[HN Gopher] Why You Can't Get a Restaurant Reservation
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       Why You Can't Get a Restaurant Reservation
        
       Author : Anon84
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2024-04-23 21:20 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.newyorker.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.newyorker.com)
        
       | Anon84 wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/jvBLJ
        
       | throwaway1o24 wrote:
       | At one level, I guess there are market efficiencies somewhere but
       | it's depressing that this sub-industry even exists.
        
       | MarkusWandel wrote:
       | At a restaurant that the wife and I recently went to, we were
       | greeted with a QR code at the entrance. Scan that, get logged
       | into a website where you grab your spot in line and get given an
       | estimated wait time.
       | 
       | This kind of makes sense! If you live nearby, you can just keep
       | that URL handy and grab your spot in line from your house, and
       | head out when it comes up. This restaurant doesn't even take
       | reservations - it doesn't need to. For brunch, anyway (that's
       | what we were there for).
       | 
       | The only problem is that the wait times are estimated. Given a 45
       | minute estimate, we went for a walk. We were a kilometer away
       | when suddenly we went from third in line to "you're up" all in
       | the space of a few minutes, I guess because several parties left
       | close together. We had to hustle to get back.
       | 
       | At least this system isn't scalpable. I didn't get around to
       | asking how many minutes you can be late before your turn is lost.
        
         | smokedetector1 wrote:
         | The estimates are always too high, I think that's exactly the
         | reason - people go on the list but then get tired of waiting
         | and leave. I think they estimate conservatively because people
         | would rather be pleasantly surprised than waiting longer than
         | expected, but I think the estimates could be better.
        
         | LeafItAlone wrote:
         | Why is it not scalpable? Like you said, once you know the URL,
         | you can check in from anywhere. Just check in with a bunch of
         | different pieces of information, and then you can let your
         | buyers have the one that's next up when they get to the
         | restaurant. Unless they match an ID up to the check in, it
         | still seems possible. They restaurant could use one-time codes,
         | but then regulars couldn't check in on their way.
        
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       (page generated 2024-04-23 23:01 UTC)