Another payoff is in knowing that I am responsible for turning a potentially good meal into a potentially unforgettable one. Example:The important lunch between a salesperson and her client - if it runs smoothly, if there’s proper pacing,and if they’re quietly sequestered in an other- wise bustling venue, then business will be privately discussed and this entire transaction can truly transcend lunch to become an important dealmaker.
Or...maybe there’s the guy who’s propos- ing and he’s relying on me to manage every single detail of the experience. You’d better believe it has to be perfect - from the staff’s cues toward interaction (or toward giving the proper amount of solitude), the kitchen staff’s visual and gustatory statements and presentations to the couple followed by our gallant fiancé-to-be presentation of The Ring; the cueing of applause…
All of this is more than just dinner. It’s a veritable performance and the tabletop becomes the stage.
Note: I usually get from five to ten pro- posal requests a year from clients. Note,Part II:Almost all of them are slated forValentine’s Day.
Or,how about the rehearsal dinner and they’re meeting each other’s parents for the first time? The second interview over lunch where the interviewee’s future hangs in the balance..? The first date (true story) and he wants to impress her with a great meal out,but she’s a vegan, requires gluten-free and keeps a kosher household…? You get the point.
The third best-part about dealing in reser- vations every day is that I get to know and befriend an incredible amount of restaurant owners,managers,chefs, sales and events directors,hosts/hostesses and
servers.They’re all fine folks who also get to make people happy for a living. I have a simpatico relationship with so many in the biz - literally,my very favorite people on earth.Who wouldn’t want to commis- erate with such helpful souls on a daily basis?
76 January February 2016
As the world and its technology contin- ues to evolve so does my own strategies and commitments to the tasks at hand. I need to be better than any clickable reservation resource, savvier than any credit card“concierge”and much more resourceful than the most skillful mother- in-law.
So let’s pretend it’s 5pm on a Friday night during“RestaurantWeek”and you’ve decided that you want a table for four - tonight - at a restaurant having garnered top accolades by the best critics in the country as the place to be,but,alas, it only has 36 seats.
You try Open
Table.Nada.You call direct- ly. Boy, those gatekeepers at this tiny jewel box can sure be snooty!You don’t want to dine at“five or eleven-thirty”like they’re demanding of you! How can you possibly score a table there tonight??
1. Manage the Reservation Upward
With certain restaurants I won’t even bother to dial the main telephone num- ber. Instead, I’ll manage the reservation upward by reaching out to a higher authority: the GM, the sales director or an events director.
Actual Scenario:During the recent December holiday season a top client asked me to secure a table at – shall we say - a very popular BrandywineValley (PA)
attraction.This place sees thousands of visitors during the holidays and its small restaurant is the place to dine quite-finely during the yule
time.Getting nowhere with my initial phone call I quickly managed the reservation upward by asking the most connected person I know – Jim Cohn,publisher of this maga- zine - if he has a contact there. Jim quick- ly put me in touch with the attraction’s marketing director who works in tandem with the restaurant’s
GM.Four days before Christmas and not a seat to be had – except for that 7:30 slot for my client and her hubby. It was a very merry holiday for them indeed, thanks, in great part, to Jim and his far-reaching influ- ence.
In the events and hospitality world it real- ly is who you know that counts.
2. Get Wired
If you go online and keyword“The hard- est restaurant reservations to get in the United States,”you will undoubtedly see Talula’s Table on any Top Ten list.Go ahead and try. I’ll wait…
There,you’re seeing this cozy,multi- course meal of a lifetime on your com- puter screen.Located in tree-lined Kennett Square,PA,Talula’s offers one lone table (for eight on up to twelve guests).Reservations there are accepted one year from the day they’re made.Fat chance you’re getting in any time soon, right?
But wait, if there’s a will there’s - “Instagram and Facebook,”advises Talula’s Table owner Aimee
Olexi.She also advises that you“sign-up for our exclusive mass emailing.”Aimee broad- casts openings on her social media out- lets when they occur.
Guess what? Those unexpected cancella- tions have turned into golden opportuni- ties for legions of her restaurant’s
fans.All it takes is being wired-in.
My buddy Fran Nachman
concurs.Fran is the lead concierge for the Sonesta Hotel in
Philadelphia.Like me, she’s a reserva- tions-making machine.
Fran is a huge proponent of using Open Table - the online reservations system - to secure placement at restaurants. For Fran it’s not about earning all of those dining points for each reservation. There’s strategy involved. “Many restau- rants are din- ners-only. With no con- tact person- nel available until shortly before opening, for a guest
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