WhatsApp chatbot template: restaurant reservation
The flow that runs while the phone is unanswerable because service is on. Party size first, because it decides whether the rest of the conversation is possible at all.
The goal
Take a reservation during service, without anyone leaving the floor.
The flow, node by node
- Buttons
Party size
First question. A table for nine is a different conversation from a table for two, and asking later wastes both.
- Condition
Large group?
Above your largest standard table, route to a person immediately rather than collecting a date you cannot honour.
- Ask a question
Date and time
Which date and roughly what time? For example: Friday 8pm.
कौन सी तारीख और लगभग कितने बजे? उदाहरण: शुक्रवार रात 8 बजे।
- HTTP request
Check table availability
Against your booking system for that party size and service window.
- Buttons
Offer the nearest available times
If 8pm is gone, offer 7:30 and 8:45 rather than saying no. Most people will take twenty minutes either side.
- Set attribute
Hold the table and record the booking
A held table that is not recorded is a double booking waiting for a busy Friday.
- Send template
Confirm with the essentials
Utility. Time, party size, how long the table is held, and anything about parking or dress.
- Send template
Confirm again on the day
One tap to confirm or release. This is the message that turns a no-show into a resold table.
- Hand off to a human
Allergies, events and special requests → a person
A dietary requirement is not something a bot should record and hope about.
Where this usually goes wrong
- Asking the date before the party size. You collect a date for a table you never had.
- Saying "not available" with no alternative. Offering twenty minutes either side converts most of them.
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