Since I have spent some time in the technology field, I’ve been following the progress of OpenTable, the restaurant reservation system for some time. I’ve noticed it growing by leaps and bounds, though its takeoff has been a bit slower in Portland than other places.
As a frequent restaurant patron, I find myself using the system more and more frequently. I like to get the general feel of how crowded/popular a restaurant is by browsing available time slots. It is simple, quick, and good for those of us who try to schedule a week worth of reservations at a time.
About a year ago, I was in a restaurant office, and the person taking the calls took me through some of the things they use the system for. Some of you might be surprised to hear they tracked who canceled, who frequently showed up late/no showed, birthdays, anniversaries, slow eaters, problem diners, etc. As she explained to me, “I have a busy Friday night, and two callers are holding for reservations. One frequently cancels, or usually takes forever to turn the table. The other tends to be good tipper (yes, they tracked that too). Which one do you think I’m going to give the last table to?”
Last I heard they were going to use caller ID to pull up the reservation history before they even decided if they were going to answer the phone. Makes perfect sense to me, but is still a bit scary.
Last week, the NY Times did an article on OpenTable.
The software also reveals the idiosyncrasies of thousands of guests. The restaurant staff knows in advance, for instance, that a regular always insists on a table under a particular piece of artwork. They know about another person’s request for kosher food — but only when dining in certain company. And there is the guest so reliably late that staff members know to add 45 minutes to the reservation time.
Doug Washington, a co-owner of Town Hall, said the notes were not just helpful, they are occasionally indispensable. Next to the name of one regular, who has a habit of bringing in women he is not married to, is an instruction to make sure the man’s wife has not booked a separate table for the same day.
Another frequent guest asks the restaurant to send over dessert compliments of the chef but to put the charge on the guest’s bill. Of another, who takes many of his first dates to Town Hall, the instructions read, “Do not treat like a regular!”
Over the last year, quite a few restaurants in Portland have adopted the system, even though they pay per diner for the service. Names like 23Hoyt, Aquariva, Bluehour, and Terroir now take net reservations this way. One interesting feature is the list of Top 10 Restaurants you are presented with when you go to the OpenTable site. The current Portland list is:
Jakes Famous Crawfish
Ruth’s Chris
Andina
McCormick & Schmick’s Harborside
The Heathman
The Melting Pot
M&S Grill
Jake’s Grill
McCormicks & Schmick’s Seafood
clarklewis
Looks like there are lots of business admin’s out there using OpenTable. How about you? Do you use internet reservation systems?
I’ve been using OpenTable for years, and I’m a big fan. Love the convenience, particularly being able to see what times a restaurant has tables available and making my plans around that. For some reason, it’s so much less annoying than calling a restaurant and trying to wheedle that information out of whomever answers.
It’s especially useful for making reservations in other big cities when I travel. It’s great for New York, for example, because they offer reservations for almost 800 restaurants there, compared to only about 40 in Portland (though they do seem to be getting better about signing up Portland restaurants lately).
One possible downside: My most frequent dining companion is convinced, and often remarks to me, that whenever we book via OpenTable, it often seems like the restaurant tries to stick us at the least desirable table in the place. (I’m not entirely persuaded of that yet; is it possible that restaurateurs give better tables to those who call rather than book online?)
One good thing Food Dude didn’t mention: When you book with OpenTable, you’re awarded “points” that can later be exchanged for gift certificates good at any of their restaurants. I’ve used the service enough to get a $100 certificate, which Olea accepted readily, no questions asked.
i love open table. though i don’t bother using it to reserve tables (a phone call is fine) it has saved me on the job countless times, and in myriad ways.
you’ll always know who’s anniversary/birthday/graduation it is, or any number of other things that help you to ensure that the guest is going to get what they came for.
as for it being scary for the diner; i certainly understand your feeling there, but i’d call this a healthy fear, on the part of the guest. people often forget that they are GUESTS in our places of business. as in one’s home, poorly behaved, disrespectful guests are a little less welcome. since that tiny profit margin we rely on to get by comes in part from everyone feeling welcome in our places, tools like open table can help us identify no-showing, poorly behaved, long-turning, what-have-you’s and deal with them accordingly, without making any waves. you simply know better where to put them and/or how they need to be dealt with.
thecobra: I’d like to be treated like a guest, but the truth is, I’m a customer and that’s not the same thing. We owe each other different duties than a host and guest do. I don’t think that’s a useful paradigm for improving my experience or your business.
I use Open Table quite often when I travel. I don’t beleive that I have received a worse table as a result. Once, on a birthday which I noted on the site, we were given a great table and great service.
I have never used it here. Nor, have I ever redeemed the points. Who knew they amounted to anything?! Thanks Papaki!
I’ve used it mainly when traveling. I’ve found it very convenient for booking dinners ahead of time, when I’m planning a vacation.
Also, my husband is allergic to onions, which, as you can imagine, often limits his ordering options. Although I often mention this when calling in a reservation to a restaurant (to give them a heads up), I’ve found that the information is given more attention when it’s in writing in our OpenTable reservation.
i think it takes away from the personal experience but it is convenient. in this day we appreciate speedy service with efficiency and fake ‘knowledge’ of who we are. the only reason a host knows your favorite table, etc… is because of a computer system. i miss the human element in life. also i like to know that a host job requires more than being able to read.
Like others have mentioned, it’s much better in cities that have wide adoption of it, like NYC and DC.
One thing I’ve been noticing more and more is that some of the better places seem to have most desirable time slots unavailable by default. I’ve checked some restaurants months in advance and they’ve got post-10pm and sub-5pm available, but nothing else. Of course, I was able to get an 8:30 table just by calling.
Not that calling is difficult, but sort of defeats the purpose.
kai: my guess (and this truly IS a guess, having no clue as to the extent to which you are familiar with this program and how it is used) is that with a few shifts under your belt in a house that ran open table, your viewpoint would change.
to myself & countless other restaurant professionals (both in front & back of house) who work/have worked with open table, there is no question… as in zero… as to whether it is effective in aiding us in improving guest experience & running our respective businesses more efficiently.
My brother is taking me to dinner at the French Laundry for my upcoming 70th birthday but put me in charge of making the resevations. I read horror stories about what one had to do to get reservations there and I almost quit before I started…then I read that French Laundry uses Open Table. Voila! I haven’t done it yet — not planning to go till October — but I’m sure looking forward to having THEM do it for me.
Viki, I’m afraid I’m not going to make you feel much better here. OpenTable actually has an entire page on getting reservations at the French Laundry. You can see it by clicking here. Only two tables (out of 16 in the restaurant) are available via open table, both for a party of 4.
The best way to get a reservation is to stay at a hotel in Napa Valley/Yountville that has an agreement with the French Laundry.
Ditto, what food dude said.
I use Open Table in Tokyo and in NYC. I’ve used it occasionally in Portland for clarklewis, but many of the restaurants I like to visit are on my cell phone speed dial and i just call them. I’ve been told for popular NYC restaurants that they restrict the number of tables and times available to the public via Open Table. So, for the hot locations, I just call the restaurant even though I’d rather do the reservations online.
There are alternatives for operators – coming out of the UK is a system called restaurantdiary.com – a web based application with a rapidly growing customer base in the UK (2m customers a year……)
vicki: we just booked at the french laundry using open table – - going in a couple of weeks, so i’ll report back on the experience (table location, service, etc.)
napbound – thanks. We’ll all be interested to hear about your experience.