OpenTable Reviews 244

Dirtbags. I booked a table at a restaurant online and got a message via OpenTable asking to confirm the booking, I replied to the text with prompt "1" to confirm the reservation and I was charged for the pleasure of confirming the reservation, there was no mention in the text message that replying would incur a charge. You can reply "stop" to stop OpenTable messaging you in the future, but this also incurs a charge. Why any restaurant uses this platform is beyond me.

Received texts and emails to confirm a booking that I had not made.
My data appears to have been compromised.
Not used the app for 6 years now cancelled it.

Emailed restaurant to highlight incorrect booking.
Still receiving texts apparently from opentable even though my account is now closed

Had Sunday lunch at the Harrison Pub Kings Cross. Had never been before but would certainly return.
The restaurant has the feel of an old fashioned pub, the couple who run it are delightful & made us feel very welcome.
The Sunday roast was delicious & every plate was wiped clean & it was reasonable for London prices.
A great find

I have just discovered that I was charged for replying to confirm restaurant reservations booked via open table while on holiday! I had no idea there was a charge. What a disgrace!

Disappointed to find I was charged for confirming bookings with no warnings. I will now always book direct and avoid any establishment that uses open table. They must be making a fortune with all the messages they send out.

I really can’t believe I was charged to reply with a 1 to confirm a booking! I’m shocked! I received a text asking me to reply to confirm or cancel the day before my booking, and they charged me! Even though if you cancel within 24 hours the restaurant charge is 5 pounds a head - so I really don’t think the text needing to confirm was necessary. Especially not with hidden charge, if it’s going to cost to reply, they should say that. This has bothered me!

Annoyed to be charged 2 premium rate texts. The first was to confirm the reservation (even though I booked direct with the restaurant). The second was to STOP them sending me texts. No advance warning of text charges. Do not respond to their texts if you want to avoid charges.

We signed up but decided PPE table didn’t work for our site. We cancelled with in the first month but open table have decided they won’t ti charge us for the entire year despite us never even so much as activating their services. For small business I can not stress how important it is to not sign up with this company. There are much better service providers out there that don’t try and hold you to a year contract. Once again do not use open table their company ethics are all wrong!

App is not useful as it does not connect with restaurants information. Did not let us know of a time limit so we missed the show we were there for. Worthless app.

Echoing other poor reviews, I have been charged a premium rate text to reply to their booking confirmation service. There was no indication in the text message I would incur a fee and I have used many other such services in the past without being charged. Will certainly avoid using Opentable in the future.

Same comment as so many others on this site. Trying to charge me to send a confirmation text is unacceptable. Opentable should cease this now to prevent further damage to its already poor reputation.

I refuse to go to Opentable to book. Reasons a plenty given by other commenters with which I agree. Plus, many times they state that nothing available in the time slot I am looking for. Called the resto and voila...plenty of time slots to choose from. Bypass these people and book directly. Ah, and if you have a problem with their system, good luck reaching customer service. Non-existent

I received a text from Open Table asking me to reply to confirm my restaurant booking. I did this then found I had been charged for the text despite having unlimited texts with Giff Gaff. It was not explained I would be charged. Underhand and possibly illegal?

Like many others, booked a restaurant table and the day before, received a text asking me to confirm. Had I responded, I would have been charged as they use a Premium Rate SMS system. Very underhand.

We used Open table once (Against my better advice) for a combined pop up night with two TV/food celebrities. of course this is all about PR. So with that in mind it did not cost us anything. However, we did not take up the subscription and open table decided to leave us on their platform with the misleading title of 'permanently closed', which we are not. This gives the impression that we have gone out of business to anyone that ventures onto their platform and who may have otherwise known us from direct booking (thousands of customers).

This is unacceptable, we would rather we were delisted in fact we consider this phrase 'permanently closed' as defamatory and are seeking legal advice.

As for the platform like other platforms to do with food (Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats) they are sucking the last drops from the hospitality industry and sending many to the wall. Their charges for the pro amount to around 15% of revenue and place the restaurant in their hands in terms of marketing/database. We won't use any of them.

As an example we may get 300 covers for Sunday roast, on a monthly basis together with standing charge the cost would be around £3000 per month for just one day a week trading. on two days a week trading £5500 per month which is more than the rent for our premises.
once you factor this in then add Vat/card charges then for every £10 spent in a restaurant anywhere between 52% to 37% is going elsewhere. No wonder so many food places struggle.

It is mind boggling how the restaurant/hospitality industry has fallen for this and the public too.

Now factor in these SMS charges and you can see not only are they profiteering from restaurants but they are cleaning up on the other side.

It is time consumers and businesses wake up and see what the digital/tech age is doing and start dealing with restaurants/public direct.

We have operated this way from day 1 and have developed a good rapport with our clientele and our figures/reviews highlight this.

The only reason we are leaving this review is because they have listed us as 'permanently closed' . We most certainly are not.

I would add I am not totally against software apps, but the blatant profiteering at the expense of this industry has to be rebelled against.

They need to get their house in order before someone thinks of a cheaper alternative that wipes them out. It will happen.

Horrible. Website sucks. Customer service completely inadequate. Restaurants should stay far away!!

Underhand text charges without any forewarning. Sneaky, underhand practise and won't book at restaurants using the OpenTable reservation platform

Contact restaurant directly to confirm booking - Open Table charges premium rate for replying to their texts with no warning - totally unsolicited

Abominable customer service. My 5000 points are lost in space. I also need to merge my two email addresses into one account. Their CONTACT US "service" features only Robot chats, rote answers that don't fit, and an inane instruction that tells you if you want to merge your accounts you have to CONTACT US. Back to Contact Us -- which again, is all robotic. A phone number found on Google gets terminated if you're a diner. They really don't give a... In pursuit of solutions, I somehow got to a "live chat" -- I don't know how -- but by the time I answered THEIR questions in detail, the agent disconnected me and closed my chat. I am agog at the lack of caring and incompetence. There's more: 5000 points was supposed to be a $50 card, but it now appears that it's only worth $25??? It's not just the questions. It's that Open Table clearly could not care less about answering account related questions from diners. Newsflash to Open Table: Diners are the reason you exist. Further, if you're going to rely on chat and help categories, at least hire people who can write and think clearly. Technical writing requires both -- and your instructions are lacking clarity and detail. I've just wasted a precious hour with this incompetent, disrespectful organization.

The cheek of this company to ask for a charged SMS to confirm a reservation. I made the reservation directly with the restaurant over the phone earlier. They must have shared the booking details with OpenTable. So sleazy. Luckily I got the warning that the message is chargeable and cancelled send.