The problem
Everyone has their hands full, and the phone rings anyway.
Five options
Nobody answers. Voicemail. A host or manager. A human answering service. An AI phone assistant.
Trade-offs of each
Nobody answering costs you the caller. Voicemail leaves callbacks for later. A host is best for guests but is pulled from the room. A human service has people on the line, so check its hours, limits and charges. An AI assistant answers every call and books into your diary, and passes the harder calls to your team.
What to hand to a person always
Complaints, allergy questions, large parties and anything unusual. Decide this list in advance. See our guide to voice AI for restaurants and the handover checklist.
Pick the smallest fix that works
If you miss only a few calls, a clear voicemail and a callback time may be enough. If the phone rings out most nights, an assistant is worth a look. 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.
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
- 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 happens when a restaurant misses a call
- What a good phone handover looks like
