his week a Birmingham Michelin Restaurant will set the UK trend by going live on a special pre-payment facility for guests to pre-book their meal, and save over 20% off their meal price.
There is often a high perception of Michelin dining to be expensive, but with high overheads, attentive service and often small venues, margins are tight and diners not always turning up means costs do remain high – however a Chef Patron of a Birmingham Michelin Restaurant is set to lead the UK by announcing a special pre-pay system to help diners with immediate effect.
Turners Restaurant, Harborne, Birmingham
Chef Richard Turner of Turners Restaurant in Harborne, Birmingham, one of the smallest Michelin Restaurants in the UK, and one of 4 in Birmingham, has announced that he is launching a special pre-pay ‘Ticket’ system to help add value to the customer experience.
“Being a Michelin restaurant can be considered to be a bit of a double edged knife,” comments Chef Richard, “Diners expect the best in service, food and the highest quality fixtures, fittings and of course tableware, but often don’t choose to dine at such restaurants as they perceive them to be expensive – but to service the demands of customers we need to keep ahead of the game and maintain high staff levels to attend to their needs at every service, and being one of the smallest Michelin Restaurants in the UK with just 28 covers our costs remain high. Then, if they decide not to turn up without letting us know, it can make the difference between a profit or loss on certain services.”
‘Turners Ticket’ website page
Chef Richard continues “So to help customers save on Michelin Dining, and to maintain our tight margins we have adopted the American ‘Ticket-System’ of booking – It is simple, much like booking an airline ticket or theatre, the earlier you book, the better chance you have of dining on your chosen time.
“Diners can pre-book by visiting our special ‘Turners Ticket’ website page direct, and if they choose to pre-pay they save over 20% on our Simply Turners a la carte menu menu – normally 5 dish a la carte menu for £55, will be just £45 per person on a Thursday night. However, unlike lots of online offers, they will receive the full Turners Restaurant experience and menu.”
Sample menu here
Popular option in US; trialling at Turners
The system was first trialled in Chicago at a renowned 3 Michelin Star restaurant where no shows were reduced and customer value increased and has now become a popular option amongst diners in the US.
“UK diners have a different approach, so I thought we would trial it for a few weeks until the end of May – I guess you could say it’s a ‘pop-up’ trial offer. We may upset a few people with this Thursday Pre-pay system, but I’ve never been one to make decision lightly and at Turners it’s all about the food, but to make the perfect omelette you have to crack a few eggs.”
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Turners Restaurant, 69 High Street, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 9NS