Phone assistant and WhatsApp assistant

What it’s for

fone4table looks after your customers automatically in two ways:

• Phone assistant: answers calls to the restaurant’s phone and, if you have WhatsApp calls switched on, also the calls made to you on WhatsApp.
• WhatsApp assistant: replies to the messages and voice notes customers send to the restaurant’s WhatsApp Business number.

Both can create, look up, change and cancel bookings, and answer basic questions about the restaurant. Whatever they can’t resolve, they pass to you: unresolved calls go to the Inbox so you can call back, and WhatsApp conversations the assistant hands over go to Messages.

How to get there

• Inbox: side menu → Communications group → Inbox.
• Messages: side menu → Communications group → Messages. It only appears if you have WhatsApp Business connected.
• Assistant settings: side menu → Settings → Settings → Bookings and Channels and integrations.

A blue number next to Inbox shows the pending entries. Next to Messages it shows the conversations with unread messages.

What the assistants can do

• Book a table: they ask for the date, the time, the name (if the customer isn’t already registered), the number of people and, if you have it switched on, comments and preferred area. Then they look for a table and confirm the booking. If there’s no space at that time, they suggest the nearest free time.
• Look up, change or cancel bookings: they look up the customer’s future bookings by their phone number. The date, time, number of people, comments and, if area preference is switched on, the area can be changed.
• Answer questions about the restaurant: address, opening hours, menu and phone number, as long as that information is available for your restaurant. If it isn’t, they reply that they don’t have it at the moment.
• Let customers know about closed times: if the customer asks for a day or time when the restaurant is closed, they tell them and suggest another time or day.
• Put the customer through to the restaurant: when the customer asks or when the assistant can’t resolve the request.

Bookings made by the assistants appear in Bookings like any other. The customer receives the confirmation by WhatsApp or, if that’s not possible, by email.

Phone assistant

How it answers a call

1. It greets the caller with the restaurant’s name. If it recognises the customer from their phone number, it greets them by name.
2. It asks whether they want to make, change or cancel a booking. If you have call forwarding set up, it also offers to put them through to the restaurant.
3. It carries on the conversation until the booking is created, changed or cancelled.

When it passes the call to a person

The assistant passes the call on when:

• the customer asks to speak to the restaurant;
• it doesn’t understand the customer several times in a row;
• there’s no space at or near the requested time;
• it can’t find any booking with that phone number when the customer wants to change or cancel it;
• it can’t save, change or cancel the booking.

What happens depends on Automatic fallback call forwarding:

• With forwarding set up (to a Phone number or a PBX extension) and the restaurant open: it says “I’ll put you through to [restaurant]” and transfers the call. If someone answers, nothing is left pending. If nobody answers, the line is busy or the customer hangs up while it rings, the customer is told they’ll be called back and an entry is created in the Inbox.
• Without forwarding (destination None): it tells the customer the restaurant will call them back, hangs up and creates an entry in the Inbox.
• Restaurant closed at the time (no shift open right now): it doesn’t forward even if you have forwarding set up. It leaves the message in the Inbox and offers the customer to carry on with a new booking or a change.

If you have WhatsApp connected, when the assistant leaves a message for someone to call back, the customer may also receive a WhatsApp message with the title “We’re following up on your call on WhatsApp”, telling them the team will continue helping them in that chat.

What reaches the Inbox

Every call that ends without a booking being created, changed or cancelled leaves an entry in the Inbox, unless the restaurant answered the forwarded call. Each entry shows the Customer, the Phone, the Reason and the Recovered information: the date, time and number of people the assistant managed to collect, and the last thing the customer said.

Reasons you may see: “Customer asked for the restaurant”, “AI unanswered”, “No availability”, “Transfer unavailable”, “Caller hung up”, “Call timed out”, “Call failed”.

Phone assistant languages

It speaks Spanish, English, German, French, Italian and Swedish. It uses the language saved on the customer’s profile. If there isn’t one, it works it out from the country code of the calling number and, if it can’t, it uses the Restaurant language. During the call the customer can ask it to speak in another of those languages.

WhatsApp assistant

How it responds

• It greets the customer with the restaurant’s name and offers to: make a booking, view or change a booking, give information about the restaurant or put them in touch with someone.
• It understands text messages and voice notes of up to 2 minutes. If it can’t process an audio message, it asks the customer to repeat it or type it.
• It replies in the customer’s language (Spanish, English, German, French, Italian or Swedish).

When it passes the conversation to Messages

The assistant hands the conversation over when:

• the customer asks to speak to someone;
• it doesn’t understand them several times in a row;
• it can’t process a voice note;
• there’s an error in the conversation.

When it hands over, it replies “I’m passing you to [restaurant]. They’ll be in touch shortly.”, stops replying for 30 minutes and the conversation appears in Messages. Any messages the customer sends in the meantime are added to that conversation.

How to handle a conversation in Messages

1. Go to Messages and choose the conversation in the Conversations list.
2. Read the history. You’ll see the Reason and the Recovered information.
3. Type in Write a reply and tap Send. The customer receives your message on their WhatsApp.
4. When you’ve finished, tap Close and confirm. The customer will no longer receive replies from that conversation and the assistant takes care of them automatically again.

How to handle an Inbox entry

1. Go to the Inbox and open the entry.
2. Check the Reason and the Recovered information and call the customer.
3. Once it’s resolved, tap Complete and confirm. The entry no longer counts as pending.

What the restaurant can configure

Everything is in Settings → Settings:

• Bookings → Default Duration and Duration by party size: how long the bookings the assistants create last.
• Bookings → Ask for booking comments: whether the assistants ask “anything else?”.
• Bookings → Customer dining area preference: whether the assistants ask about the area.
• Bookings → Show booking end time: whether messages show the end time.
• Channels and integrations → WhatsApp: connect WhatsApp Business (needed for the WhatsApp assistant) and Enable calls on WhatsApp.
• Channels and integrations → General → Automatic fallback call forwarding: where calls the assistant can’t resolve are passed to.
• Calendar: the open shifts and days, which the assistants use to offer times and to know whether the restaurant is open.
• Brand → Restaurant language: the default language when the customer’s language isn’t known.

There’s no option in the app to change the phone number the assistant answers.

Rules and limits

• Unresolved calls go to the Inbox so you can call back. WhatsApp conversations that are handed over go to Messages.
• Speaking to the restaurant is only offered by phone if forwarding is set up. If the restaurant is closed at the time, the call isn’t forwarded.
• The forwarding number must be different from the assistant’s number, or a call loop is created.
• To forward to the PBX you must save its credentials first. Without them, calls aren’t forwarded.
• A booking is validated by its start time. Availability is searched across all areas, unless the customer chooses one.
• While a WhatsApp conversation is handed over (30 minutes, or until you close it), the assistant doesn’t reply.
• If the customer hasn’t written recently, WhatsApp may not let you send your reply from Messages.
• Booking notifications go by WhatsApp first and, if that’s not possible, by email. If the customer has neither a phone number nor an email, they don’t receive a notification, and that’s expected.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I have so many entries in the Inbox? Every call that ends without a booking being created, changed or cancelled leaves an entry, including when the customer hangs up halfway through. Check them, call back if needed and tap Complete.

Can the assistant put calls through to me? Yes. Set up Automatic fallback call forwarding with a Phone number or a PBX extension.

I have forwarding set up and the call still went to the Inbox. That happens if nobody answered the forwarded call, if the line was busy or if the restaurant had no shift open at the time.

Why doesn’t the assistant offer to “speak to the restaurant”? Because you don’t have forwarding set up or the restaurant is closed at the time. Even so, if the customer asks, the assistant leaves a message in the Inbox.

I can’t see “Messages” in the menu. It only appears with WhatsApp Business connected (Settings → Channels and integrations → WhatsApp).

How do I get the WhatsApp assistant to reply to a customer again? Close the conversation in Messages with Close. If you don’t close it, it starts replying again after 30 minutes.

Does it understand voice notes? Yes, up to 2 minutes long. If it can’t process one, it asks the customer to repeat it or to type. If it fails, the conversation may end up in Messages.

What language does the assistant speak? Spanish, English, German, French, Italian or Swedish, depending on the customer. If it doesn’t know, it uses the Restaurant language.

Can the assistant tell customers my opening hours or my address? Yes, if that information is available for your restaurant. If not, it replies that it doesn’t have it at the moment.

Can customers call on WhatsApp? Yes, once the WhatsApp calls step is active. Meta only allows it with a limit of 2,000 messages or more. Those calls have no Meta charge. If the assistant passes them to the restaurant, they reach your phone or your PBX as a conventional telephony call, as long as you have forwarding set up.