Woman calls a restaurant to book a table for 6. Then she finds out they already charged her credit card: ‘That’s pushing it over the edge a bit’

A woman from New Brunswick said in a TikTok video that she called a local restaurant to book a table for six people and later learned the place had already charged her credit card. Julie Louise explained that parties of that size could not be reserved on the restaurant’s website, so she had to phone instead.

During the call, staff asked for her credit card to hold the reservation, which she said was a first for her. She added that the restaurant then described its cancellation policy: if the group did not show up or failed to cancel in time, the card would be charged $50 per person.

After the call ended, Louise said she received an email stating that her credit card had already been charged $50 as a deposit to hold the table. On-screen text in the video noted that cancellations had to be made three days in advance.

Restaurant requires credit card and advance notice for larger parties

Louise, who lives on the East Coast of Canada in New Brunswick, described the restaurant as one of the more popular spots in her area. She said it has a nice ambiance, stays busy, and employs experienced servers who set everything up well.

She noted that the area does not have Michelin-star restaurants nearby. At the same time, she said numerous people had told her, and she had experienced it herself once, that diners are sometimes told to hurry through their meal because another booking is coming or are asked to leave after paying.

In her own case, Louise said the group received the bill and, while they were paying, the server informed them they needed to head out because another table was arriving in five minutes and needed the seats. She added that many people do not want to spend a lot of money and then face that kind of experience.

Louise said that learning she could be charged $50 per person if the party could not cancel in time or could not make the reservation pushed the situation further. “I think that’s pushing it over the edge a bit,” she stated. Unexpected restaurant fees have sparked backlash elsewhere too, such as a restaurant charging for singing happy birthday.

She closed the video by asking whether the approach is normal in bigger cities and simply new to her area, or whether it amounts to poor customer service. The original caption on the post read, “Is this a normal thing for restaurants to do?? 3 days cancellation notice seems crazy to me!”

Several viewers responded to the video. One commenter said the practice is common in other places and wrote, “Very normal in Vancouver. They get screwed by a LOT of cancellations.” Another viewer called the amount excessive and wrote, “That’s actually ridiculous. Maybe a $50 cancelation fee in total but not per person. I would be asking for $300 worth of food if they charged me that.”

A third commenter, who said they used to run restaurants, agreed with charging for no-shows but found the details too strict. They wrote, “That deposit is bs. Also, three days ahead is obscene. But charging for not showing up I agree with (although $50 per person is steep). I think $20 per person with MAYBE a 24 hour window.”