Empty tables, but diners turned away

Empty tables, but diners turned away

The restaurant may have been busy, but Leonard Cheong and his two friends were confident of getting seats when they went to eat brunch at Orchard fusion restaurant Kilo on Saturday.

"We could see the empty tables right in front of us, but servers told us we couldn't sit there," said the 31-year-old marketing manager. "It was frustrating."

The trio were told by staff at the Japanese-Italian eatery that they would have to dine elsewhere, as they were too short on manpower to serve them.

It is a story becoming increasingly familiar at restaurants here, which are being forced to turn away customers as they scramble to maintain service levels amid the labour crunch.

Kilo's manager, Rubi Pandey, told The Straits Times that it has to turn customers away around twice a month, as it does not want to offer them a "half-hearted experience".

"We try not to do it," she said. "But the restaurant has to keep running and we manage it the best we can."

Most restaurants say they do it on an ad hoc basis, such as when a chef goes on medical leave or when a waiter quits.

Old Hong Kong Kitchen in Novena turns away diners at least once a week. It even started a home-delivery service six months ago to cut demands on staff.

"When a staff member doesn't show up for work, we do it. We have no choice," said owner Victoria Li, who is then forced to make 10 of her 24 tables off-limits at the Chinese restaurant.

This means estimated losses of about 70 customers and $2,000 in revenue each time. She currently has 25 members, but needs twice that number to operate smoothly.

Diners are also being turned away at Relish, Wild Rocket and Wild Oats - restaurants owned by chef Willin Low.

"Managers all have the authority to tell customers, at any one point, that we are full - even though we are not - because we have no manpower."

Mr Low estimated that he loses 20 per cent of business each time this happens. "We are so short (of staff)," he admitted. "Once one person is missing, it's like a quarter of our workforce is gone."

It is the same story at Fika Swedish Cafe and Bistro when their part-timers go back to school or someone quits.

"Singaporeans can be quite particular and we don't want to run the risk of the customer having a bad experience," said owner Tasneem Noor, who faces this problem once a month at her three outlets.

Tim Palace in Toa Payoh and Next Door Deli in Ang Mo Kio also resort to such measures.

Job vacancies in the food-and-beverage services sector stood at 6,400 as at the end of September, up from 4,200 three years earlier, the latest Ministry of Manpower statistics show.

The Straits Times understands that the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) met the Ministry of Trade and Industry last Tuesday to discuss rising business and manpower costs, in addition to the labour crunch.

Turning customers away is "an acute measure that no one would adopt unless there was no other way", said RAS president Andrew Tjioe.

"It's becoming more widespread now, but it started since the manpower crunch became so bad. Restaurants are forced to do this. It's a pity, saying no to business."

He advised restaurants against closing off sections of the restaurant that are visible to customers.

But for Mr Cheong, the damage has been done. "It shouldn't be a customer's problem. We went all the way to the restaurant. We felt really slighted that it didn't want our business," he said. "It left a really bad impression."

limjess@sph.com.sg


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