I ask, "is this to receive a text notification when our table is ready?" If they say it is, I reluctantly agree and then as soon as the text comes through that our table is ready, I hit the little Report Spam link at the bottom of the message.

If they say no, it's for promotions, I give a fake number.

Anonymous wrote:What do restaurants do with a guest that honestly does not have a cell phone number? My mother goes out to eat all of the time and does not have a cell phone. I guess she is lucky that she has never been asked for this. The only time I was asked for a number was when the wait was over 30min and we were in a location that we could stroll through an open air mall while we waited.

She could probably use her home phone to make a reservation and then just show up on time. I don’t think this is a universal thing, I think it’s just for walking up to a busy restaurant without a reservation.

What do restaurants do with a guest that honestly does not have a cell phone number? My mother goes out to eat all of the time and does not have a cell phone. I guess she is lucky that she has never been asked for this. The only time I was asked for a number was when the wait was over 30min and we were in a location that we could stroll through an open air mall while we waited.

Just so no.

That is what I do with regular stores that ask for my number.

Eh. Sometimes I like putting in our reservation and walking down the block to a bar where we have a drink and wait. They will text you when the table is ready. Much better than waiting in an overcrowded restaurant. They can't give you a pager due range, or because people might walk away and never return them. If it bothers you, there are plenty of apps to get a virtual phone number that can be used as a burner account for all of this spam so they don't get your real phone #.

So I would leave. I would not provide my phone number to eat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My pet peeve is people who think that someone asking for something is the same as someone "demanding" something. You can simply say "I prefer not to provide it, but I'm happy to wait here for a table".

They do demand. We were denied seating at a restaurant because the so-called hostess said if we didn't provide our number then it was restaurant policy not to seat us. We happily went somewhere else and never went back.

Some places do demand it.

You were denied seating because you wouldn’t give your phone number? Name the restaurant, it’s not that I don’t believe you. I just wouldn’t go there.

I don't believe her unless it's a situation in which there was a long wait and they don't want people crowding by the host stand.

Anonymous wrote:I assume you are the person who screamed at my 17 year old daughter. She's a host, she doesn't get to chose how to seat you or how to make your reservation. Call corporate, but screaming at a teenage is an ahole move.

Whoa. Talk about an ahole move - out of thousands of restaurants and millions of people, you've assumed OP is the exact person who yelled at your kid? Therapy is in order, STAT.

Your feelings are valid OP, but times have changed. Restaurants are not going back to pagers. Too germy anyway. Either get with the times or don’t go out to restaurants that require your phone number.

This has never happened to me but a) I wouldn’t care and b) just go somewhere else if it bothers you. No biggie. I don’t understand wasting stress molecules on this.

I assume you are the person who screamed at my 17 year old daughter. She's a host, she doesn't get to chose how to seat you or how to make your reservation. Call corporate, but screaming at a teenage is an ahole move.

Just walk out their food isn’t that good

I want that buzzy coaster thing back. Give me that

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My pet peeve is people who think that someone asking for something is the same as someone "demanding" something. You can simply say "I prefer not to provide it, but I'm happy to wait here for a table".

They do demand. We were denied seating at a restaurant because the so-called hostess said if we didn't provide our number then it was restaurant policy not to seat us. We happily went somewhere else and never went back.

Some places do demand it.

You were denied seating because you wouldn’t give your phone number? Name the restaurant, it’s not that I don’t believe you. I just wouldn’t go there.

I don't bring my phone into restos. So, no.