OpenTable Reviews 244

Booked a restaurant and was surprised to get an acknowledgement back from Open Table. Please note I did not book through Open Table. Even more surprised to then be asked the next day to confirm my booking by replying '1' to a text. This text was to a premium rate Open Table number. Why should Open Table make money from a booking which doesn't involve them?!?

Whilst the initial booking was quite simple and straightforward, a day or so before the actual reservation I received a text message asking me to reply to confirm the booking was still required (why). Upon checking my phone bill that came today I got charged for using their premium rate number to send that reply. Rather underhand I think

As many have posted already, the booking service was perfectly adequate, but to be charged for an SMS without consenting to it is underhand and dishonest. I wont use them again and certainly wont reply to an SMS. Have also fed back to the restaurant chain.

Has anyone tried to go thru the process of actually using their points to get free food? Seems crazy in todays technology to make things so difficult. Obviously they don’t want you using them.

Had a fantastic dinner out at the Red Lion Pub in Chobham. Food was wonderful and the service great. All the dishes were raved about by our group. Beautifully cooked fish. The date pudding was really light and yummy.

Like others, I was taken aback by the fact that my text confirmation response was charged without me being told. That’s just out of order. Won’t do that again!

Same as below - got a message from my provider that I had been asked to confirm the table booking (which I already had with the venue), only to then be charged at a premium rate. Very little value in this. This is an unscrupulous way to make a living.

Extremely disappointed that this site charges for text messages at a premium rate and do not notify you of this How can I officially complain

Don't think this company deserve any stars. Will never eat in a restaurant that uses OpenTable ever again, I will take my money and dine elsewhere.

Don't ask to text to confirm a booking and then charge when you do. This is very underhand.

I've booked a very special meal for tomorrow using Open Table. I have just received a text instructing me to confirm by text, which will cost me money, but the text did not specify how much!!!! This has left a bitter taste in my mouth before my special meal. I rang the restaurant to confirm the booking and was told that I didn't have to confirm as I had already made the booking. I gave feedback to the manager that I will not be using Open Table again and I will remember to always ring a restaurant to book rather than use a booking app. I've now learnt that there may be no such thing as a free to the customer electronic booking system!

Annoyed… that I didn’t research OT on Trustpilot (although why would you - it’s the restaurant you’re more interested in, right?) before placing and subsequently cancelling a booking through them via a text. Just discovered two charges of 15p on my mobile bill for the privilege. It really isn’t the money (if I couldn’t afford 30p I probably shouldn’t be going out for dinner! Lol) - it’s the principle! Restaurants are not well-served by paying to use this booking system as it will only drive custom to competitors who don’t use them (eventually!). Steer clear of OT as a booking tool - contact the restaurant directly (using your inclusive minutes in your mobile phone package!) and speak to a human!

They have no customer service. If you are a non-restaurant customer and have issues about points and want to talk with them, or even if you have given up on actually talking to a real person, if you would resort to "chatting" with someone, forget it. You cannot. In keeping with modern day "customer service," they have no one live you can talk to as a mere diner, and their "chat" function is limited to pre-canned responses. I have an issue with points I did not recieve and 1100 points that opentable just up and eliminated. Can I talk to anyone about it? NO! Can I "chat" with anyone about it? NO! OpenTable basically just says F off with that. It is, from my 1.5 hours of trying, impossible to talk or chat with anyone real. So, I say f you to opentable.

I have been using this site for literally 15 years. While it's convenient to book reservations, in 15 years I have never gotten a reward. Not 10 cents. So while they're no doubt being paid by restaurants booked through their site, I think I'm done monetizing them if they can't in 15 years do anything for me. #ByeOpenTable.

Expensive and disingenuous

With the core package for €149/month commissions are not charged if bookings are made directly through your website. However, Opentable put a button on your restaurants Google search panel and on Tripadvisor which drives traffic from your site to their network, resulting in commissions on covers that would have booked through your site already. (when I asked them to take this down, they said it could take up to 6 weeks, blaming Google for any delay (which would conveniently result in more commissions for Opentable)

I was given verbal assurances on a number of things by the sales rep before signing, such as that I could change to the basic package (€19/month) if I wasn't satisfied with the service, when cancelling they tried to renege on that promise and if I hadn't had to sense to insist that the sales rep send me that in an email, I would have had to pay over €1300 to exit the contract.

If there is a no show, Opentable assumes it was a seated table unless properly cancelled by staff, resulting in commissions.

After a customer makes their reservation, they will receive a follow up email suggesting other nearby restaurants, again driving customers from your business to competitors via the opentable network.

It seems very clear that Opentable to not have the restaurants interests in mind in terms of how they operate, rather they want to lock restaurants into contracts where they can systematically ensure that they can charge commissions on as many covers as possible.

The app is so terrible! It’s changed the date of the booking if u do some modify with the booking ! So annoying as I missed my boyfriends bday

I had accumulated 2000 points, enough for a food credit at a restaurant, but because of the pandemic, I couldn't go to a restaurant to use them. Then when restaurants reopened last March I tried to use them but they had expired in February, the previous month, after the pandemic year. They have a mechanism to write to them if you have a problem with the points, and I wrote about this problem, asking them to reinstate the points that had just expired, and they only expired because I couldn't use them due to the pandemic. you would think they would automatically extend everyone's points a month or two due to the pandemic, or notify everyone whose points are about to expire so they can use them. No. Plus, they didn't write back to say they wouldn't extend the expiration date or why. That's bad faith and bad business.

One ⭐️ Is over rated this scam outfit. Any restaurant who use OPEN TABLE as their booking agent should think again because these scammers charge for all texts and reply’s to their texts without advising customers that their text or reply’s to OpenTable are chargeable and outside any text allowances.

DO NOT TEXT OR REPLY TO OPEN TABLE 67368

Went online to book a table for a meal at a restaurant. The only way to reserve a table online was to use OpenTable. They sent a text as the date neared asking me to reply 'Yes' to confirm the booking. I did. Got my mobile bill today and discovered I had been charged 15p for replying to this text. Disgusting. Never using again. Will always call the restaurant from now on.

I'm happily booking a table online for a local restaurant in Staffordshire when this OpenTable takes over. Found I'd been booked into a restaurant in West End Lane in London, fortunately realised and cancelled immediately.
This has got to be a scam, definitely not above board. Avoid ..