You may be more apt to call and confirm your Friday night reservation now that restaurants are taking steps to stay afloat in the current weak economy. Taking a cue from struggling airlines [1], your favorite dining establishment may be adopting the old trick of overbooking to better guarantee a full house.

Turning tables is even more of a priority than it used to be: Because restaurants can't pass on their increased expenses to equally cash-strapped customers, they need to rely on traffic to keep revenues up. While your reservation time may actually mean you'll still end up waiting for a table, The New York Times dishes out [2] a pretty shiny silver lining — this Fall we can expect more deals like cheaper happy-hour snacks and lunchtime specials.

Source [3]