Busy tones disappeared during the evening rush at restaurants and hotels

Starting point

At restaurants and hotels, calls always cluster around the same hours. Phone traffic is not spread evenly across the day; the moment the evening rush begins, the line fills up at once: three people call at the same time, only one gets through, the other two hear a busy tone.

Whether a caller who hears a busy tone will try again is anyone's guess; yet that call may hold a reservation, an appointment or a request the guest particularly cares about. A reservation, an appointment, a special request: each is a short conversation on its own, but during the evening rush they all land in the same minute. In most businesses these are the hours when the phone is hardest to reach. The problem is not a lack of attention from the staff — it is that the line can only talk to a limited number of people at once.

What the assistant does

AvaritCall's voice assistant put an end to this by answering calls simultaneously. No matter how many people call, all of them are answered at the same time (simultaneous call capacity is determined by the plan): when three people call at once, all three start talking right away — nobody waits on the line, nobody hears a busy tone. On every call the assistant:

• Takes reservations: records the caller's reservation request during the conversation.
• Books appointments: notes incoming appointment requests before the call ends.
• Notes special requests: captures the wishes the guest voices on the call so the team can see them.

Reservation, appointment and special request are all handled within the same conversation; the caller does not have to wait or call back later. During the evening rush, the third person to call gets the same welcome as the first. Call transcripts are logged in the panel and can be followed via push notifications in the iOS app; calendar and CRM integrations are connected per setup.

Outcome

There is no such thing as an unanswered call anymore. During the evening rush, everyone calling at the same time is answered; phone traffic runs in the background with the same routine. However many people call, reservations, appointments and special requests are recorded within the conversation.

• Busy tones are gone: when three people call at once, all three get an answer.
• Reservations, appointments and special requests no longer slip through, even at peak hour.

What people still do

The assistant answers the call, listens to the request and records it; decisions about the business and the human side of the guest relationship stay with the team.

• Table and room planning: which request goes to which table or room, and how to redirect guests once capacity is full.
• Passing noted special requests on to the kitchen, service and housekeeping and making sure they are fulfilled.

As in every case, pricing negotiations and complaint handling stay with the team.