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Do you think it matters anymore if restaurants don't have house phones? —Jack W., Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
The questioner added “because several of them don’t”—and he’s correct. But the question runs deeper than the few dollars per month that it costs to maintain a house phone.
It’s no secret that a younger generation considers the voice call an unnecessary and unwelcome intrusion. Many people no longer just pick up the phone and call a person; they often text them to set up a time to do so, just as they would schedule a face-to-face meeting.
When consumers jettison their land lines at home, they generally do so out of redundancy, to declutter, and to save a buck, but I maintain that it’s different with businesses, especially in the highly competitive restaurant industry, which should keep as many lines of communication open to potential guests as possible. Some restaurateurs disagree.
Being relieved of the burden of a land line allows more time for sourcing, prepping, cooking, and, once the doors open, attending to paying customers, or so the argument goes. It's true that reservations as well as mundane comments and inquiries (like “Where are you located”) can be handled in more efficient ways. And it's also true that a ringing phone is disruptive to the vibe (so turn down the volume or set the phone to vibrate.)
And somewhere along the line, it simply became cool for restaurateurs to turn a blind eye by either burying the phone number on the website or to not list it at all; to not answer the device when it rings, even during business hours; or to simply not install a land line at all. We’ve ranted before about our “use it or lose it” theory regarding restaurants not attending to their voicemail messages. A few years ago, the floor manager of a small, no-phone restaurant in St. Louis would tell some customers, ”Just email me” when potential patrons were in search of a table; to other customers, it was “Just text me,” both plausible ideas, unless they (like voicemails) are also ignored.
Today’s restaurants have become increasingly more responsive to requests and communication using their digital and social media platforms (and that's a plus), but I don't think it's unreasonable to call and tell the establishment that you’re going to be late, to ask about wait times, whether there are walk-in tables or bar seats available, or clarifying if the hours say "Open 4 to Close." Or perhaps a customer is calling to ask, "Can we swing by and grab a last-minute gift card?" Being too cool to lose a sale or upset a customer isn't cool.
I don't think patrons should have to rely on email when in full panic mode while trying to track down a lost wallet or wayward cell phone. I don't think it should be necessary to weigh the advantages of sending a text or Facebook message, or raising a red flag via Instagram if there’s an emergency when you know that the person you’re trying to reach is dining in the restaurant but otherwise unreachable.
Debating the nuances of restaurants without phones, a colleague (likely tongue-in-cheek) proposed solving the issue in a very 2023 way: Call Uber Eats, place an order to the restaurant, and have the pickup person convey the urgent message.
This article has been updated from a previous version.
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