How to Use Your Waitlist & Table Management App

Manage reservations and walk-ins with ease! It used to be tough… Over-quote wait times & customers leave. Underestimate… they’ll be unhappy. Now, know exactly how many walk-ins you can take, which tables will be available and when!

Contents

• Logging In
• Set Up Your Floor Plan & Settings
• How to Manage Your Waitlist
• How to Use SpotHopper Reservations With the Waitlist App
• More Features for Managing the Floor
• Conclusion
• WATCH: Assigning a Party to Multiple Tables
• WATCH: Adding Bars to the Floor Plan
• WATCH: Opt-In Marketing Texts
• WATCH: Override Mandatory Email Info
• WATCH: Override Capacity Constraints
• WATCH: Resize Your Floor Plan

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Logging Into the Waitlist & Table Management App

1. Log into your SpotHopper account and navigate to  "Waitlist & Tables App" under the "Apps" tab. 
   
   
2. From here, you can use the web-based version by selecting 'Open Application in Browser' or Download the app from the App Store. 
   
   
3. When you initially log in to the app, confirm your restaurant's name and your host's name in the "Basic Info" window. This info will be used in text notifications sent to your customers.
   
   
   
   

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Set Up Your Floor Plan

1. After logging into the Waitlist app, click on the 3-dots at the top-left of the screen to expand the left side menu.  
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2. Create your initial floor plan by selecting the "Edit Floor Plan" button on the left sidebar.
   
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3. Drag and drop tables on to the open floor plan.  
   
   
   
4. After creating a table, you can:
   1. Create a table name using both letters and numbers.
   2. Set the table capacity
   3. Choose which 'section' the table belongs within (Find out how to create new sections here).
   4. Rotate or delete a table.
      
      
   5. Need to add a bar? You can select that option from the top of the 'Edit Floor Plan' menu.
      1. Select the 'Bar' button.
      2. Preview the drag n drop icon that you can place on the floor plan.
      3. Change the 'type', 'angle', and 'size' options for your bar section before adding it.
         
5. Change the background settings of the app to help organize your venue layout. 
   1. This is an example of the 'grid' background below.
      
      
6. Organize various spaces of your venue by using our 'Room' feature. 
   1. When editing an existing floor plan, change the name of a Room by clicking on the pencil icon next to the 'Room' name. 
   2. You can create new 'Rooms' by selecting the '+' icon at the top of the app.
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   3. After creating a new room, you will have a blank slate to start adding tables within. You will also see the room name added as a tab to the top of the window. Clicking on the individual tabs at the top is how to navigate between rooms.
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7. Configure and add additional "Sections". Sometimes called 'Server Sections.' Ensure your waitstaff are getting seated fair amounts of diners throughout their shift.
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   2. Change which section a table belongs to from the 'Edit Floor Plan' tab of the left sidebar.
      
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      2. The table will be filled with the corresponding color of the section. 
8. Check and confirm the "Settings" page.
   1. Tap the bottom icon on the left sidebar. Here you can change your standard SMS template that will be sent to customers.
      
      
   2. The customer name and restaurant name fields will auto-fill based on the data input by the host for each guest as well as the restaurant name that you assign on this page.

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How to Manage Your Waitlist

After setting up your floor plan select the "Waitlist" icon (second from the top of the left sidebar). Here, you can perform various actions to efficiently manage customers as they arrive.

 

The Basics

1. Add customers to the waitlist by tapping the orange "+" icon at the top of the "Waitlist" submenu. 
   
2. The “Add Party” form will appear on the left. 
   
   You can add guest details including:
   
   1. Party name
   2. Party size
   3. Phone number
   4. Server notes 
3. The waitlist is ordered sequentially. Parties who have waited the longest amount of time will be at the top of the list - as noted by the total minutes waiting in orange.
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4. There are a number of icons to pay attention to in order to provide the best service possible to waiting diners. 
   1. Party Size and Name
      
      1. For example, this party on the waitlist for Tom is a two-top table.
   2. Timing details
      
      
      1. Tom's party has been waiting '19' minutes as seen by the time within the orange rectangle.
   3. Reservations
      
      
      1. The purple 'reserve' plaque marks that Tom is a reservation and should be prioritized over walk-ins on the waitlist.

 

Seating Your Customers

• Select a party on the waitlist to expand the individual details and select 'SEAT IMMEDIATELY' to assign them a table. Let's walkthrough seating Tom's party.
  
  • Here you can also review or add 'Server notes' as well as view all details for reservations by clicking the 'More' button.  Sometimes diners share that they have a gluten allergy or a special occasion that their server should be aware of.
• Choose an open table on the floor for the party.
  
  • A confirmation window showing the SMS was sent to the customer will appear.
    • Your customers will see transactional text messages that depend on your app's settings. Here is one example below:
      
      
      
  • After selecting 'SEAT IMMEDIATELY', the customer's table will now appear as 'Assigned'. But they're not yet seated. The elapsed time at the bottom of their table is how much time has passed since the customer was notified that their table is ready. 
    
    
    
    

• • On the waitlist, you'll know who has been 'assigned' but not yet 'seated' at a table by the orange graphic of a person walking to a table.
    
    
    • An 'assigned' table on the floor plan will show how long ago the customer was notified. This customer below was notified 11 minutes ago. 
      
      
      
      
      
      • Any party's table that was 'assigned' more than 10 minutes ago will be highlighted red on the floor plan. This helps hosts have a clear idea of when to drop a party from the waitlist. Here is what you can do if a party has taken too long to seat.

• • Once Tom's party is ready to be seated, select 'PARTY SEATED' under their name.
  • In this case, the table now shows that Tom is seated at table 7.
    
    

    • The elapsed time at the bottom of the table is how much time has passed since the party was seated. This table has been seated for 2 minutes.

      

  • Clear finished tables by selecting the table and then selecting 'FREE TABLE'.

Assigning a Party to Multiple Tables

 

Adding Bars to the Floor Plan

Opt-In Marketing Texts

 
Override Mandatory Email Info

Override Capacity Constraints

 

Resize Your Floor Plan

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How to Use SpotHopper Reservations with Table Management & Waitlist

1. Navigate to the "Reservations" icon of the left sidebar.
   
   
2. See all the reservations that have been entered via your SpotHopper app from the "Reservations" submenu. View when customers' reservations are scheduled for as well as their party's personal information.
3. Click on a reservation and you’ll be shown an expanded menu with additional options and information for that entry. You can select 'More' to see all individual details for an inquiry.
   
   
   
   
4. Move Reservations over to the waitlist or seat them at a table immediately by clicking on the individual's name and then selecting one of the following two buttons on their inquiry. 
   
5. You will know which parties to prioritize on the "Waitlist" submenu by quickly identifying customers who made a reservation through SpotHopper via the purple reservation logo: 
   
   

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More Features For Managing The Floor & Waitlist

1. Removing parties from the waitlist - Waitlist party not showing up in time? When you 'delete' parties from the waitlist, you can choose to send a transactional text that notifies that customer they are removed from the waitlist.
   
   1. A confirmation window will appear so there's no question if the text was sent.
   2. Your customers will receive the following text message:
2. Manually 'ADD PARTY' or 'BLOCK TABLE' - Open up edit options for a table by selecting a table directly from the 'Floor Plan' tab of the app. 
   
   
   1. Use the 'BLOCK TABLE' feature if you foresee having to push tables together to host a larger party. This ensures that a host doesn't exactly seat a needed table. 
   2. Select 'ADD PARTY' when you don't have a waitlist and want to seat a party immediately.
3. Edit a seated party and their table further after seating them.
   If you select a 'seated' table, you can:
   1. Move them back to the waitlist.
   2. Edit their party's details further.
   3. Free the table for the next party.
   4. Block the table.
      
      

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Waitlist Icon Meanings

Ensure your team is always prepared to offer the best service possible. Refer to this section to quickly remind staff what different icons throughout the app mean. 

• Assigned Table - one that has been assigned, but not yet seated. The elapsed time at the bottom is how much time has passed since the customer was notified that their table is ready. 

  

• Seated Table - one that is currently seated, and not free. The elapsed time at the bottom is how much time has passed since the party was seated.

  

• Assigned Party - Waitlist party has been notified that their table is ready. Not yet seated.
• Reservation - Waitlist parties with this purple 'reserved' plaque should be prioritized over walk-ins.
  

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Searching Within the App

Search all reservations, waitlist entries, or currently occupied tables, by tapping the magnifying glass icon in the bar at the top right of the app. Enter the desired term in the text field - e.g. the customer's name, their email, phone number.

You’ll be shown all entries that match your search term - whether it's a currently seated customer, a customer on the waitlist, or a customer who has a SpotHopper reservation for a future date.

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Conclusion

By properly using the waitlist app, your host will stay out of the weeds and be able to offer customers the best service. 

Make managing busy nights a breeze! Eliminate chaos, overcrowding, frustrated hosts. Simply text guests when their table is ready! Accommodate every walk-in …and add their info to your database! 

With how good your in-house service will be, you'll want to make sure that you encourage customers to leave a review. Check out ReviewShield to build your Google Rating and drive business with more 5-star reviews.

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The Table management & Waitlist app is even better with SpotHopper Reservations. Keep the learning going and check out how to use SpotHopper reservations with this video below.