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Smooth and Guaranteed Deposit Collection. How to Achieve It?

Tablein Team
Tablein Team
Feb 4, 2020 5:50:58 PM

Most restaurants have a need to take advance deposits at some time, whether it be for special occasions, special menus, or for busier nights in general. Having guests come in specially to make these deposits offers an outdated way of running operations and can present problems.

Customer Story

Sip Café, UK

Taking deposit payments for special events or busy nights was a nightmare both for us and the clients, as the only way to do so was by physically arriving at our café and giving us cash. It created additional work for our team and it was often awkward for our guests.

The Problem​

Inconvenient and Outdated Method for Deposit Payments

  • At times it was extremely difficult for the clients to make a special journey to our café, only to leave the deposit. This was especially awkward if the guests lived on the outskirts of town. We also found that not all the guests could accommodate such a time-consuming effort, which sometimes resulted in them changing their minds without notice, leaving us unprofitable empty tables.
  • We also found that people usually arrived to make a deposit payment during lunch or after office hours. These are our busiest times in the Sip café! It was a big struggle for our staff when we had special events coming up and time that should have been spent on taking care of our current guests, was spent handling deposits instead.
  • It didn’t help matters that we had quite a time-consuming process to follow as our team members had to manually fill in the guests information in our reservation notebook, as well as issue money receipts. If the deposit payments weren’t made in the agreed period of time then we also needed to find the time to make additional calls, reminding our guests of their reservation, chasing deposits, and trying to secure confirmation of their booking.
  • Deposit payments via bank transfer were complicating the accounting process with payments coming in from all sorts of places. We also ran into issues if the guests had to make changes to their bookings, or in cases where the deposits need to be refunded.
The Solution

Quick and Easy Online Deposit Collection that Operates 24/7

The desire to collect deposit payments in a better way pushed us to search for an online platform that offered an automatic way of doing so. We started using the Tablein reservation system and have never looked back. Now our guests don’t need to come to us and we don’t have to waste time during our busy periods, physically handling the payments.

The Result

More Satisfied Clients and 100% Collected Payments

  • Using Tablein system allows us to manage table reservations and deposit payments automatically.
  • Clients can now complete the process of making the reservation and transferring the money when they have time. Our chosen online reservation system allows for 24/7 operations, from the comfort of their own home, or anywhere else in the world.
  • After the payment method was simplified, the flow of guaranteed guests increased.
  • The whole coordination process was simplified with instant confirmations and on-time payments. Also, there is never any chance of losing customer data.
  • In the case of a client not paying the deposit within 24 hours, the reservation is cancelled automatically. This allows the table to become available again immediately for other people to book online. Now we have full events every time with 100% paid deposits.
  • In case of a no-show, we no longer face any financial loss as the deposit payment has already been made. However, if the client informs us in advance that an unforeseen situation has arisen and they won’t be able to make it, we can choose to process a refund with just one click.
  • We receive all payments directly to our bank account making it much easier for our accountant.
Advices

Top Tips by Sip Café

  • Request deposit payments for busy nights, special events, and group reservations.
  • The deposit amount can be adjusted, so for regular reservations you can apply the lower deposit amounts, and for group reservations, higher.
  • Allow the clients to book a table with 24 hours to make the deposit. It makes the prospective clients feel secure that during this time the table belongs to them, and none of the other guests can reserve it. If the deposit payment isn’t transferred then their booking will be automatically cancelled after the set term. Thus, the table become free again and available for other guests to book.

Sip Café experience sounds familiar? Collect the deposits automatically by implementing advanced Tablein system in your reservation management.
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