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Service throws curveballs. This page is a set of quick recipes for the situations you handle most often. Each one is short, in order, and works on both desktop and mobile.
These recipes lean on two references: the reservation form, field by field and the reservation statuses guide. Keep them handy if a step mentions a field or status you’re unsure about.

Walk-in guest (no reservation)

A party arrives without booking and you have room.
1

Start a new reservation

Tap New reservation (or the +). Set source to Walk-in.
2

Fill the essentials

Enter group size and the current time. Add the guest name if you want to keep a profile (optional for walk-ins, but it builds history).
3

Seat them straight away

Because the source is Walk-in, you can create the booking already Seated. Assign a table — tap Auto for the best fit, or pick one on the floor plan.
4

Save

Save. The table is now occupied across every view, and your covers update immediately.
Not sure you have space? Check the Cockpit Turn tab first — it shows which tables are about to free up so you can tell the party “5 minutes” with confidence.

Modifying a reservation (time, table, or party size)

A guest calls to change their booking, or you need to rebalance the floor.
1

Open the booking

Find it in any view and tap it open. (In Planning on desktop you can also right-click for quick actions.)
2

Change what you need

Edit the time, group size, room, or tables. If a new time is full, the time picker shows it in red — pick an available slot.
3

Re-check the table

If you changed the time or grew the party, confirm the table still fits — tap Auto to re-assign, or pick a bigger table.
4

Save and decide on notifying

Save. If the change is meaningful (time, party size, payment), EatNow offers a notify the guest toggle — turn it on to send them the updated details.
On the Planning view you can move a booking to a different table and time in one gesture: long-press the block and drag it. The reservation gets pinned to its new table automatically.

Handling late guests

Their slot has passed and they’re not here yet.
1

Spot them

On Planning, a late booking shows a red, blinking ⚠ Late marker. On the Cockpit Turn tab, the card gets a red border and dot, and the column header counts how many are late.
2

Reach out

Call the guest (or message them — the booking has their phone if it was captured). Open the booking to find their number quickly.
3

Hold or release the table

Decide based on their answer. If they’re on the way, keep the table. If you need it, you can offer it to a walk-in via the Turn tab.
4

Close the line if they never come

Once it’s clear they won’t arrive, set the status to No-show. If there’s a card hold or deposit, EatNow asks whether to capture or release it.
Don’t leave a no-show as Confirmed. It distorts your covers and the guest’s history, and you lose the chance to act on a deposit or card hold. See Reservation statuses.

Combining tables for a large party

A group is bigger than any single table.
1

Open or create the booking

Set the group size to the full party so capacity matching and the kitchen know the real number.
2

Select multiple tables

In the Tables field, open the picker and select every table the party will use. The reservation can hold several tables at once.
3

Verify the layout on the floor plan

Use the floor-plan picker to make sure the chosen tables are adjacent and their combined seats cover the party.
4

Assign a waiter and save

Pick the waiter who’ll run the section so it shows the blue flag in the Cockpit, then save.

Managing VIP guests

Make sure the team gives a guest the extra care they’re due.
1

Tag them VIP

On the booking, add the VIP tag. This raises a magenta flag on the reservation card in the Cockpit so the whole team spots it at a glance.
2

Brief with notes

Put the important context in Internal info (private) — it’s staff-only and never sent to the guest (e.g. “owner’s guest, comp the dessert”).
3

Pick the right table and server

Assign their preferred table and an experienced waiter. If they’re a returning guest, their customer profile may already carry preferences from past visits.
4

Call it out in the briefing

During the pre-service briefing, the magenta flags on the Cockpit Flow tab make every VIP of the night obvious — no printed list needed.
Tags and notes you put on the customer (not just the booking) follow them to every future visit, so a VIP stays flagged automatically next time.

Handling complaints & special requests

A request before the visit (allergy, occasion, seating wish) or an issue during it.
1

Record dietary needs where the kitchen sees them

Put allergies and food requests in Allergies & comments. This alerts the kitchen and raises a yellow flag on the Cockpit card.
2

Note non-food requests internally

Seating wishes, occasions, or sensitivities go in Internal info (private) so the floor is briefed without anything reaching the guest.
3

Act during service

Open the booking from the grid to read its notes before approaching the table. For a complaint, capture what happened and any goodwill (e.g. a discount) on the reservation so there’s a record.
4

Follow up after

For a guest with an email, you can let the post-visit review request go out, or hold off if the visit didn’t go well — your call.

A note on mobile

Every recipe above works the same on a phone or tablet. The differences are in how you act, not what you can do:
  • Quick actions: tap a block for the action menu; tap See details for the full form (right-click is desktop-only).
  • Moving a booking: long-press, then drag — you’ll feel a short vibration when drag is armed.
  • Scrolling a grid: swipe horizontally, starting on an empty cell (starting on a block begins a drag).
For the full breakdown, see Mobile vs desktop.

FAQ

A walk-in won’t give a name — can I still seat them? Yes. Leave the booking anonymous, set source Walk-in, add the group size and table, and save as Seated. You can attach a name later if they decide to share one. I moved a booking to a new table by mistake — how do I undo it? Open it and reassign the original table (or tap Auto), or in Planning drag it back. Then save. Can two reservations share the same table back-to-back? Yes. In Planning, when you drop a booking onto a slot another booking already holds, EatNow asks whether to chain them (one after the other), mark the first Done, replace it, or cancel the move.