Tweet
So I'm sitting at home reading one of those depressing threads about unemployment or collapse in Japan or some place, and I start telling my wife about the huge issues in the economy and pretty soon the neighbors are banging on the ceiling and she is rolling here eyes ( I hate when she does that). Then she turns her monitor around and shows me this:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...entry_id=50665
And I have moment of cognitive dissonance. I'm struck speechless ( yeah, I was surprised too ). I'm trying to find an angle here... maybe the restaurant economy is getting a boost from an obscure tax rebate or something. I just read about where they are giving away free golf carts:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gol...nd-giveth-left
An email from a frustrated reader:
I have been trying for 2 weeks to make a dinner reservation for my husband's birthday (Nov 7), and every restaurant offers me 5:30 or 8:30 or later. Who gets the reservations at 6:30-7:30? is there a secret that could help me when making reservations? Not only can't we get reservations, so many of the reservationists have so much attitude, I don't even want to go there after I get off the phone. Any suggestions of a nice place to call where I might actually be able to get in around 6:30-7:30?
One would think that in a faltering economy this practice would fall to the wayside, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Unfortunately I had no secrets to reveal, but I will give a couple of suggestions. I've found that when I need to dine at a certain hour and my first choice isn't available, I go to OpenTable. I can type in the time, number in party and neighborhood and all the available tables in that time frame will pop up.
Here's another idea: Often I will go ahead and book an earlier reservation on OpenTable (in a pseudonym, of course) and then call the restaurant directly to let them know I've already booked a table but would like to come later. In fact I did that recently at Foreign Cinema. It generally works, because some restaurants restrict times on OpenTable and reserve tables for regulars, call-ins and walk-ins. In most cases they'd rather accomodate the party than lose the table.
However, I know the frustration. Part of the reason I choose OpenTable over the phone is because I've had similar negative experiences when trying to book. When a reservationist makes it seem like they're doing you a favor to offer a reservation, it's a sign that you'd be better off somewhere else.
On Friday, I got cc'd on an email from a reader who wrote a restaurant owner to complain about a reservationist when he tried to change a Thanksgiving reservation. He booked a table for four and then found out another relative was flying in and would join them, so he called the restaurant: "Your reservationist refused to add an extra seat at our table even after I explained the situation to her. I find this unbending policy distasteful."
It could have been that the restaurant was totally booked and going from four to five diners is more difficult than increasing from three to four, for example. However it was obvious the reservationist didn't explain the situation and angered the diner.
Fortunately, we're blessed with many good restaurants in the Bay Area, so there are alternatives. It's kind of like flights to Los Angeles: if you miss one, there's always another ready to take you there.
Posted By: Michael Bauer (Email) | November 02 2009 at 05:01 AM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/...entry_id=50665
And I have moment of cognitive dissonance. I'm struck speechless ( yeah, I was surprised too ). I'm trying to find an angle here... maybe the restaurant economy is getting a boost from an obscure tax rebate or something. I just read about where they are giving away free golf carts:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gol...nd-giveth-left
An email from a frustrated reader:
I have been trying for 2 weeks to make a dinner reservation for my husband's birthday (Nov 7), and every restaurant offers me 5:30 or 8:30 or later. Who gets the reservations at 6:30-7:30? is there a secret that could help me when making reservations? Not only can't we get reservations, so many of the reservationists have so much attitude, I don't even want to go there after I get off the phone. Any suggestions of a nice place to call where I might actually be able to get in around 6:30-7:30?
One would think that in a faltering economy this practice would fall to the wayside, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Unfortunately I had no secrets to reveal, but I will give a couple of suggestions. I've found that when I need to dine at a certain hour and my first choice isn't available, I go to OpenTable. I can type in the time, number in party and neighborhood and all the available tables in that time frame will pop up.
Here's another idea: Often I will go ahead and book an earlier reservation on OpenTable (in a pseudonym, of course) and then call the restaurant directly to let them know I've already booked a table but would like to come later. In fact I did that recently at Foreign Cinema. It generally works, because some restaurants restrict times on OpenTable and reserve tables for regulars, call-ins and walk-ins. In most cases they'd rather accomodate the party than lose the table.
However, I know the frustration. Part of the reason I choose OpenTable over the phone is because I've had similar negative experiences when trying to book. When a reservationist makes it seem like they're doing you a favor to offer a reservation, it's a sign that you'd be better off somewhere else.
On Friday, I got cc'd on an email from a reader who wrote a restaurant owner to complain about a reservationist when he tried to change a Thanksgiving reservation. He booked a table for four and then found out another relative was flying in and would join them, so he called the restaurant: "Your reservationist refused to add an extra seat at our table even after I explained the situation to her. I find this unbending policy distasteful."
It could have been that the restaurant was totally booked and going from four to five diners is more difficult than increasing from three to four, for example. However it was obvious the reservationist didn't explain the situation and angered the diner.
Fortunately, we're blessed with many good restaurants in the Bay Area, so there are alternatives. It's kind of like flights to Los Angeles: if you miss one, there's always another ready to take you there.
Posted By: Michael Bauer (Email) | November 02 2009 at 05:01 AM
Comment