Perhaps to you, but I think that attitude is rare. I think most people find a place where they'd like to eat, and then they choose the easiest way to make a reservation -- the difference in convenience between Opentable and the telephone is pretty small. If I'm going to spend $$ on a nice meal, finding a good place is my priority; if I need to call them or tolerate their shitty Flash website, so be it.
Personally, I rarely use Opentable: apart from the fact that they take some of the restaurant's revenue, they can also report false negatives. For at least one restaurant I go to often (Ad Hoc in Yountville), there is almost never a good time available on Opentable, but there often is if you call the restaurant. Since I can't trust a "no availabilities" result from Opentable, it is easier to just call and speak to a live person.
If the restaurant is unable or unwilling to report their true availability, then the value of OpenTable decreases dramatically.
It never even occurred to me to try and make reservations _30 minutes_ before I want to go eat. Interesting concept. I usually just aim to only go places where I know I'll be seated very quickly, or else get take out.
Lots of people hit it first.
But, as it works out, though, there are a bunch of Michelin-starred restaurants in the Bay Area that are on OpenTable: http://www.michelinguide.com/us/sf_stars_2011.html
At 8pm, we arrived at a hotel in the area and looked online for a place to eat. By 8:10 we'd booked. By 8:16, we'd ironed clothes, showered, driven and arrived for a great meal. Ringing around looking for a table would've taken too long.
Wow. You iron, shower, and drive a whole lot faster than I do.
Remarkably, our GPS failed and we were relying on remembering a Google Maps view of the path we needed to take onto and off of the freeway. Fluked that too.
This is the dumbest thing I've read today.
and:
if I need a reservation to eat at your establishment, and you're not on Urbanspoon's Rez system or on OpenTable, you may as well not even exist.
are in direct conflict.
If you want to know my email address to inform me of special events, or to give me a gift certificate for my birthday, then just ask me! It's not that hard.
Additionally, if I need a reservation to eat at your establishment, and you're not on Urbanspoon's Rez system or on OpenTable, you may as well not even exist. I'm not going to call you and a dozen other places looking for a last minute table. It's simply not worth my time.