Why Friday is the hard one
The busiest night is also the night guests call to book. Hands are full, so the phone rings out. The caller may leave a message, call again or try another restaurant.
A checklist you can use this week
Decide who owns the phone from 5 pm. One named person, not whoever is nearest.
Keep a pen and a booking sheet by the phone. Write name, number, party size and time for every call.
Set a time to return missed calls, for example before service starts and straight after the first wave.
Put your opening hours and booking rules on your voicemail greeting, so callers know when to expect an answer.
Check the missed-call list at close and clear it the next morning.
When a checklist is not enough
If the phone still rings out, an assistant can take the call for you. Novi answers, books into your diary and passes the tricky calls to your team. See the restaurant page for how it works, and the pricing page for plans.
For the wider picture, read what happens when a restaurant misses a call.
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
- AI phone answering or voicemail: what happens to the caller who wants a table
- 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
- 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
