cool so you get points for sending other people, that could be good job perk

It's certainly a perk, but it's not what gets thought about during the day. It's about pairing the client to the place, and if what works for them isn't on OT, you have to deal with it.

And to bounce another poster's idea around a little bit regarding using the points to "buy" an inaccessible table or something to that effect: those 100 points that go to your account are the $1 fee the restaurant pays to have the reservation processed by OT. If you look, the reward structure will reflect that math. Having said that, the idea of having reward tables a la airline seats is likely something that GM's and managment teams would reject because it adds a layer of complexity to yielding the restaurant for the night. Restaurants pay that $1 per booked table to fund the points system, but they also pay a pretty hefty monthly access. One nameless fine-dining GM I know (whom I send tons of tables to) summed up the OT fees for me: "It's an uncomfortably high number that I wouldn't even release to you, Mike."

Yeah, that makes sense. I can see how adding any other types of rewards would make it hard to manage your tables/turns, but strictly from a consumer point of view it would be nice :-)

I'll have to stick to my other approach, which is to eat often enough at a couple of places that they know me and will make room for me on short notice.

Bob

Agreed. Would be a nice idea in theory, but awful in practice.

Any good restaurant that uses OT knows how to use the notes feature that the black touchscreen provides them. The management would be foolish to not keep notes on a good client.

i agree with bob and mike. OT is a great tool for me as an eater, and i can imagine it makes mike's job a very positive experience for the guest.

points are secondary, so it's hard to complain that i am only getting $1.

if you haven't already done so, there is a BlackBerry thing you can download. it looks like the OT logo and sits on the desktop with the other icons. it is not nearly as good as using my computer, but it helps in a pinch - especially when you are hungry and underprepared. (it got my phone stuck one time, but i don't remember how. i had to reload from the e-mail that OT sent which was still in my phone).

sam

19,400 mostly 100 at a time - the 1000 pt ones are either normally at restaurant that aren't that good or either too early or too late

Can't comment on the quality part, but that's precisely what 1,000 point tables are designed to do: drive traffic at slow times. Welcome to FlyerTalk.

very similar to what i have experienced with iDine or whatever it's called now. the restaurants on the iDine list are for the most part bad restaurants.

i hate to give this advice, but... when traveling and you don't know the restaurants, maybe stay away from any restaurant that is offering the 1000 OT points ($10). imo it probably wouldn't be worth it.

that might be a huge generalization, but i rarely seem to find good food when the restaurant is begging me to come in.

It's not huge. Restaurants will alter the service and the portions for the 1,000 point, if they're dumb to the point that making those changes will not create repeat business.

i have 6610, but after cashing out 10k already for a 100 cert.

I haven't been able to use it as much since I moved to Nashville, but I was excited when I cashed out 2K points. The only 1K restaurant I've been to turned out to be disappointing for us, although there are 1K slots at restaurants I would go to but they are offered at times and days the bf would refuse to dine.

I have 3800 points here, waiting to get to 10,000 before redeeming.

I've eaten at two 1,000-point restaurants, one in San Francisco and one in Chicago. Both restaurants were fairly good. I'll admit that I speculate on the quality of restaurants that are offering 1,000-point reservations; if I see a restaurant that is always offering them, I steer clear.

In DC, chef Jose Andres' joints are on OT, so it's a natural. Andres is DC's celebrity chef who spanked Bobby Flay on Iron Chef.

iDine migrated me to AA's resturant rewards. For a while, Oyamel resturant was in both programs so I could triple-dip: OT points, AA miles, and of course my rewards credit-card. Pays for the wine, anyway.

It does make me reach for the check at an expense-account meal!

I have 9000. Haven't redeemed yet!

I have redeemed for $25 and $50. I have 3,900 now. Goal is to get to 5,000 by end of month so I can use in Vegas in July. (any suggestions for Vegas restaurants on opentable.com for a nice romantic dinner would be appreciated).

I love it.

I use it at least once a week for lunch and almost every weekend for dinner. I love at my favorite steakhouse on a Saturday night that I can walk in and be seated right away while others are waiting 45 minutes or more.

I'm a VIP. Has anyone noticed it gets you recognition you wouldn't otherwise? It has for me at some restaurants and not for others.

What I love is the comments. I then can ask for tables in certain areas and a preferred server. Very seldom have I not gotten a request honored.