Dealing with reservations is challenging.
When you don't take them, people dine, leave, the table is cleared and a new party is immediately seated so there is no down time during busy periods and scheduling staff is easy.
Reservations very often show up late.....as much as 1/2 hour in some cases. If that happens several times in a night that restaurant is down several hundred dollars and staff is standing around. People that walk in see empty tables and get angry that they can't be seated
There are also last minute cancelations and no-shows, thus the request for deposits.
People often want to add to number because someone wants to join them. If the reservation is for 6 or 8 there are a limited number of tables and any change is going to affect another party.
Years ago, before deposits came into play a favorite trick was to make a reservation at several restaurants and then decide at the last minute.
All in all it's very stressful on a busy evening and restaurants that take reservations deserve your patience
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