Everyone has done it: booked a table at the restaurant and decided at the last minute not to show and never told them, or at least brought out the trusted "sick kid" or "last-minute meeting" excuse.
Pod Food manager Samuel Kildea has been on the receiving end of all sorts of excuses.
He once tried calling a no show, he simply got a swear word then a dial tone, which made him giggle.
Nationally, 38,000 people have been blacklisted from online reservation app Dimmi after failing to show up too many times. The no shows have all copped a one-year ban.
XO Restaurant co-owner Kent Nhan believed no shows were on the rise but they've only had to blacklist one customer who failed to show for a booking of 10, twice.
"That's nearly $1000 or $1500 dollars a night," Mr Nhan said. "The frustration is just the lack of courtesy."
Pod Food has never had to blacklist anyone, but on bigger days like Christmas or Valentine's they only take pre-paid bookings after four no shows on Christmas Day two years ago.
"The other thing that happens is people will book for eight or nine guests and upon arrival maybe five people will come," Mr Kildea said.
Mr Nhan and Mr Kildea asked people call as soon as they could if plans had changed; even 30 minutes could make a difference, Mr Kildea said.
XO Restaurant and Pod Food planned for their expected numbers, by bringing on more staff if it looked to be a busy night, or having chefs prepare larger portions.
Mr Nhan said no shows meant food was thrown out and staff morale took a hit, as did the overall atmosphere of the restaurant.
Neither Mr Nhan or Mr Kildea have sent staff home because of no shows.
"It only takes a few empty seats to impact on us [financially] for the night," Mr Nhan said.
"People often don't realise there's an inconsistent demand for tables in the suburb."
"Even a table of two, if we're turning away someone else, that's another couple of hundred dollars that comes out of our pockets," Mr Kildea said.
Mr Kildea said no shows weren't a huge problem overall.
"We are grateful for people who make the effort to contact us at all," Mr Nhan said.
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