WOULD you ring up a restaurant to book a meal and then simply not turn up?

No, neither would I but, apparently, there’s a growing number of people who regularly do this.

Now, one restaurant owner is fighting back. Henry Eldon from The Cauldron in Bristol has started naming and shaming such patrons on Twitter, using their surnames to let the world – and presumably other restaurants – know who they are.

The situation is so bad that some restaurants charge people in advance for the whole meal while online booking service OpenTable is enforcing strict measures to ensure those who repeatedly don’t turn up are banned from using the service.

It’s obvious that restaurants rely on an accurate booking system for profits and customers who don’t show up cost them money all round. It’s selfish and dishonest to do this and I hope other restaurants follow suit. Such idiots deserve it.