The call comes at the worst time
Phones tend to ring when the room is busiest. Everyone is carrying plates, seating guests or working the pass, and nobody has a free hand.
So the call rings out. The caller hears nothing, or a voicemail box, and has to decide what to do next.
What the caller does next
Some people leave a message and wait. Some try again later. Some call the next place on the list, which may well have a free table.
The restaurant rarely finds out which happened. A missed call leaves no trace except a number on the phone, if that.
What it means for the team
Voicemails and missed numbers turn into a list to work through after service, when everyone is tired. Some callbacks happen late, and some do not happen at all.
Guests with a question, such as a pram, an allergy or a birthday, may not get an answer before they arrive.
Ways to deal with it
A few options, from simple to more involved: set aside a time to return calls, give one person the phone during the rush, offer online booking alongside the phone, or have an assistant answer for you.
Whichever you choose, the aim is the same: the caller gets an answer, and the team keeps its hands free. Tableline is one way to do that. Novi answers as an AI assistant, books what it can, and passes the call to a person when it should.
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
- 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 a good phone handover looks like
