What do you suppose would change if restaurants started asking guests to put down a deposit when they called in for a dinner reservation? Not a cover charge or an upsell, but a simple deposit that would act to hold their place, and would be applied to their bill when they finished dining.

My guess is that, at first, many people would find this idea absurd, maybe even offensive (nevermind that this same practice is standard in theater, concerts, sporting events, and many other arenas, but we don’t bat an eye at it).

My guess is also that this restaurant would set a higher standard for and outperform most other restaurants. I would also put money on the fact that the common restaurant practices of overbooking and seating customers late, of the common customer practices of not showing up or showing up late for their reservation, would be far less common. And the higher the reservation price, the less frequent these practices would be. That’s something I would put money on.

Spoiler alert: this already exists. And another spoiler alert: it is a practice that was introduced and popularized by a restaurant executive who currently owns a longstanding three-star Michelin restaurant (ranked 6th best restaurant in the world) and other top-rated restaurants, and the same system has been adopted by a number of other top-ranked restaurants in the world.

Skin in the game holds everyone to a higher standard.

You, the customer of the restaurant, have already put down $100 of your own hard-earned money; and whereas a scheduling inconvenience or an earlier opening at a restaurant down the street might have otherwise led you to bail on your reservation in another situation, skin in the game means that’s not even a consideration anymore. And what’s more? I bet that everyone who goes to that restaurant really wants to eat there and will get more from their experience.

And the restaurant, knowing that you’ve already put money on the line, will put a high priority on having your table ready to go on arrival, and to give you the highest service and the peak experience. You simply cannot ask for $100 reservations and provide a sub-par experience. It’s sink or swim for everyone involved.

I’m not sure whether the practice of skin in the game follows excellence or the other way around, but I find them going hand-in-hand more often than not. Rather than running from accountability and skin in the game, you should probably seek it out, regardless of which side of the equation you’re on.

- PS

11/7/18

• In 10 mins, work up to a heavy set of 5 in the deadlift

Then...

• For time:

• 800m run

• 2 rope climbs

• 40 wallballs (20/14)

• 2 rope climbs

• 20 deadlifts (185/125)

• 2 rope climbs

• 10 power cleans (185/125)