The decision this workflow supports
A caller asking for a table may hear any friendly acknowledgement as a booking confirmation. The intake must state its limited role before collecting details and repeat the pending status when the conversation ends.
Put the review process in place
Ask for the date, preferred time and party size, then record the callback route. Place the request in the staff review queue with a pending label. Staff decide whether a table is available and communicate confirmation through their normal process.
Worked example for your team
A fictional guest asks for four people on Friday evening. The assistant collects the preferred time and contact, then reads back the request with its pending status. The guest responds, “Great, so we are booked?” The expected answer must correct that interpretation plainly: staff still need to confirm. Review both the final chat or call wording and the internal status. A clear opening disclaimer is not enough if the closing sentence sounds like confirmation. This test focuses on the moment when a guest is most likely to act on the answer.
Sample wording to approve
“I can take a table request for staff to review. What date, time and party size are you considering? A table is not held until the restaurant confirms it with you.” This wording is a draft for the restaurant owner to approve before use.
Fields for the staff handoff
Staff need requested date, preferred time, party size, callback contact, and pending staff decision. Mark uncertain details explicitly and keep the requested action separate from anything restaurant staff have already confirmed.
Acceptance tests before use
The opening wording says request. The readback does not use booked or confirmed. The staff queue shows who must respond. Record the observed result, assign any mismatch, and repeat the affected scenario after correction.
Further reading
Catering inquiry value calculator ↗
Try Ava with your business’s public information ↗