Whaddya mean my table isn't ready?
Cannot guarantee availability? Then what's the reservation for?!!!
I've noticed an interesting trend... it seems many places that allow you to make reservations do not see fit to actually guarantee that they will reserve the item or service for you.
I don't know how many times I've heard of a person that makes a reservation to rent a car (or a hotel room or a table at a restaurant), gives their credit card information or other form of deposit, and then arrives to discover that there is nothing waiting for them. Often, this is because the record of the reservation transaction was lost or ignored. But many times, it is the result of an insidious policy... where the company "cannot guarantee availability".
Well then... why make a reservation? Y'see... that's what a reservation is. It means that the business will _reserve_ the item, product or service for you, because you have promised in advance (sometimes with your money or credit backing up your promise) to come in at a certain time and give them your business. You are doing a company a favor by making a reservation, just as much as they are doing you a courtesy by arranging it.
Here's how you help a company by making a reservation:
A: You are guaranteeing them business in advance... they don't have to worry so much about how many tables they'll have filled, or cars rented, or items sold... because you've already promised them in advance. They know they have a customer already. You have told them, beforehand that you'll be coming to them and not a competitor.
B: When you give them money in advance... you are guaranteeing that they'll have your business... and may even have your money earning interest in the meantime.
C: When you only give them a credit card number or the like, they can know in advance if they have a customer willing and able to pay.
D: You are enabling them to adjust their schedule, so they they will know what products or services will be required at a certain time. They'll know what supplies to order, how many people have to be available for a service, etc.
E: You enable them to get paperwork (if any) done in their own time-managed schedule, rather than the last minute. Places can often batch together many similar transactions, rather then doing them one at a time (for instance credit reports, faxes, photocopying).
In return for all this, the business is supplying you with the convenience of knowing that when you arrive to collect your good or service, that it will be ready and waiting, hassle-free. Seems like a small price for a business to pay, in my opinion.