That's amazing because I've gone for lunch quite a few times and never have had any problems at all. In fact, two of the last three times, we've checked in much earlier than our seating time (once an hour early) and have been seated before the original reservation time.
This was lunch, not dinner so you might want to try that instead if you don't want to risk a long wait. This is the same reason I'll reserve LeCellier for lunch and not dinner. Still good food but without any of the waiting hassles. Plus, the servings are big enough that we only need that one big lunch as a meal for the day.
You sort of have to figure dining times to be like airline times - the later in the day you go, the more chance you are going to have at being delayed.
