Making restaurant reservations is the best way to guarantee a seat for a meal. Sometimes it’s as easy as calling the restaurant to book your table, and other times you have to visit the restaurant's website. At some more in-demand restaurants, they will disclose that there’s a cancellation fee. It’s meant to deter parties from canceling, as well as compensate the restaurant for the business that they lost.
But life happens, and things come up, and sometimes you have to cancel reservations for reasons you can’t control, like travel delays or health reasons. Should you still be responsible for paying the fee? It’s a question many have been asking recently, ever since customer Trevor Chauvin-DeCaro shared his own experience with a Boston restaurant on social media last month.
What happened with Table?
Back in January, Chauvin-DeCaro, his husband, and some of their friends had plans to travel into Boston to see Madonna in concert. The train they had booked from New York City was expected to experience delays, and on top of that, Chauvin-DeCaro began to feel ill. He decided to go to the emergency room, where he spent the next day and a half.
With his travel protection, he was able to cancel and receive refunds for his Amtrak ticket and hotel reservation. However, his reservation at Table, a popular restaurant in Boston’s North End, was not so easily cancellable.
Table’s policy states that same-day cancellations and no-shows will be charged the cost of the prix fixe menu, which is $125. When Chauvin-DeCaro tried to dispute this charge with the restaurant, they told him that if he didn’t agree with the policy, he should contact his credit card company instead. And so he did, and the charge was dismissed, thanks to his card’s travel insurance
Owner Jen Royle had taken the time to find Chauvin-DeCaro’s personal account and berate him for disputing the cancellation fee. Chauvin-DeCaro fired back, and the full conversation can be found on his Twitter.
Royle even went as far as to not only post about the interaction on her personal account, but on the official Table Instagram.
According to Royle’s attorney, she has been receiving death threats online since the drama unfolded. Chauvin-DeCaro has also been receiving negative responses to his handling of the situation, some saying that policy is policy and he should be responsible for paying the fee.
What does the internet think?
A majority of the internet is taking Chauvin-DeCaro’s side in the argument, expressing their disdain for Royle’s behavior and Table’s cancellation policy.
This isn’t the first time Table has received backlash for their cancellation policy. Some have gone to TripAdvisor in the past to express their complaints. “My husband and I were charged $270 for a meal we didn't even eat,” one user wrote after she canceled her reservation just a few hours after she booked it.
Some disagree with Chauvin-DeCaro’s decision to dispute the charge. One Twitter user replied to the thread saying “You had money to travel to Boston, hotel, dinner, and Madonna concert, but could not spare a small business the $250 when it was an established policy? It already ordered your food.”
Since the drama unfolded, Table has deleted and privated their social media accounts, and the restaurant is listed as “Permanently Closed” on Google. However, their website is still up, where you can book a reservation (just beware of the cancellation policy!).