Automating your phone can help your restaurant in many ways, such as freeing up busy staff members, no longer missing calls, saving money and time, and increasing orders. Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to phone automation, since every business is a little bit different. You may be running a regular fast-casual restaurant, a food truck, catering business, bakery, diner, ghost kitchen, or bar, and what works for one of these may not work perfectly for the others. However, there are some good phone automation practices to follow for best results in any food industry business..
- Customize your greetings.
The very first thing customers hear should be what you want them to associate with your business. An enthusiastic, happy person announcing the name of the restaurant is a good way to let callers know they’ve dialed the right number.
- Make a list of your most commonly asked questions.
If your restaurant has been open for a while, you likely already have a reasonable idea of what questions people are most likely to ask when they call. The answers to these questions should be the main options.
- Make it as easy as possible.
Reduce the friction your callers are facing as much as you can. If they are calling to place an order and you want them to do so online, clearly state a short URL they can go do, or, better yet, send them a link via text message so they can just click it and go.
- Offer multilingual options for callers.
In certain locations and with specific food types, offering the option of multiple languages can improve customer experience. Accommodating different languages can help customers feel welcome and ensure effective communication.
- Use SMS Notifications.
Send automated text message notifications to customers regarding their reservations, delivery updates, or special offers, keeping them informed and engaged.
- Put your online/app ordering option first.
Ideally, you are using automation on your restaurant phone to reduce the number of calls your staff has to take. That means you want to send callers to your website as much as possible, so put your ordering option as high as you can make it.
- If possible, send people to your website rather than your app.
No doubt you’re very proud of your app and how amazing it is, but the reality is that people would rather have one third party app on their phone than 25 individual restaurant apps that they will likely never use. You’re more likely to find success using your website than an app.
- Offer online catering and reservations.
Allow customers to schedule catering and book reservations through an online platform, reducing the need for phone calls and streamlining the reservation process.
- Keep your information up-to-date.
Double check that your address is listed in your phone message and on your website accurately so people can find your restaurant. Ensure your operating hours are accurate, even during holidays.
- Analyze missed call data.
Call analytics can provide valuable insights into your restaurant’s phone performance and help you identify trends, patterns, and areas of improvement. Knowing call volume, call duration, peak calling times and other metrics enables you to make data-driven decisions for optimizing operations.
Remember, phone automation in general can help your restaurant run smoother. Aside from removing a large distraction taking your staff away from preparing food and serving in-person guests, staffing for phone calls also places an unnecessary burden on staff. During peak meal times, it’s likely you’ll miss some calls, and those could be lost revenue. In addition, there is no need for a staff member to answer questions much more easily handled by technology, like hours of operation, driving directions, promotions and more.
Reachify can help with all of these things. It integrates seamlessly with most PoS systems, is fully customizable for your business, and can pay for itself in just a few calls.Find out more here.
