problem across the board but not a lot of people talk about it.”

Matthew said extra staff payments and lost weekend table bookings all contribute to this hefty figure.

He said: “It a particularly bad problem at peak times on the weekend. Last Friday alone, we had 11 no shows.

“When people fail to turn up when it’s busy you lose that money and might not be able to resell that table to those who actually want it.”

The Plough also offer a £40 eight course chef’s menu which is made with fresh produce.

Matthew said: “Recently, some customers turned up and decided they didn’t want the chef’s menu after all and asked for a normal menu – we missed out on that money and our fresh produce has gone to waste too.”

While Matthew said this has always been a problem for the restaurant, it is become more of an issue since the cost of living began to rocket.

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He said: “It’s always been an issue but with the price of everything going up, like fuel prices as well as electricity and gas costs, you notice it more.

“We are haemorrhaging more money now. I think my business and others will certainly start feeling the impact even more in the coming weeks.”

While prices in all aspects of life are starting to rise, Matthew is reluctant to put his food prices up as he understands that customers will be feeling the pinch too.

The Plough in Oswaldtwistle

He said: “You can’t put your prices up because everyone is struggling and in the same boat.

“We are happy to take some of the cost brunt but we need to be helped out a bit by the public, which they can do by giving us some notice before they cancel.”

Matthew is asking customers to let him, and other businessowners, know about any cancellations – even last-minute notice is better than failing to turn up at all.

He said: “I understand everyone is busy but please do everything you can to let us know if you can’t make a booking.

“To a small family run business like us every table counts. It impacts staff wages and could result in their hours being cut.

“We are trying to keep our food costs as low as possible for customers. As soon as people don’t turn up at some point you are looking at putting your prices up.”