A restaurant that I wanted to eat at had "call ahead seating" where you can call and get placed on a waiting list. I called ahead and was told we would have a table in 10 minutes. When we arrived 10 minutes later, our table was not ready!
That's what I told the hostess. There was no point in calling ahead if we still have to wait 45 minutes for a table.
The food made it worth the wait, for sure! Any other restaurant I would have walked out!