Why allergen questions are high-stakes
A wrong answer about an allergy can harm a guest. This is a question where a guess is not acceptable. This page is general guidance, not legal or medical advice. Follow the rules that apply to your restaurant.
What staff can say from a written sheet
Keep a written allergen sheet that your kitchen keeps up to date. Staff read from it. If the sheet does not cover a dish or a change, staff say they will check with the kitchen, and do not guess.
Why an AI should not answer allergy safety questions on its own
We recommend that any allergy question goes to a person. Novi works only from the information you give it, and you set which calls it passes to your team. Make allergy questions one of them.
A handover rule
Write one rule: any call that mentions an allergy, an intolerance or a dietary medical need goes to a named person. See our checklist for call handover to a human.
A short sheet to keep by the phone
List each dish and its allergens, the date it was last checked, and who to ask in the kitchen. Review it whenever the menu changes. For how Novi books and hands over calls, see the restaurant page and the pricing page.
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
- 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
