The Receptionist answers the people who text the business's number or write through your website's contact form, so nothing waits until someone has a minute. It books, moves and cancels visits inside the rules you set, puts anything else to you as a card, keeps a note on each client's record, and keeps spam out of the inbox. It is under Messages, beside the Inbox.
Switch it on
- Open Messages and choose Receptionist, then Setup.
- Under What It Answers, switch on Switched on, and choose what it answers: Texts, Email, Website chat (once the chat on your website is on, under Settings, Messages) and Instagram and Facebook (once an account's messages come to the inbox, under Marketing, Social accounts).
- Under When it answers, choose Day and night, When you are closed (it reads the main location's opening hours) or At these hours.
- Under What It May Do by Itself, tick the Services It Books by Itself, and the people under With Whom (none ticked means anyone who does the service).
- Choose How soon and How far ahead it may book, and whether it moves and cancels visits by itself and books people who are new.
- Under How It Sounds, give it a name, a tone and a greeting if you like.
- Choose Save.
It needs the assistant switched on for the app. Until it is, the Receptionist says so plainly, and every message waits in the inbox for a person, with a to-do. Its answers go out once texts and email are connected for the app (see Messages); until then they are kept on each conversation, marked not sent.
What it does with a message
- A booking inside your rules is made at once on the calendar, in your time zone, and the client gets a text or an email with the visit's link to change or cancel it.
- A time that is taken is answered with the open times nearest it.
- A booking outside your rules (a service it does not book by itself, too soon, too far ahead, someone new, a visit that asks for a deposit) comes to you as a card under Waiting for you, and the client is told the team will confirm.
- A move or a cancellation works the same way. A cancellation inside your cancellation window always comes to you, so you decide about any fee.
- A question is answered from your hours, address, services, prices and your knowledge boards. One it cannot answer is handed to the team.
- Spam is kept out of the inbox and its sender blocked.
It answers in the client's own language when the business offers it.
The cards waiting for you
Each card says what it wants to do: "The receptionist wants to book Maya for Tuesday at 3:00 PM".
- Choose Keep it to book it as it is.
- Choose Change it to pick another day, time, service or person, then Keep it with these changes.
- Choose I will answer them myself to put the card aside and answer the client from their conversation.
Keeping a card takes the Calendar switch on your login. The client is told in their conversation, and the to-do it left is marked done.
Conversations
Conversations lists the day's conversations with what came of each: booked, needs you, handed off, spam or answered, with a line saying what was asked. Use the arrows for another day. Open one to read what was said on both sides and to Open in Messages.
In the Inbox, a conversation the receptionist works is tagged Receptionist. Choose Take over to answer it yourself: the receptionist leaves it until you choose Hand back to the receptionist. Writing a reply in a conversation it works takes it over too.
Each conversation is also a note on the client's record, with what was said and what came of it.
Spam and blocking
- It reads unsolicited selling, scams and links from strangers as spam by itself. Add words or phrases under Spam to mark any message that has them.
- Open a spam conversation and choose Not spam to bring it back to the inbox, unblocked, for a person to answer.
- Choose Block this sender on any conversation. The Blocked list in Setup shows everyone blocked, with Unblock.
Nothing from a blocked sender reaches the inbox or the receptionist.
Calls
Calls need a phone provider. Twilio Voice is the first: it needs your own Twilio account, entered by the owner, and is not connected yet. Once it is, the same receptionist answers the business's number, books what callers ask inside the same rules, and texts them the details.
Automations
Two triggers in Workflows follow the receptionist: When the receptionist books a visit and When the receptionist needs a person. Use them to send a welcome, tell the owner, or add a to-do (see Workflows).
Best practices
- Start with the services that are simple to book and need no consultation, and add more as you trust it.
- Keep How soon at two hours or more, so the team is never surprised by a visit in ten minutes.
- Look at Waiting for you a few times a day, or add an automation that texts you when it needs a person.
- Add a few cards to your knowledge boards with what clients ask most: it answers from them.