Five questions guests ask on the phone, and what a good answer sounds like
Most calls to a restaurant are one of a handful of questions. A good answer is short, specific, and ends with the next step. Two of the five should still go to a person.
1. Are you open tonight?
The answer is your hours, today, including the kitchen's last order. "We're open until ten, and the kitchen takes last orders at half past nine. Would you like a table?" Nothing else. A guest who asks about tonight does not want the whole week.
2. Do you have a table for four at eight?
Either you do or you don't, and if you don't, the nearest time you do. "Eight is full, but I can do half past seven or a quarter to nine. Which suits?" Offer two, not five. Then take the name and a phone number, and repeat the booking back once.
3. Where can I park?
The one true answer for your street. "There's a public car park behind the church, two minutes' walk, free after six." If parking is bad, say so and say what regulars do. Guests forgive a hard park; they do not forgive being told it is easy.
4. Can you do gluten free, or nut free?
This one goes to a person. A receptionist, human or software, can say what the menu marks and can note the allergy on the booking, but the answer to "is it safe for me" belongs to the kitchen on the night. The right phone answer is: "I'll note that on your booking and the kitchen will talk it through with you when you arrive. If you'd like to speak to someone now, I can put you through."
5. Can you take a party of twenty?
Also a person. Large parties involve deposits, set menus, and a conversation about the room. The phone answer takes the details and promises a call back: "Let me take your name and number and the date you're thinking of, and the manager will ring you back today." Then make sure the manager does.
What this means for a receptionist
Three of the five questions can be answered in one sentence from a written sheet: hours, availability, and directions. Two need judgement and a handoff. Kade is built around that split. It answers the first three in your restaurant's name and hands the other two to your team with the details already taken. If you write your own sheet before you hand over the phone, the next note is the checklist.