Restaurants that take reservations have always had problems with no-shows. And on busy nights, when you have a lot of walk-ins, and you're juggling people showing up late for reservations or not at all, then it becomes a terrible headache to manage.

So how do you make sure that people will let you know they're going to cancel their reservation instead of just abandoning it? Simple: ask.

A study found that, after booking each reservation, if the hostess asked the caller, "If you need to cancel, will you please call us and let us know?" Just securing a simple "yes" to that question reduced the number of people who flaked out on their reservations. It's a small commitment, and getting people to verbally agree to it makes them feel obligated to follow through, one way or the other.

We don't all work in restaurants or take reservations, but when was the last time someone didn't show up for an appointment with you?