At the door
- Walk-in — a party with no reservation.
- Party — a group that sits together: "a party of 4".
- Covers — guests. Twelve covers means twelve people, however many tables they're at.
- Waitlist — walk-ins waiting for a table when the room is full.
- Wait time — how long you told a waiting party it would be. The app never makes one up.
- No-show — a reservation that never turned up.
- Late — a reservation more than 15 minutes past its time, not here yet.
On the floor
- Turn — one party's stay at a table, from sitting down to leaving. "Turning a table" is getting it ready for the next party.
- Running long — a party staying well past the usual time for its size.
- Hold — a table kept for a reservation that's due soon. It turns blue.
- Needs table — a reservation nobody has given a table yet.
- Block — take a table out of service on purpose.
- Combine — push tables together for one big party.
- Room or area — one part of the restaurant with its own map: Dining, Terrace, Patio.
The team
- Manager on duty — who's running the floor this service.
- Section — the tables one waiter looks after.
- Next up — the waiter whose turn it is to get a party, when your restaurant takes turns.
The day
- Opening hours — when the doors are open.
- Service — a stretch of the day you take reservations for: Lunch, Dinner. Settings calls them shifts.
- Pacing — how many guests you let arrive at once, so the kitchen isn't swamped.
- Tonight — the whole service night, even after midnight. A party seated at 12:30 AM still belongs to tonight.