Reservation Rants

Has anyone noticed how hard it is to make a dinner reservation these days?  I’m not talking about getting a table.  The economy’s made that easy.  A little too easy if you ask me.  It’s the restaurants that are making it so difficult.

Suddenly, reservationists are demanding full names, multiple phone numbers – a work and cell phone numbers – sometimes even a credit card.  But that’s not the clincher.  The reservationist at a restaurant I won’t name required that I call back the Friday before my Monday night reservation to confirm or cancel.  Another thing I had to add to my calendar .  Monday morning wasn’t sufficient, never mind that I was making a reservation in the first place.  I not only have to think of fake names and phone
numbers.  I have to remember to confirm it the day before. 

Another reservationist demanded an email address to send a confirmation.  How about we start with a drink and if that goes well, I’ll commit to forking over my email for updates and solicitations?  Making reservations is practically becoming a full-time job.   

Or what about restaurants without reservationists?  I can’t possibly commit to being at my keyboard at 8:59 a.m. to fight for a reservation in an email system a month later.   After all that, three reservationists couldn’t find my reservation in the computer system this week.  “Do you know who you spoke to?”   Great, another thing I have to remember to do.  Seriously, it’s exhausting.