Why can't customers join the waitlist right now?

Waitlist joins are blocked by the cutoff before close, the maximum wait, free tables, or Smart services being off.

There are four usual reasons. The waitlist itself may not be running — it needs the Complete plan and the Enable smart services switch turned on in Settings → Waitlist. It closes for the night once you're within your Last waitlist cutoff before close (default 60 minutes). It shows Waitlist Full when the estimated wait exceeds your Maximum wait time (default 120 minutes). And if a table is free right now, the add button reads Table free and joining is blocked — seat the party instead — unless you've switched on Allow customers to join waitlist when tables are available. Related: How do I configure how the waitlist behaves?