What a caller does after voicemail starts
Some callers leave a message. Some hang up and try again later. Some call the next restaurant. You do not find out which.
What voicemail leaves you to do after close
Someone has to listen to each message, write down the details, check the diary and call back. Callbacks happen late, and some do not happen.
What an AI answers and what it passes to staff
Novi answers the call, books a table into your diary, and moves or cancels a booking when asked. It answers simple questions from the information you give it. Anything else goes to a person on your team. See what happens when a restaurant misses a call for the wider picture.
The cost shape of each
Voicemail is usually free with your phone line. AI answering is a monthly pack. Plans are monthly in US dollars: $249 for 200 calls, $399 for 300 calls or $499 for 500 calls, plus a one-off $250 set-up fee. See the pricing page for what every plan includes.
How to test it
Use Talk to Novi on any page for a live conversation, and compare it with your own voicemail greeting. The restaurant page shows what Novi handles.
Keep reading
- Tableline pricing
- Phone answering for restaurants
- Reducing restaurant no-shows: what you can ask on the booking call
- Holiday rush and your phone: preparing for the calls before a busy holiday
- Who answers the phone during service? Five ways restaurants cover it
- Missed calls at a clinic: why patients call elsewhere and how to cover the phones
- Phone or online booking for a salon: why you still need someone to answer
- Garage phone calls: booking service slots when the whole team is under a car
- Choosing a restaurant phone system: landline, VoIP, answering service or AI
- Taking reservations by phone: a simple process that does not lose bookings
- Handling allergen questions on the phone: what staff should say and when to hand over
- Slang, Loman, Hostie, Bite Buddy or Tableline: how to compare restaurant phone agents
- AI receptionist for dental and physio clinics: handling booking calls
- AI receptionist for salons: stop losing bookings while your hands are busy
- AI phone answering for auto repair shops: booking slots and quote calls
- What a good restaurant booking call sounds like
- Voice AI for restaurants: what it does and what it does not
- What happens to a booking call you miss during a Friday rush: a checklist
- How to set up call handover to a human: a checklist
- AI receptionist pricing: what a restaurant should expect to pay
- AI phone answering or a human answering service? A plain comparison for restaurants
- What happens when a restaurant misses a call
- What a good phone handover looks like
