PUB and restaurant no-shows are "another knife in the heart" of an industry already suffering from the effects of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

That's the view of Mark Jarvis, managing director of The Chester Fields in Bridge Trafford, who revealed that 120 diners – equating to 30% of his bookings – failed to turn up on Father's Day.

Having spoken to other restaurant owners, he believes people are making advanced bookings at various venues on the same day as a result of the high demand for tables since lockdown restrictions eased.

Mr Jarvis claims guests are then deciding which location suits them best on the day, but do not then realise the impact they have by failing to make a "very simple" call to cancel their reservation.

He says it has caused his business a "dramatic loss in turnover", resulted in wasted produce, and led to lower tips for staff.

Speaking to The Standard about the issue, Mr Jarvis said:

"The no-show situation in restaurants at the moment is another knife in the heart for our industry where the general public don’t understand the knock-on effect to the business.

"On Father's Day alone – the third busiest day of the year – 30% of bookings were no shows. I regularly speak to a lot of restaurant owners and this is a common theme throughout.

"Since reopening, guests know that most bars and restaurants are extremely busy so they'll secure a place in many different establishments way in advance.

"On the day they will choose which one suits them better and won’t make the very simple phone call to let the others know.

"On paper each restaurant looks extremely busy and brings in as many staff as they think they require and the chef will order produce in advance to cope with the volume of trade that they expect.

"We budget throughout the year and have to hit forecasts in order to cover our costs. With these issues we have increased wage costs, loss of produce, and a dramatic loss in turnover.

"This also leads to lower tips for the staff – that they rely on – that in turn lowers the staff morale. We have absolutely no problem with cancellations provided we know in advance so that we can continue to sell tables."

Chester and District Standard:

With cases of the Delta variant on the rise in Cheshire West and Chester, Mr Jarvis says they are having to be "even stricter" with their Covid procedures.

"We are luckier than most as we have a lot of indoor and outdoor space so social distancing measures are easier to keep in place", he explained.

"One of the problems with the new variant is that we as a business have to be even stricter with our procedures purely because a lot of people are now so tired of the restrictions – they're double jabbed and are now passed caring.

"I totally understand their frustration but sadly its the business, not the guests, that get in trouble if procedures aren’t adhered to."

Despite the obstacles the industry has faced – and Mr Jarvis believes more are to come in relation to a "huge shortage" of skilled workers when furlough ends – he is confident it will bounce back with further Government support and more understanding from customers.

"I think the Government has been extremely generous to our industry but I think more help is needed for the small independent pub that doesn’t sell food", he said.

"They won’t have benefitted from the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, the VAT breaks and some of the other grants that were made available.

"They will also have unforgiving landlords that still want their large slice of the tiny cake. Because they are so small and invariably don’t have outdoor areas they’re unable to offer socially distanced spacing. Because of this they will have had to remain closed.

"When furlough ends in September its expected that many chefs and servers won’t return to the industry and it's then that we’ll see the true effect on the hospitality industry.

"Trade will increase but there will be a huge shortage of skilled workers where in the whole country there is already a 25% shortage.

"On a positive note, anyone who has survived until now is in for a good run of trade as the flood gates slowly open.

"Many, like ourselves, have used this time wisely to be creative and plan ahead. We just need more support from the government and more understanding from our guests."