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Google Hijacks Restaurants Booking System Leading To No Reservations Being Available.
(www.seroundtable.com)
this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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While that is shit, if I call a restaurant to make a reservation and they just tell me to go to their website, I’m probably going elsewhere anyway.
Why even have a phone number if it is useless?
I, on the other hand, prefer to do it online and wouldn’t mind this. Horses for courses.
Really? Are reservations the only use for a phone?
The restaurant seems to think so if it just plays an automated message to book a reservation online
Yeah possibly. The article doesn’t specify it but I’ve seen systems that would give you the automated message but still put you through if you stayed on the line.
A publicly shared phone number for the restaurant? Pretty much. It has limited uses for checking hours and holidays and such, but the primary use is going to be checking availability to eat at the restaurant. If that's not something you can get over the phone, 99% of the reason to have a public facing phone number is negated.
At a restaurant? Uh yeah.
These all require someone to actually pick up the phone, instead of playing an automated message.
Because many third part services require a phone number and will post that phone number around without permission.
I have a restaurant and we don't offer phone service at all, phone goes to voicemail which tells you to send an email or order online.
I posted the number nowhere, but guess what, apple maps requires a phone number, uber grubhub dd require phone numbers, and lo and behold my fucking pos was posting the number on my website without my permission and gave me no way to remove it until I called repeatedly and complained, but even then it still pops back up sometimes.
Edit sorry I replied to the wrong person and im too lazy to change it 😬
You can have both.
Why would the employee have to look up a publicly listed number to call their employers to call out? That's something a private line could easily take care of.
Tried calling a new Indian place in town and they wanted a credit card to book a reservation. Didn't end up going.
Not sure about your situation specifically, but restaurants requiring a credit card during reservation is on the rise to combat reservation scalping and the no-shows that res scalping causes.
That is a thing? Restaurant reservation scalping ? Who is the market for that? I can buy restaurant reservations on eBay now?