Walrus Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Do you still get charged if I have to cancel my reservation beforehand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Do you still get charged if I have to cancel my reservation beforehand? No. You are only charged for reservations seated within 15 minutes of the reseration time. Of course, you would have to audit the reservation report after your bill is paid and you would have to document all the reservations seated well past their reservation time. Also, if you call to change your reservation, the restaurant has the right to cancel your OT reservation and rebook you with a non OT one but I don't think many restaurants do that on a regular basis. What I love is when a party calles me the next day saying that they dined at the restaurant and got a no show letter in the email. Much of the time it happens because when we seated the party and asked do you have a reservation they forgot to speak up and not only are we now on the hook for a charge but we also held ANOTHER table for no reason. Of course, last night I forgot to mark a table as seated and they got the no show letter because of my mistake, but they got their 100 points! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 OK, so I have been using Opentable over the years. Not as frequently as I would like, but I try. My wife uses it as well. We both have some points. Mind you, we have never partaken of the 1000 point specials ever. Still we have a few points we could probably cashin on and use one of these days. Has anyone ever done this? How does this work? I assume you can only use the rewards at current opentable joints, right? Anyone feel dorky using these rewards? Do the restaurants ever give you a hassle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Has anyone ever done this? How does this work? I assume you can only use the rewards at current opentable joints, right? Anyone feel dorky using these rewards? Do the restaurants ever give you a hassle? I cash in frequently. You do have to use them at places that currently have OpenTable. Never had a restaurant even blink - to them, it's just like taking a traveler's check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I cash in frequently. You do have to use them at places that currently have OpenTable. Never had a restaurant even blink - to them, it's just like taking a traveler's check.It is a traveler's check. My bank takes 'em and they are the same as cash so use away! I'd rather get an OT check than a credit card any day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthitch Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I'd rather get an OT check than a credit card any day! DEAL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfishe Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 This may not be the right forum, but there is some interesting stuff in here: http://idea.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/11...2190140zs-1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 OpenTable -- Overvalued Already? Hmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezepowder Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I don't like the new Open Table format. I used to sort the results by neighborhood, food, or price. It doesn't look like I can sort the reservation results by neighborhood anymore, and I don't like having to narrow the search to get a subset of results, I just want to see them all sorted on a page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted November 9, 2009 Author Share Posted November 9, 2009 I don't like the new Open Table format. I used to sort the results by neighborhood, food, or price. It doesn't look like I can sort the reservation results by neighborhood anymore, and I don't like having to narrow the search to get a subset of results, I just want to see them all sorted on a page. hmmm I had no idea they changed formats. I used it this weekend, too, on my mobile phone (which still seems to use the 'old' format..). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajcaj Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I logged onto the website today after not having been on for awhile, to find that ALL my points expired on 12/20/09. I'm sure I never received an email about any upcoming expiration or some such. According to their FAQs, points "may" expire after 12 months of inactivity.. Ok, yea so, my last reservation through OpenTable was around 12/2008, but no notice I think is ridiculous! They'll be getting an email or call from me for sure. Incidentially, I found myself using them less and less... I didn't find that the service was all that helpful/convenient, especially since the last few times I tried to use it, the times I wanted (and really chunks of time anywhere near it) were listed as unavailable, but when I called the restaurants there were reservations available w/in those time periods. I think its something to do with the restaurant being able to block out reservations from OpenTable, but either way - how is it a helpful service if I have to end up calling the restaurant anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 I'm still a fan of Opentable. It's convenient and easy to use. Sometimes I will make a reservation for a time that I do not really want and then, if a better time does not present itself as I get closer to the date, I then do call the restaurant to see if they have other times available and then they can shift my reservation to the new time slot. No big deal, mainly because I've only done that a few times. Most of the time I can find a slot I want at the place I want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 They pay you to make a reservation. What's not to like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I just got an e-mail from US Air saying my miles are about to expire. I suppose Open Table could do the same and send out an e-mail reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajcaj Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I just got an e-mail from US Air saying my miles are about to expire. I suppose Open Table could do the same and send out an e-mail reminder. Follow up - I emailed Open Table and expressed my dismay at having my points exipre w/o any notice. They wrote back in a timely matter and reinstated my points which I greatly appreciate. I'll have to make sure to use the service more, if only to make sure it doesn't happen again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escoffier Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Follow up - I emailed Open Table and expressed my dismay at having my points exipre w/o any notice. They wrote back in a timely matter and reinstated my points which I greatly appreciate. I'll have to make sure to use the service more, if only to make sure it doesn't happen again! Seems to me that emailing them before saying anything here would have been the logical thing to do. Amazing how much can be accomplished with a bit of communication. Glad you got your points back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajcaj Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Seems to me that emailing them before saying anything here would have been the logical thing to do. Amazing how much can be accomplished with a bit of communication. Glad you got your points back. What's wrong with my having posted about it here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leleboo Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Seems to me that emailing them before saying anything here would have been the logical thing to do. Amazing how much can be accomplished with a bit of communication. Glad you got your points back. What's wrong with my having posted about it here? FWIW, I'm glad you did -- I had no idea points expired on OpenTable, and now I do. Plus sometimes it's good to vent a bit of frustration before approaching customer service. Usually works better when they don't bear the brunt of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanMike Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 I just had the same thing happen - and no idea that it would. I will perhaps e-mail them as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajcaj Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Way to go OP, you sent a email to Open Table and they restored your points after you didn't use their service for over a year. That's about 270 day more than most places do. I think you owe them a huge THANK YOU for being so nice... Honestly, what's it to you? Seriously you seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder about this whole issue, so why don't you just tell us all what this is really about? and how dare you tell me what I owe them or anyone, you have no clue what I've already communicated to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 What do you folks thing about Marcel as the best food in the metro area, with Ristorante Bonaroti in Vienna second? Is OT's rating system susceptible to ballot stuffing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 I'm not sure how any one place can be "best", but Marcel's is certainly on my short list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 What do you folks thing about Marcel as the best food in the metro area, with Ristorante Bonaroti in Vienna second? Is OT's rating system susceptible to ballot stuffing? From following their rankings, the system seems not to take into account the absolute number of reviews. Thus a small, lightly reviewed place with very high ratings fro the small number of folk who do review it can win in a category. This favors restaurants with stable customer bases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 To the restaurants: does it matter or is it just annoying when someone has to modify a reservation a few times due to changes in plans, but the end result is still showing up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy510 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 To the restaurants: does it matter or is it just annoying when someone has to modify a reservation a few times due to changes in plans, but the end result is still showing up? I'm actually curious about this too, since someone I know (who is totally not me, why would you think that?) has had issues with constantly changing times or party size in short periods because of problems nailing down specifics of their meal plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Just as long as the reservationee realizes that just because we have a table for 4 at 7pm we might not have a 2 except at 6:15 or 8:45 and no we wont give you that table of 4 at prime time on a Saturday night because your friends flaked out at the last minute. And believe it or not, a reservation you cancel might refill seconds later so when you go back for it its gone. What drives me batty is a reservation for 4 with a note "we will have a baby with us" and when they get to the restaurant, they have 4 adults and a baby. Gee folks, I held a table of 4 for you, the restaurant is totally full at evrey table I COULD HAVE put 4 and a baby at comfortably and now I have nowhere to put you. Or a party that shows up on a Saturday night with folk who cannot navigate the stairs when the Open Table confirmation letter says we have seating both on ground level and upstairs, please let us know of mobility issues. And lastly the party of 2 that shows up with three saying well I tried to change the reservation to three but the system wouldn't let me. I once had a reservation of 2 show up as a 7! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Is now jumping on the discount coupon bandwagon. Inaugural reveal tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted November 15, 2010 Author Share Posted November 15, 2010 Rant about Opentable costs Anyone else see this? I'm still a fan of Opentable, but it makes me wonder how bad this can ultimately be for the restaurant industry. Does the cost outweigh the upside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toogs Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 Is that $10.40 number accurate (from Pool Boy's link)? I thought it was like a dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 Is that $10.40 number accurate (from Pool Boy's link)? I thought it was like a dollar. Its a dollar per seated ressie, or $.25 from your own website referals (about 20% of my ressies are done this way so my blended cost is about $.85 per. The machine runs about 300 a month and I get about 1500 reservations so that comes out to about $.20. The start up costs were 1295 and I have had the machine for 4 years so the amortized value at a high rate of interest is just about zero. So I don't know where the guy got his figure. It is about $4.20 for a table of 4. Add to that that I get email adresses I can use to market, and the value of the floor management software, and the lack of phone answering and I don't see it as the evil empire that it is made out to be. Living Social and Gorupon are much more invidious and yet many folk, myslef and PS 7 just to name 2 included, have done more than one and feel it a good program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat B Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I'm a brand new member, good to learn about open table. Hope to learn a lot more about my favorite pastime eating out. Pat B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimRice Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 More discussion on the benefits and restaurateur complaints about OpenTable on Felix Salmon's blog. Ever since Dean said he loved OpenTable and would rather the reservations go through that channel even with the cost, I've thought it must be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Psst -- Rogue 24 reservations surprisingly easy to get. +1 managed to snag a reservation this week for a specific day next week. How? I'm looking on Open Table and everything appears to be booked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcs Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 How? I'm looking on Open Table and everything appears to be booked. I have called restaurants and got reservations for nights that looked completely booked on Open Table. I do not think the complete reservation book for most places is available through Open Table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Made all my reservations on OpenTable for my weekend jaunt to Chicago. Could not have been easier. Still, calling around will indeed get you in to a place, especially if they look completely booked or only have availability at very late or very early time slots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 My Dining Cheque has expired; can you issue me a new Dining Cheque?Unfortunately, OpenTable cannot replace or reissue expired Dining Cheques. Okay, 180 days is a long time, but for those of us who just found a Dining Cheque in a pile of papers ... this is pretty cheesy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 Okay, 180 days is a long time, but for those of us who just found a Dining Cheque in a pile of papers ... this is pretty cheesy. FWIW, you can't use the checks on the 180th day either (or on the 178th or 179th days if they are going into a weekend.) The bank won't take them the next day or the Monday after the weekend because they would have expired. My servers have been burned twice by this over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldman Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 FWIW, you can't use the checks on the 180th day either (or on the 178th or 179th days if they are going into a weekend.) The bank won't take them the next day or the Monday after the weekend because they would have expired. My servers have been burned twice by this over the years. I don't understand this. Open Table website says that "cheques" expire 180 days after date of issue. Maybe there is some fine print on the "cheque" saying that what this really means is that the customer must present the "cheque" in adequate time to make sure that the restaurant then actually somehow presents the "cheque" back to Open Table (or a bank?) by the 180th day - maybe so, but that would be silly. Why should a customer then not be allowed to use the "cheque" on the 180th day, and why should a server (not restaurant, but server) be "burned" for taking a "cheque" on the 180th day? Sounds very weird to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pressley Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I don't understand this. Open Table website says that "cheques" expire 180 days after date of issue. Maybe there is some fine print on the "cheque" saying that what this really means is that the customer must present the "cheque" in adequate time to make sure that the restaurant then actually somehow presents the "cheque" back to Open Table (or a bank?) by the 180th day - maybe so, but that would be silly. Why should a customer then not be allowed to use the "cheque" on the 180th day, and why should a server (not restaurant, but server) be "burned" for taking a "cheque" on the 180th day? Sounds very weird to me. I know. It sucks. Both times I was burned, my server took the check as payment because it was before the 180 day mark. Both times, I took the check to the bank on the 181st day to deposit it and was refused both times. Don't know what to tell you...that's what happened. One of the checks was for $100, so that really, really sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldman Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I know. It sucks. Both times I was burned, my server took the check as payment because it was before the 180 day mark. Both times, I took the check to the bank on the 181st day to deposit it and was refused both times. Don't know what to tell you...that's what happened. One of the checks was for $100, so that really, really sucked. Part of what doesn't make sense is that there is even a bank involved. Though I am not a business guy, it seems like this ought to be handled as a simple internal matter of crediting $ to the restaurant against what it would otherwise owe to Open Table for the month. No need to involve "going to the bank" at all. If Open Table screws restaurants in little ways like this, restaurants should fight back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Open Table checks are, essentially, traveler's checks, hence the need to deposit them in a bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMango Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 An insightful, quick, and well-articulated read----Chef Ed's recent blog post on OpenTable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 (edited) An insightful, quick, and well-articulated read----Chef Ed's recent blog post on OpenTable. This is a great, educational piece. Aside from shining a light on a lesser known challenge associated with OpenTable, it also makes me very interested in the chef. His profile indicates that he spent a couple of decades in IT before moving into food and that seems evident in his telling of this story. But, the story also makes clear he has real business savvy and that's something we don't always see with small business, restaurants and otherwise. I'll look for a thread but, not having heard of Chef Ed before, I'm guessing he's a wonderful chef as well and One Block West is worth visiting if out Winchester way? Edit: Actually, there is a Winchester thread with some mentions of One Block West here. Edited March 1, 2013 by darkstar965 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 I'll look for a thread but, not having heard of Chef Ed before, I'm guessing he's a wonderful chef as well and One Block West is worth visiting if out Winchester way? It certainly is - One Block West is a charming little restaurant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Booked my annual trip to Atlantic City. Found many restaurants that won't take reservation for table for 1. How douchey is it to book a table for 2 and then show up and tell them my companion canceled? In case you're wondering, my douche meter is at 10. I don't think I'd pull that one but it's annoying to see tables available that you can't reserve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Booked my annual trip to Atlantic City. Found many restaurants that won't take reservation for table for 1. How douchey is it to book a table for 2 and then show up and tell them my companion canceled? In case you're wondering, my douche meter is at 10. I don't think I'd pull that one but it's annoying to see tables available that you can't reserve. I'd put it at very douchey. However, it drives me nuts, too, that opentable won't let you book a table for one. That said as someone who frequently travels for work alone and who tends to dine alone when traveling for work because my colleagues have tastes that lean towards Olive Garden, I give a huge thumbs up to restaurants that let you book for one. However, usually I call ahead and ask about space at the bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 There have been times I've wondered about making a reservation for two and then editing the reservation later and seeing if it can be changed to one. Since I've never tried it, I don't know if that works. The other thing I've considered doing is reserving for two and making a note in the comments field that there will only be one diner. That seems pretty straightforward, since the restaurant can then contact you to discuss it, presuming they read that field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Open table defaults the minimum size of party to 2 people. We set all our 2 tops for either 1 or 2 people. I just did a check on open table for 1 at 7pm {282 restaurant available} vs 2 {319} So at least 37 restaurants in DC have excluded tables of 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Open table defaults the minimum size of party to 2 people. We set all our 2 tops for either 1 or 2 people. I just did a check on open table for 1 at 7pm {282 restaurant available} vs 2 {319} So at least 37 restaurants in DC have excluded tables of 1. Shows you how much I know. I quit trying to book a table for 1 on opentable years ago because it never appeared to be an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Book for two (preferably through the restaurant's website, so they don't have to pay OpenTable), then call the restaurant and change to one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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