Ticket to Dine

Obligatory: the first thread on HN about Tock, including a writeup from Patrick McKenzie, wherein Nick Kokonas himself shows up to answer questions:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7853786" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=7853786</a>

The only issue I see with implementing a ticketing system with a restaurant is how long people stay at the table. If you&#x27;re having a great time you might stay at your table for a bit longer and have dessert and a few more drinks, while if it&#x27;s bad you might box up your meal and head out pretty soon. I supposed this is not a huge problem since the only places likely to implement ticketing are these blockbuster restaurants with reservations months in advance.

Great move to address the historically paltry and inconsistent profit margins of restaurants. Looking forward to seeing what this does for the industry - I&#x27;m hoping it helps push forward other big-kitchen &#x2F; small-dining-room places like Achatz&#x27;s restaurants.

Paying to book a restaurant? Probably just for an event. Otherwise I don&#x27;t see people paying for it. Also, what is more easy? making a simple call or using an app&#x2F;website, enter payment methods, accounts, etc....?<p>I know there is an app for everything, but making a call is 1000 better than using any app at the moment.

So this addresses a &#x27;need&#x27; but that &#x27;need&#x27; doesn&#x27;t have a market. In fact, that shadow-market is merely a consequence of the failure other markets. The need for this service is completely dependent upon the failure of the local restaurant industry to properly manage its demand, which in turn is likely due to the failure of a real estate market to provide profitable space for restaurants.<p>If EITHER of these two markets are disrupted, your market evaporates. Considering how popular food blogs and food trucks are becoming, I would not bank on this.