State Bird Cancels Reservations Due to OpenTable Snafu

[Photo: Patricia Chang]

Further online reservation woes have State Bird Provisions scrambling to adjust, after the uber-hot restaurant's much-publicized switch to OpenTable's reservation platform left an unknown number of prospective guests holding reservations that the restaurant can't fulfill.

State Bird originally moved to OpenTable in an effort to foil the automated bots that have made nabbing an online reservation nearly impossible (though, as the very hacker who shone the light on State Bird reservation hacking told us himself, OpenTable's captcha probably doesn't do all that much). The changeover involved migrating thousands of existing reservations into the new system, and along the way, the 30 percent of tables reserved for walk-ins to the restaurant accidentally became up for grabs online.

Inside Scoop makes note of an email sent out to crestfallen reservation holders on behalf of State Bird GM Ryan Anderson, who has this to say about the snafu: "Some reservations were inadvertently opened to the web that did not in fact represent available tables. Now, much to our chagrin, we've had to cancel your reservation because we quite simply don't have the space to honor that spot along with our existing reservations and walk-in guests."

However, all might not be lost for the unlucky group affected. Anderson has vowed to follow up with the diners who've had their reservations revoked, saying they the State Bird team will contact them (by phone or email) to arrange an alternate reservation slot that works for all parties. And with those 30 percent walk-in tables back in play, there's always waiting in line.

· OpenTable-made reservations at State Bird Provisions get rescinded [Inside Scoop]
· Can OpenTable's Captcha Foil State Bird's Bots? [~ ESF ~]