Everything You Wanted to Know About Restaurant Phone Automation But Were Afraid to Ask

Full disclosure: this may not be a comprehensive list. It’s likely someone has some questions we haven’t heard yet. If yours isn’t listed here, please ask us!

1. What is restaurant phone automation?

First of all, general restaurant automation involves using technology to streamline and simplify various aspects of your restaurant’s operations, from ordering and reservations to inventory management and employee scheduling. In this case, phone automation is using technology to simplify phone calls into your restaurant.

2. How can phone automation benefit my restaurant?

Automating certain tasks and processes can help you in a lot of ways. Specifically, phone automation helps you save time, reduce errors, increase efficiency, improve customer service, and ultimately boost your bottom line. It also keeps the team focused on food production, increases sales per hour, and ensures no calls go unanswered.

3. What are some examples of restaurant automation software?

There are many different types of software available for restaurants, including point-of-sale systems, online ordering platforms, reservation management tools, inventory tracking software, and more. Phone automation software does come in many different shapes and sizes. Reachify offers automated text messaging as well as automated self-serve menus so you can share information specific to your restaurant.

4. How do I choose the right automation software for my restaurant?

Consider your specific needs and goals as a business owner. Look for software that is user-friendly, customizable, affordable, and provides good customer support. In the case of phone automation, you may need to make a list of the most commonly asked questions you get as well as what actions you want your callers to take, and then look for software options that allow those. Reachify is fully customizable and integrates with almost every website and/or PoS system. On the cutting edge, you may see AI solutions and immediately think they’re the best possibility, but some claim AI is not quite ready for everyday use, as the newness of it means there are still some limitations that can make it frustrating for customers.

5. Can restaurant automation replace human workers?

While some tasks may be automated in your restaurant, such as taking orders or processing payments through an online system or kiosk, human employees will still play a vital role in providing quality service and hospitality to customers. With the many staffing issues common in the industry, it is important to automate the tasks that can be reasonably automated to free up staff to focus on tasks that can’t be automated. So in most cases, automation cannot fully replace human workers, and isn’t meant to. What the automations have proven is that your team is more efficient, allowing for a focused effort on food production which, in turn, increases your revenue bandwidth during your busiest times.

6. Won’t my customers hate this?

Not particularly. Many recent studies and surveys have found that while people insist in comments and online social media posts that they’ll never do business with anyone who uses automation, that is strictly untrue. Automation, online ordering, and technology are so common that it’s more unusual to find businesses that don’t use them. Your customers will adjust, and, eventually, probably come to realize they actually like how quickly and easily their questions get answered!

7. If I use automation, does that mean I can’t use my restaurant phone normally anymore?

Not at all! With Reachify, like most systems, you can set schedules for when you want the system to answer and when you’d like to do it yourself. You can also set the system to only pick up after a certain number of rings if you can’t get there in time, so everything else will stay the same for you and your customers.

8. Is restaurant phone automation expensive?

The cost of implementing restaurant automations varies depending on the type of technology you choose and the size of your business. However, many restaurant owners find that the long-term benefits of investing in automation far outweigh the initial costs. Phone automation generally doesn’t incur large costs at all, and is far cheaper than hiring an additional employee.

9. Do all automations use AI?

You’ve probably heard a lot about the very vast leaps in intelligence that AI has made in recent months. You may even have tried it and are now wondering how it would affect your business. The truth is that not all automations involve AI. Ordering systems that allow for voice/text ordering usually use AI to help connect orders to menu availability. AI can be very helpful!

10. How does this phone automation thing even work?

Essentially, a service like Reachify intercepts your phone calls, offers callers a self-serve menu and then, depending on their choices, sends them the appropriate response. If they want to know your hours, the system forwards them to a message specifying those hours. If they want to order on your app, it sends them a link to do so. You can also include an option for callers to ring through and leave a message if you want.

11. How can I get started with restaurant phone automation?

To get started with restaurant automation, it’s important to first identify which areas of your business could benefit from streamlining or automating certain tasks. From there, you can explore different technological solutions that fit your specific needs and budget. Reachify’s customizable software is a great place to start for streamlining phone call processes in restaurants.