this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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Imagine you own a restaurant and you get all your reservations online through your booking system; you even tell people to book online when they call, via an automated message. But then, all of a sudden, Google decides to hijack that booking link and replace it with Google Assistant's calling feature.

So instead of Google linking to the booking system you selected, let's say OpenTable booking integration. Now Google uses Google Assistant to try to call the restaurant and speak to a person. But no person will answer the call, the call goes to a message to tell people to book online. So the next thing that happens is that Google gives up calling, thinks there are no reservations available and tells those trying to book online that there are no reservations available.

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[–] BombOmOm@lemmy.world 94 points 18 hours ago (3 children)

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?

[–] c10l@lemmy.world 43 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (3 children)

I, on the other hand, prefer to do it online and wouldn’t mind this. Horses for courses.

Why even have a phone number if it is useless?

Really? Are reservations the only use for a phone?

[–] Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 23 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The restaurant seems to think so if it just plays an automated message to book a reservation online

[–] c10l@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago

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.

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 11 points 12 hours ago

Why even have a phone number if it is useless?

Really? Are reservations the only use for a phone?

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.

[–] MichaelScotch@lemmy.world -1 points 6 hours ago

At a restaurant? Uh yeah.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 13 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

Why even have a phone number if it is useless?

  • forgotten glasses
  • arranging a special event
  • deliveries and business coordination
  • employees calling out
  • etc
[–] zout@fedia.io 33 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

These all require someone to actually pick up the phone, instead of playing an automated message.

[–] Microplasticbrain@lemm.ee 7 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

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 😬

[–] Atherel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 hours ago

You can have both.

Welcome to restaurant. For reservations please visit our website on restaurant.com. For any other requests, please hold the line.

[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 12 points 12 hours ago

employees calling out

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.

[–] slumberlust@lemmy.world 9 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Tried calling a new Indian place in town and they wanted a credit card to book a reservation. Didn't end up going.

[–] placatedmayhem@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] psoul@lemmy.world 5 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

That is a thing? Restaurant reservation scalping ? Who is the market for that? I can buy restaurant reservations on eBay now?

[–] gramie@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 minutes ago

Definitely a thing for days like Valentine's.

[–] aquilarift@lemmy.world 54 points 18 hours ago

Google is so shite, damn phone app kept dialling China instead of local numbers here in Ireland.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 17 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Mega corpo abusing small business but these "entrepreneurs" still bootlick the regime

Fuckong idiots think they are part of the club haha

[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 12 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

As an entrepreneur, please enlighten me: what is the alternative?

Almost nobody uses Organic Maps.

Barely 5% use Bing, less than 0.1% DDG.

Google is the default for both Apple and Android devices.

So, please, someone tell me: as an idiot, what else can I use?

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 8 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

Today, I noticed that a restaurant I manage had its OpenTable booking integration replaced with Google Assistant.

Replaced in what context? My understanding is that OpenTable still works just fine but Google is, on its end, no longer automatically referring its own users to OpenTable. I wouldn't call that "hijacking" unless the restaurant had a prior agreement with Google.

No Available Reservations

That's not the error message. Google says that you can't get a reservation through Google Assistant not that there are no reservations available.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 17 points 15 hours ago

Replaced in what context?

This was really confusing to me too from the context of the article. Here's what I'm guessing. At the top of the article it has this:

collapsed inline media

So even though the article doesn't say it, I'm guessing if a user were to search Google maps and find the restaurant, inside the details where was previously a link to "Book a reservation"...through Opentable. The article is saying that for this person's restaurant Google is no longer showing the Opentable link, and instead showing a Google link driving by the AI. Those screenshots being what the user would see if they try to put in a reservation.

The logical suggestion is if the user were to:

  • navigate directly to Opentable, they could successfully make reservation.
  • navigate to the restaurant's website and try to book a reservation, they'd be redirected to Opentable where they would successfully make a reservation.

So the issue, I think, is trying to book a reservation directly from Google Maps results.