So here are two solutions
1. When you have sections closed have waiters in nearby sections aware that if people are sat in those sections they need to cover for the server who isn't there yet .... This also requires the host to inform said server that table 34 is there's for fifteen minutes and when the server comes in they need to join the server who covered and let the table know that the second server will be taking over from now on.
2. This is not ideal but works. Just say they are marked unavailable and you will let them know as soon as one is opened up.
It really is better to have other servers cover the table if it's only a short time. If it's longer then they just end up covering the table if it gets that busy. Also your managers should be helping out the servers and hosts and busboy and everything else it's ther job to fix everything.
I work at a restaurant where, since the floor plan is really big, we have some of our servers' sections open up at different times but if you've ever worked in a restaurant we know how hard it is to explain to the guests that a section is closed and a server won't be there until another 10 minutes, even if the restaurant is empty. I'll set up a scenario:
11:30AM: Restaurant just opens - there are 8 sections open (4 inside, 4 outside), we seat guests upon arrival
11:37AM: Restaurant is starting to fill up, all of the booths in the open sections are taken, next guests come in and would like a booth, next server doesn't come in until 11:45AM but guests want to know why they can't sit down when there are plenty of open tables.
How do I explain to the guests that they can't sit in a closed section? Or better, what is a better way to tell them that there's no server in the section where the booth is and I won't have one for another 10 mins. I always say 'As of right now, that section is closed and I won't have a server there for another 5 mins, would you like to wait for a booth?'. I don't understand what's so hard to understand about that and I don't want to stress the servers out by seating closed sections and asking several different ones to pick them up. I also don't understand, why the managers make the servers come in at different times but then when the guests want certain tables, they bend over backwards to get them the table, in the closed section, and ask a server to pick them up. If that's the case, why does't every server just come in at the same time? Lowering labor costs I guess...
