Taking a booking by phone: the details to ask for

What to ask on every call

• The name, spelt out if need be.
• A mobile number. It’s how you reach the customer if service changes, and how they get a written confirmation.
• The day and time. Repeat them in full: ‘Friday the 17th, 19:30’.
• The number of covers, children included, and whether they need a high chair.

Before you hang up, read the booking back out loud. A wrong day is fixed in seconds on the phone; on the night, it costs you a table.

How to avoid surprises during service

• Allergies and diets: note them on the booking and pass them to the kitchen. Never promise on the phone that a dish is free of an allergen without checking with the kitchen first.
• The occasion. If the customer is celebrating a birthday or bringing a cake, the floor needs to know before they arrive.
• Where they’d like to sit: the terrace, a quiet corner, wheelchair access, room for a pushchair.
• The time the table has to be free, if you turn it twice in the evening. Say it when they book, not over dessert.

Large tables: decide before the phone rings

A table for fourteen isn’t a table for two, and whoever picks up shouldn’t have to improvise. Set three thresholds and pin them up by the phone:

• up to what size you confirm on the spot: your largest table, or the tables you can push together;
• beyond that, who approves the request, and how soon the customer gets an answer;
• from what point it becomes a private hire or a group menu.

For a group, also note:

• one contact person and their mobile number, who speaks for the whole group;
• à la carte or a group menu, and the date by which you need their choice of dishes;
• the date for the final number of covers;
• one bill or separate bills.

A short or set menu makes life easier in the kitchen when fourteen plates go out at once. A deposit is common practice for groups; the amount and the cancellation terms are up to you. State them on the phone, then put them in the confirmation.

Confirm in writing

A short message is enough: name, day, time, number of covers, and for a group the deposit and the cancellation terms. The customer has a record of what was agreed, and so do you.

What Aralys does when she picks up

Aralys takes the name, the number, the number of covers and the time. She enters the booking in your dashboard, without going over the covers you’ve set, and you get an email for every booking. For a group, she follows your thresholds:

• Up to your largest table, if a table or a combination of tables is free, she confirms on her own.
• Beyond that, up to your group limit (20 people by default, adjustable), she takes a group request and tells the customer they’ll get a written answer. You accept or decline in one click in the dashboard; the customer gets the answer by WhatsApp or text message. Nobody has to call back.
• Beyond that limit, for a private hire or a group menu, the restaurant calls the customer back.

Aralys takes no payment: a group’s deposit stays between you and your customer. For calls to reach her during service, all it takes is call forwarding on your line.

Questions