I Thought We Had A Firm Commitment!

Since when is a dinner reservation a 'suggested seating time' and not a firm commitment?

I understand there may be a brief delay while they prep your table, but I definitely do not expect to be told there's a 20 minute wait for my table when I've made reservations.

If that's the case, why bother to make a reservation? Otherwise, I'd just plan to arrive about 1 hour before I was really ready to be seated.

This was our recent experience at Houston's in Pasadena. Now, Houston's is always crowded, so we know to expect a wait if we show up spontaneously.

The hostess tried to explain that this is how it's done there, but I wasn't listening. I wasn't listening because she wasn't making any sense. After sitting outside by the koi pond and pondering the situation, we saw one of the managers outside.

Very nicely, but determined, I introduced myself and asked his name and what he did for the restaurant. Something with Customer Service. I said, "That's good, because I have a customer service concern." I said to him:

Today is my anniversary and we made 7pm reservations to celebrate. Your hostess has informed us there's a 15-20 wait for our table. We left a very nice restaurant, just around the corner, where we enjoyed appetizers and drinks before arriving here. If we'd known a reservation was just a suggestion, we would have had dinner at the other restaurant. Can you help us?

Two minutes later, we were being seated, they visited our table to make sure we were happy, and comped a portion of our meal.

Of course, not having a problem is good. How quickly a place resolves a problem, however, weighs heavily with me. So, Houston's is still A-#1 in my book.

There's still the question, though, "When did a dinner reservation stop being a firm commitment?"