Ko shouldn't charge the full meal $150 By charging the $150, they make cancellations the most valuable "guests" of the night - all profit, no food costs. Instead, they should charge an amount closer to their profit for the night. Second, most restaurants might have trouble filling seats on less than 24 hours notice, but not Ko. They probably could have posted the empty seats online and filled them within 60 minutes. Peter http://www.FlashlightWorthyBooks.com

while i agree that it's unfair that your friend did not have to pay the cancellation fee, i did want to point out that ko's policy is a outright robbery in many sense. while i agree with their point of view that the diner should pay a no-show fee for the cost of their seat, i just wanted to point out that their no-show fee is also $150 for their dinner which costs $100. Even if you add tax + 20% tip, it is still less than the no-show fee. if this is not robbery, i don't know what this is.

I am outraged. Not by Ko’s cancellation policy (which is straight-forward, clear and conspicuous), but rather by your unprofessional abuse of power. This is a blatant attempt to give bad publicity to a restaurant that “wronged” your friend. You got what you wanted – your friend doesn’t have to pay the cancellation fee. But now this puts Ko in the precarious position of having to determine what excuse is legitimate and whether someone tried hard enough to find a replacement diner. That’s what they were trying to avoid by making a zero-tolerance policy (the terms of which your friend agreed to when she accepted her reservation). Their cancellation policy may be harsh but it is fair. You have not been relevant for a while now. This was the tipping point for me. I will not longer subscribe to your column.

Strong-- This reminds me of the review you wrote of Bar Tabac, which, even though I mostly agreed with it, was unprofessionally written and wrong to post. Your friend had to agree to the terms of her reservation when she made it and quite simply she should be charged the full amount. These financial times? Please, this is New York, not Binghamton. Face it Strong, you are not the bees knees of the foodie world like you were three years ago. Chang and Salmon are not losing much by losing you.

policy is clear & similar to Per Se, where if you make a reservation for 4 but one can't make it, regardless when you tell them, you still have to pay for that person.That's what happens with limited seats. Your friend is lucky that because of who you are, they removed the charge. Most of us - without connections - would have to pay. So now that you were able to help your friend, what about a service for your readers - what's the Mexican place that gave her the poisoning? we deserve to be warned!

As a physician who is tormented continuously by no shows and last minute cancellations I can relate to the owner/managers of Ko, however I think the 300 dollar fee is a bit steep. They should charge 50 per seat for no shows or last minute cancels. In regards to your friends excuse, well, it is definitely not the responsibility of the restaurant to weed out the genuine excuses from the usual b.s. you hear from people in New York.

As a physician who is tormented continuously by no shows and last minute cancellations I can relate to the owner/managers of Ko, however I think the 300 dollar fee is a bit steep. They should charge 50 per seat for no shows or last minute cancels. In regards to your friends excuse, well, it is definitely not the responsibility of the restaurant to weed out the genuine excuses from the usual b.s. you hear from people in New York.