Table’s Ready – A Solution for Busy Restaurants

Busy restaurants with long waits for tables will love Table’s Ready. The innovative web-app eliminates the need for expensive pagers, beepers, and buzzers and uses guests’ cell phones instead. Restaurants that use Table’s Ready can send text messages to their guests to let them know when their waits are over and their tables are ready. They can also use a bevy of analytics tools to track wait times and determine when additional staff needs to be brought on board.

Before you throw out the pagers or buzzers your restaurant has been using to let guests know when their tables are ready, you may want to take Table’s Ready on a test drive for a free 30-day trial. Fill out a form with your restaurant name, the phone number that guests will receive alerts from, and a script that will be texted to your patrons. Ask guests for their name, phone number, and party size when they arrive at the hostess’ station or call for a reservation and add that information to your Table’s Ready account. When a table opens up, you can click onto the Table’s Ready app to send a text to the next guest in line. The guest will instantly receive a text message with your pre-selected script informing him or her to proceed to the hostess stand to be seated immediately. If a guest doesn’t show up promptly, just click the app to page the person again or call the person directly to let him or her know that the table is ready. You can add special notes to individual reservations, and keep track of the average wait time for a table on any given night.

Table’s Ready is a web-based app, which means it can be accessed from a desktop, laptop, or even an iPad for smaller restaurants that don’t have built in computer systems at their hostess stations. Restaurants that use this app can save money by not having to replace expensive pagers each week and save time by not having to call out guests’ name when their tables are ready.

Practical Uses:

• Let your guests know when their tables are ready
• Find out how long your guests are waiting for a table
• Send out additional pages and calls if a guest doesn’t respond promptly
• Add notes to remind the waiter about a guest’s birthday or special event

Insider Tips:

• Restaurants can create their own scripts to be texted to guests
• The app works on any desktop, laptop, or iPad
• Businesses can view analytics stats that show average wait time trends
• Certain restaurants can elect to call their guests rather than sending texts

What we liked:

• Restaurants can save money by not buying expensive pager systems
• People can walk as far away from the restaurant as they want and still be “in range” when their tables are ready
• Analytics help managers pinpoint which nights have the longest waits
• Table’s Ready can be used to handle reservations and walk-in guests

What we didn’t like:

• People who are worried about spam or privacy may not give out their cell phone numbers
• Standing in a cell phone dead zone could cause a person to miss a text
• Restaurants that send more than 100 texts per night may have to pay an additional charge per message

Alternatives:

• OpenTable – http://www.opentable.com
• ReadyPing – http://www.readyping.com
• Recess – http://www.recessapp.com

Company Info:

• Launched: 2011
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, and Denver, Colorado
• Founded by: Andy Ellis and Bill D’Alessandro
• Web site: http://www.tablesready.com

Costs:

• Free trial
• $69.95/month