i raised the restaurant analogy, and one i liked even better--the dentist's office--in one of diesel's threads. the excuse for not accepting them was that reservations/appointments are not prepaid, and are therefore different.
anyway, at the dentist's office:
- if you don't show up, they charge a no show fee. (use it, change it, or lose it)
- if you show up early, and they have space, they'll take you. gladly. always nice to open a later slot in case of a dental emergency.
- they maintain a standby list! when someone cancels, they'll call me and ask if i'd like an earlier appointment. this is a free service, offered because it's better to use a time slot than to have it go empty.