Start with arrival and reservation context
Confirm the restaurant, location, service period, party size, reservation or walk-in status, arrival time, and any guest note the team is allowed to use. HETable brings public reservations, confirmations, arrival context, walk-ins, call-ahead parties, quoted waits, and waitlist status into the host workflow. The host still confirms the party and the current room before promising a seat.
Worked rush-period example
Illustrative scenario—not a live application capture: three parties arrive during a dinner rush. The host checks each reservation or waitlist record, confirms party size and arrival status, reviews available, seated, held, dirty, and turning tables, and checks staffed server sections. One party needs extra guidance, so the host records or routes an assistance request rather than putting a private note in a separate phone. The host quotes a wait from the current room context, chooses the next seating action, and keeps the status visible for the next teammate. A quote is a reviewed estimate, not a guaranteed time or provider delivery.
Make the seating decision from the room
Use the live floor plan, table state, section coverage, station pressure, reservation timing, and party details together. Smart assignment or seating support can help surface an option, but the host or manager decides whether the table is ready, whether the section can absorb the party, and whether the guest needs a different next step. Keep the original party and status history attached to the decision.
Keep guest communication and assistance connected
HETable supports reservation and waitlist communication, guest texts or confirmations where the configured service is enabled, self-seat and kiosk paths that remain connected to host control, and HETable Assist for any guest who needs guidance or an easier way to ask for help. The software records or proposes a path; staff remain responsible for welcoming, seating, and responding.
Prepare and evaluate the setup
Before service, ask whether the floor plan and table states match the physical room, whether server sections and station coverage are current, who owns reservation and waitlist review, which guest communication service is enabled, how assistance requests reach the team, and how staff correct a mistaken party or table state. Test a reservation, walk-in, wait quote, seating transition, and assistance request with fictional records before relying on the workflow.
Plan for connectivity and recovery
Online reservations, waitlist requests, guest messages, and connected services need internet. With eligible Hybrid installed, supported HETable work can continue on the installed Windows computer during an outage; separate tablets still need internet and do not connect to the local service. Before launch, document the manual fallback, test reconnecting and conflicting changes, and confirm which floor record staff should follow.
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