Tonight’s waiting list

Where the list is

The waiting list is part of the service screen. A bar under the Floor map and the Calendar shows each waiting party as a chip: their place, their name, the party size and how long they have waited. Press Waiting list at the start of the bar to open the list. On the Guestlist, choose Waiting list in the ⋯ menu.

The list opens as a popup. The parties at the door are under Waiting now, in the order they arrived; the ones already seated or gone are under Earlier tonight, with how their wait ended. Tap a party to see everything about them.

Add a party at the door

1. Open the list and press + beside Waiting now.
2. Under Waiting for, choose A table now.
3. Fill in Name, Party, Phone and Email; all four are needed.
4. If you told them how long it would be, type the minutes under Quote. If they need something, such as a step-free table, choose it under What this party needs: only tables that have it are offered to them.
5. Press Add to the list. They join the back of the queue, and an email brings them a link to their own page.

At the door, Party goes from one to every seat on the floor.

The guest’s own page

Each party has a private page with their place in the queue and the number of parties ahead of them. It never shows a waiting time. The email they get on joining links to it. To hand them the link at the stand, open the party and press Guest link: its address appears. The guest’s queue page shows it from their side.

Offer a table

With automatic offers on, which is how the list starts, a table that frees is offered by itself to the first party in the queue it fits, and they are emailed. To offer one by hand, open the party and press Offer a table. Keep the table it suggests, or choose another or Any free table, then press Offer a table again.

The table is then held for the minutes set in Settings › Guests & lists: 7 minutes unless you change them. The email tells the party how many minutes, and until what time; their page and their chip on the bar count down. When they press I'm on my way, the table is held 5 minutes longer, once.

When nobody answers

If the time runs out, the party keeps their place in the queue. With automatic offers on, the table then goes to the next party it fits, and comes back to them only if it fits nobody else. A party can be offered a table three times in all; when the third offer runs out, they leave the list as No answer. Each unanswered offer is also noted in Activity.

While an offer stands, Re-notify emails the party again and holds the table afresh; it uses one of the three offers. Withdraw offer takes the table back and returns them to their place. During the third offer that button reads Withdraw — ends their wait and asks first, since the party then leaves the list as No answer.

Seat a party

Open the party and press Seat them. They are seated on the table held for them, or on a free table the system picks, and their booking opens so you can see where.

You can also drag their chip from the bar onto a free table on the Floor map: they are seated there. On the Calendar, a drop on the current time seats them; a drop on a later time opens a new booking filled in with their details. A party at the door can only be seated tonight.

If that time has already reached your pacing, you are asked first: Seat them anyway seats them all the same, and Keep them waiting leaves them in the queue.

For a party no table or combination seats, press Book them… in their popup: the booking form opens with their details, you join the tables they need there, and they leave the list once it is booked.

Move or take off a party

Move up and Move down change a party’s place. They left records that they went before a table came free; Remove takes them off the list. Both ask first, and a party added again goes to the back. History shows when they joined, each offer, how the wait ended and which tablet did each step.