Customize Your Notifications
You can enable, disable, and customize your notifications in Settings > Notifications. You can change your text message and voice call scripts as often as you like — we've got you covered whether you want to "set it and forget it" or need to update every day with the chef's special!
Your text message can say whatever you want; TablesReady provides a default template that works well for most businesses, but you are welcome to customize the message to suit your establishment's individual needs. Mention drink specials, promote your Facebook page, or invite your guests to follow you on Instagram. The possibilities are endless! (Nothing offensive, please.)
Using special characters (á, ñ, emoji, etc.) in your text messages lowers the length of each message part from 160 characters to 70. This is because special characters change the encoding standard. You can read more here. A note under each message lets you know when it will be sent in more than one part.
Types of Notifications
Here are all of the notifications in Settings > Notifications. You can turn each one on or off, except for the Ready Notification - SMS, which is always on.
Notifications for reservations use your own label, so if you call them appointments or bookings, you'll see names like "Appointment Reminder SMS" instead.
Waitlist
- Ready Notification - SMS — the text that's sent when you tap the Text button to let a guest know you're ready for them. This is a good place to ask guests to reply to confirm or cancel.
- Ready Notification - Voice — a computerized voice reads this message when you tap the Call button. Use phonetic spelling if a word isn't pronounced correctly. Turning it off hides the Call button. Read more about disabling voice notifications.
- Waitlist Confirmation SMS — sent automatically when you add someone to your waitlist. It isn't sent when you use Seat now. Add {link} so guests can check their place in line.
- Next-in-line SMS — sent automatically when it's almost someone's turn. Choose the place in line (1st to 20th) that triggers it.
Note that these notifications will only go out when the Waitlist page is open on at least one device. Also, these notifications will not send for at least 3 minutes after a party has been added to the waitlist to prevent the "You've been added to the list" and then immediately the "You're next" notifications from sending back-to-back. - Waitlist Cancellation SMS — sent automatically when a party on your waitlist or To Go list is canceled.
- Completed/Follow-Up SMS — sent automatically a set time (1 to 90 minutes or hours) after you mark someone as Served. Use this with care.
Reservations
- Reservation Confirmation SMS — sent automatically when a reservation is added, whether you add it or the guest books online. If you change the reservation's date, time, or party size, the guest gets an updated confirmation as long as your message includes {date}.
- Reservation Cancellation Confirmation — sent automatically when a reservation is canceled.
- Reservation Reminder SMS — sent automatically a set time (1 to 90 minutes, hours, or days) before the reservation. If the reservation time changes, the reminder moves with it. Reminders aren't sent to guests who have already checked in, been seated, or canceled.
- Reservation Check-in Confirmation — sent automatically when a reservation is checked in.
If you accept payments for bookings, the confirmation and reminder are sent once the guest's payment goes through.
To Go Orders
These appear when Enable a separate carryout/to-go list is turned on in Settings > Waitlist Options. Read more about managing To Go orders.
- To Go Order Confirmation SMS — sent automatically when you add a To Go order.
- To Go Order Ready SMS — sent when you tap the Text button on your To Go list, and automatically when you mark the order as Served.
Replies
- Default SMS Reply — an automatic reply whenever a guest on your list texts you, so they know you received their message and will see it. (Whenever a guest who has already been served or removed from your list texts you, they get a standard message letting them know they're no longer on the list.)
If you use Reserve with Google, the Waitlist Confirmation and Waitlist Cancellation SMS must stay on while Reserve with Google Waitlist is enabled, and the Reservation Confirmation and Reservation Cancellation Confirmation must stay on while Reserve with Google Reservations is enabled. To turn them off, disable the integration in Settings > Integrations first.
All notifications (sending and receiving) count towards your monthly usage.
SMS Automations
Notifications go out when something happens to a party, like being added, called, or canceled. SMS Automations work the other way around: they respond to texts your guests send you. In Settings > Automations, you can let guests cancel, confirm, check in, or let you know they're running late by replying with a keyword. Each action updates the party on your list and sends its own automatic reply. You can also let guests join your waitlist by text.
Use your notifications to tell guests which keywords to reply with. For example: "You've been added to the Walter's Bistro waitlist. Reply CANCEL to remove yourself from the list."
When a guest cancels or checks in by replying with a keyword, they get that automation's reply instead of the Cancellation or Check-in Confirmation notification.
Using Dynamic Fields
You can use Dynamic Fields to pre-fill text messages with information about the party or reservation/appointment:
- {link} — in waitlist notifications, a link where guests can check their place in line (turn on Public waitlist view mode in Settings > Public Pages for this to work). In the Reservation Confirmation and Reservation Reminder SMS, it links guests to their booking page, where they can cancel or change their reservation (online reservations must be turned on in Settings > Reservation Options). {link} can't be used in To Go notifications.
- {name} — the name that has been entered for the customer
- {quoted} — estimated wait time in minutes
- {size} — size of the group
- {note} — any notes you've entered. Note: long notes may cause the texts to send in multiple parts.
- {date} — the scheduled date & time for a reservation/appointment
- {business} — the name of your business
- {resource} — the name of the resource assigned to the party
- {service} — the name of the service assigned to the party
- {reservation} — your reservation label (i.e. reservation, appointment, or booking)
Dynamic Fields can't be used in the Ready Notification - Voice or the Default SMS Reply.