Plain notes on answering the phone well.
Short articles for people who run busy front desks.
These guides cover the questions we hear most from owners and managers: what an AI phone assistant costs, how it compares with a human answering service, what it should hand to your staff, and what a missed call can mean for a restaurant, clinic, salon or garage. They are written in plain sentences and use only the prices on our pricing page. If your question is not answered here, ask us and a person will reply.
Reducing restaurant no-shows: what you can ask on the booking call
Practical ways to cut restaurant no-shows from the booking call: what to ask, how to word confirmations and how a waitlist refills a table.
Holiday rush and your phone: preparing for the calls before a busy holiday
How to prepare your restaurant phone for the calls that come before a busy holiday: what callers ask, who answers and what goes to a person.
Who answers the phone during service? Five ways restaurants cover it
Five ways a restaurant can cover the phone during service, from nobody to an AI assistant, with the trade-offs of each.
Missed calls at a clinic: why patients call elsewhere and how to cover the phones
Why clinic phones go unanswered, what callers want, what must go to staff and what to ask any vendor about privacy.
Phone or online booking for a salon: why you still need someone to answer
Online booking covers many salon clients, but some still phone. Why the phone matters, and how an assistant books into the same calendar.
Garage phone calls: booking service slots when the whole team is under a car
How a garage can book service appointments by phone while the team is busy, which calls need a person and what to capture on each call.
Choosing a restaurant phone system: landline, VoIP, answering service or AI
Four ways to run a restaurant phone: landline, VoIP, human answering service or AI. What each does on a busy Friday and what to ask before you switch.
AI phone answering or voicemail: what happens to the caller who wants a table
Voicemail or AI phone answering for a restaurant: what the caller does after the beep, what you do after close, and what each costs.
Taking reservations by phone: a simple process that does not lose bookings
A simple process for taking restaurant reservations by phone: what to ask, what to repeat back, and how to keep one list of bookings.
Handling allergen questions on the phone: what staff should say and when to hand over
How a restaurant can handle allergen questions on the phone: use a written sheet, never guess, and send allergy safety questions to a person.
Slang, Loman, Hostie, Bite Buddy or Tableline: how to compare restaurant phone agents
A fair checklist for comparing AI phone agents for restaurants, with what Slang, Loman, Hostie and Bite Buddy publish on their sites, checked 17 October 2026.
AI receptionist for dental and physio clinics: handling booking calls
How an AI receptionist handles booking calls at a dental or physio clinic, what goes to staff, and what to ask a vendor about patient details.
AI receptionist for salons: stop losing bookings while your hands are busy
How an AI receptionist books, moves and cancels salon appointments while stylists work, and when it passes a call to a person.
AI phone answering for auto repair shops: booking slots and quote calls
How an AI phone assistant books service slots for a garage, takes vehicle details and passes quote and status calls to you.
What a good restaurant booking call sounds like
A line-by-line look at a good restaurant booking call: what to ask, what to repeat back, and when to pass the caller to a person.
Voice AI for restaurants: what it does and what it does not
What a voice AI phone assistant can do for a restaurant, such as booking tables and taking simple questions, and what it hands to your team.
What happens to a booking call you miss during a Friday rush: a checklist
A short checklist for restaurants that miss booking calls in the Friday rush: who answers, what gets written down and how to call back.
How to set up call handover to a human: a checklist
A practical checklist for setting up call handover from an AI phone assistant to a person: when to hand over, who takes it and what they see.
AI receptionist pricing: what a restaurant should expect to pay
How AI receptionist pricing works for a restaurant: packs, set-up fees and call limits, with the real Tableline prices from $249 a month.
AI phone answering or a human answering service? A plain comparison for restaurants
AI vs human answering service for restaurants: how each is priced, who covers a busy service, how handover works, and where each falls short.
What happens when a restaurant misses a call
A plain look at what a missed call costs a busy restaurant, what the caller does next, and simple ways to deal with missed calls.
What a good phone handover looks like
When an AI phone assistant passes a call to a person, the handover should feel smooth for the caller and useful for the team.
