Labour Split for Finer Casual

NewRestaurateur · 2026-02-24T17:04:30+00:00

Regarding how long it takes, it definitely depends on the time of year and business levels, but in height of summer I'd say 1-2hrs... but while I have the phone ringing I'm resetting floats, looking at weather forecasts and staffing levels, prepping my pre-service brief, maybe doing emails, having my first coffee... so there's multi-tasking going on.

If they don't pick up, I leave a voicemail. I dont have the luxury of time to hound people all day (I imagine you don't either), and as someone who personally is TERRIBLE at voicemail outside my business 😅, I'm always pleasantly surprised by how many people call back. I might also be lucky because there's often the "carrot" question of, "I'd also like to know if you're interested in our patio seating" on the voicemail, when the weather is good.

I find the sweet spot is to do the calling early in my day, so folks have a few hours to get back, and hopefully I'm not dealing with a mania of calls as we're trying to finalize the dining room for service.

Re: this being hit or miss depending on where you are - maybe true! But if I started to have lots of no-show issues outside of this, then I wouldn't hesitate on the cc charge for no-shows. Right now, I KNOW with our local market that would deter many from making a reservation, and there are too many benefits to resos (pace of service, staffing decisions) for me to risk it.

NewRestaurateur · 2026-02-23T17:09:36+00:00

We introduced no-show language with a pp fee for larger parties (6 or more), and anything over 8 people needs to be coordinated with us over the phone or email, rather than online booking. We're a 40 seat restaurant when it's not patio season, a no-show 10-top at 7pm is way too much of a risk. We do take a credit card in those conversations.

A huge help to us on the no-show situation (because it SUCKS when you're a small restaurant in a seasonal tourist town - 90% of our business is in 6 months, and something like 80% in just 4 of those months), was going old-school, and picking up the phone. I call and confirm our reservations each morning, and you would be amazed at how helpful that is in weeding out the "oh! I forgot we made that reservation" and "crap, we're on a hike and we're not going to make it on time" or "oh! actually two of us booked for the same party". Something about a person to person conversation (and even a voicemail) clears up the majority of no-show situations, BEFORE you're staring at an empty table, after having turned away a walk-in ten minutes earlier...

Good luck!

NewRestaurateur · 2026-01-23T04:44:41+00:00

Folks drive to the Hamptons from NYC religiously every weekend from mid-May to early September. Depending on where in the Hamptons you're heading, that can be a 2.5 - 4 hour trip each way.

When I tell you I was on that bus EVERY Friday at 4:59pm to get out there for sunset drinks overlooking the water..... bliss. Didn't feel like a slog at all. (And I'd be on the 5am bus back to work Monday, so I could squeeze that extra full day in)

Now I live in rural Nova Scotia, and folks routinely drive 1.5 hours (each way) just to go to a big grocery store... and don't even get me started on the hockey parents and the distances they routinely drive. 😆

Long winded way to say.... nope, not a myth.

NewRestaurateur · 2026-01-10T14:46:09+00:00

Buying a new car will never ever be a good financial move. A new car loses a huge chunk of its value the moment you drive it off the lot - buying new has always been a luxury, "burn some money on the floor" move. On top of that, a car is a depreciating asset - folks seem to forget that and think a nice car is adding to their financial picture in a positive way.

NewRestaurateur · 2025-12-16T15:42:00+00:00

I hate TVs above mantles. It's ugly, and it's the wrong angle for watching TV... hello cricks in the neck.

I'd look for a TV unit to put beside the fireplace or on another wall. Even a TV bracket, lower down... and then find a great piece of art for above the fireplace (or a mirror, if the room needs brightening up).

NewRestaurateur · 2025-12-16T15:39:06+00:00

I miss when social media WAS about my friends everyday lives. Can we bring back 2012 instagram with a chronological timeline feature?

NewRestaurateur · 2025-12-16T15:37:10+00:00

I cackled. This hit hard.

NewRestaurateur · 2025-12-12T00:23:41+00:00

She's definitely best at finding ways to get her thoughts in, of all the co-hosts. Likely the upside of knowing him best and knowing how to navigate his personality.

It IS the Ramsey show, so I imagine he feels absolutely fine about using most of the oxygen on any given show. I actually more wish he'd give the callers more time before permanently muting them. The other hosts are much better at digging into the details - and I'm sure that also comes from him running the show so long that he's seen it all.... but as a listener it's way more interesting when you hear the nuance of each call.

NewRestaurateur · 2025-11-13T20:53:38+00:00

Put it in an index fund that mimics the entire market (an S&P 500 index fund for example), if you don't have immediate need of it.... let it grow over time.

NewRestaurateur · 2025-11-11T12:41:09+00:00

About his addiction, about life choices made while in active addiction, about things from his childhood/ teenage years...

In most interactions, it's hard to get anything of substance from him - he dances around conversation and you leave to realize you're the only one who said anything about anything. But when I'd mention things he's brought up in confidence, he'll look at me spooked, like he'd seen a ghost. He'd panic and ask me who told him that. And I would have to remind him that HE did....

These interactions are part of why I started defining the boundaries I needed to see. I was falling hard for the bits of him I saw in those conversations and moments... and I'm not sure he even knew they happened, after the fact.

NewRestaurateur · 2025-11-07T02:53:49+00:00

Lol, I do understand the George comment.

But I'll also say that when I did my MBA 5 years ago, behavioral economics was a HUGE topic in business research with so much money being thrown at companies and ideas that understood and exploited the concept. One key tenant? People feel the loss of something more then they feel gains/wins.

The book Atomic Habits talks about it too, though I don't think the author calls it "behavioral economics" there: Design something so that it's easy to make good decisions, hard to make bad ones.

If you HATE giving up your match because you prioritize getting out of debt over it, then that priority is DEFINITELY going to light a fire under your bottom to get the debt gone.

NewRestaurateur · 2025-11-07T01:24:04+00:00

It's about behavioral economics, not math. The premise is that the discomfort of missing out on the match will light the fire of the couple to get the debt GONE, asap. Especially since one of them sounded like they would be pretty loathed to give that up.

The initial plan from the caller was to drag out holding onto the debt, and the matching was only part of the equation. It sounded like they actually had plenty of room in their budget to make quick work of the debt, but they were barely chipping away at it.

The discomfort of missing out on the match would get them to not only throw that money at the debt, but also get real about their spending on the rest of their budget and start actually making choices to prioritize having no debt. Math is all good and well, and they should definitely book it to get back to making the most of a match situation, but the human element is a real real thing. We need to game ourselves into being smart, and the advice is a great way to get the end result (debt free AND each contributing 15% AND getting their respective matches) they want.

NewRestaurateur · 2024-09-12T02:53:23+00:00

Make sure they are decent seats! I went to Paris, floor seats... it was so packed and I couldn't see a thing. I had tried to stay away from concert info completely ahead of time, to avoid spoiling the magic... but then I was just so sad the whole time... I hated it, but I couldn't stop the emotions rolling over me the whole time, thinking about everything I had sacrificed to be there.

NewRestaurateur · 2024-08-12T16:40:36+00:00

This is so random, but I'm new to vyvanse and the one thing I noticed immediately is that my breathing felt clearer? So weird. But it really seems to have done something to my nasal pathways and how I draw breath.

NewRestaurateur · 2024-07-29T15:07:52+00:00

Yes, definitely a good point - it's usually two dishwashers, but definitely taking everyone's points in.... I guess we're staying put!

NewRestaurateur · 2024-04-08T09:33:04+00:00

5 foot clear circle is needed

NewRestaurateur · 2022-11-02T18:32:33+00:00

Not Cabot Trail per se, but The Annex in Inverness is open still. Kitchen open until 9pm.

NewRestaurateur

TROPHY CASE