Zenith for restaurants
Answer every call during the Friday rush.
The phone rings hardest when the host is seating the room. Zenith picks up: it books and moves tables, answers the menu and parking questions, reads a takeout order's status from the POS and qualifies catering inquiries. Regulars are recognized by name, with their last order and tonight's table on screen.
The calls
The calls a restaurant gets, and where they go.
Most calls during service are one of six kinds. Zenith handles the routine ones and hands the rest to the right person with the context.
| Call | What Zenith does | Your team |
|---|---|---|
| Book or change a table | Books it in your reservation system, reads it back and confirms by text | Sees it on the book |
| Running late | Finds tonight's reservation, notes the new time and tells the host | A note on the table |
| Hours, parking, menu, gluten-free | Answers from your menu, notes and policies | Nothing to do |
| Where is my order | Reads the order and its quoted time from the POS | Nothing, unless the order is late |
| Catering or a private event | Asks headcount, date and budget, then books a tasting | The events lead gets the thread |
| A complaint | Listens, takes the details and books a manager callback | The manager calls back; any refund is theirs |
Caller context
Your regulars, recognized before hello.
Whoever picks up, Zenith or the host, sees what the POS and the reservation book know about the caller.
Last order
Items, pickup or delivery, and the total, from the POS.
Tonight's table
Party size, time and the occasion, from the reservation book.
Allergies noted
Carried from past reservations and notes, so the kitchen hears about them.
Visits this year
How often they come in, and which location.
Reviews left
What they said last time, good or bad.
Open catering quote
Any event or catering inquiry still in progress.
What gets booked
Tables, tastings and private events, each by its own rules.
- Tables
- Booked in your reservation system. Large parties go to the events lead; no bookings inside the window you set before close.
- Catering tastings
- Booked on the events lead's calendar, only above the headcount you set, with a reminder the day before.
- Private event walkthroughs
- Booked with the events lead. Any deposit link is sent by your team, from your own processor.
- Changes and cancellations
- Made in the system where the booking lives, then confirmed by text.
Systems
Connected to the POS and reservation book you already run.
Toast
Menu, orders and order status, guest profiles and order history.
OpenTable
Reservations read and written, with guest notes kept on the booking.
Google Calendar
Tastings and walkthroughs on the events lead's own calendar.
NetSuite
For restaurant groups that run catering accounts and invoices on an ERP.
On its own, and where it stops
Zenith handles the routine. Your people handle the rest.
Zenith books and changes tables, answers menu and hours questions and reads order status on its own. Comps, refunds and complaints go to the manager on duty, and a low review waits for a person before any reply goes out.
Zenith answers, routes, books and handles routine questions on its own. Refunds, discounts, complaints, low reviews and campaigns wait for a person, and anyone on your team can take over a conversation at any time.
Your dataThe voice model carries the spoken conversation and nothing else. Your customer records stay in your own database, read only by your own agents.
Start here, keep the foundation
Start with one function. Add the rest without starting over.
Most restaurants start with the calls they miss during service: forward the line when the host stand is busy, and Zenith answers, books and texts back. The guest profiles and orders it reads from the POS are then already in place for reviews after a visit and for bringing back regulars who went quiet.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
Can Zenith take a takeout order over the phone?
Zenith answers questions about the menu and an order's status, and texts the caller your online ordering link when they want to order. Whether it places orders itself is set up with you, against your POS and your kitchen's process, rather than assumed.
Will it double book a table?
No. A booking is confirmed only after it is read back from your reservation system. While a caller decides, the slot is held briefly and released if they do not take it.
How does it handle a large party?
By your rule. Parties above the size you set go to the events lead as a lead, with the date, headcount and occasion already on the thread, instead of being booked as a table.
What happens when someone asks for a manager?
Asking for a person always reaches a person. Zenith transfers the call to the manager line you name, with the caller's context, and books a callback if nobody picks up.
Do we need new phone numbers?
No. Keep your numbers and your carrier. Forward calls to Zenith always, or only when the host stand does not pick up, and publish a separate Zenith number for catering if you want those calls kept apart.
Does it work across several locations?
Yes. Each location has its own line, hours and rules, and a regular who visits two locations is one person with one thread.
Can it speak about our specials and our policies?
It speaks from what you give it: your menu, specials, corkage, parking and allergy policy. Nothing is drawn from a generic restaurant template, and you change it when the menu changes.
Related in Zenith
- ToastMenu, orders, order status and guest history from Toast, on every call and text.View
- OpenTableReservations read and written, guest notes kept, every booking read back.View
- Reservation managementTables booked, moved and noted in your reservation system, by call, text or chat.View
- Missed-call text-backA caller who hangs up gets a text that can book, answer or arrange a callback.View
- Customer reactivationLapsed customers found in your POS or ERP, with offers drafted for a person to approve.View
From Ferrata Labs
- Ferrata in food and beverageRestaurants, distribution and procurement.
- IndustriesWhich agents apply in each of the six verticals Ferrata serves.
- How it worksAssess, Anchor, a first agent live in under 90 days, then your team.
- Book a discovery callThirty minutes on one workflow, and an honest answer on where to start.
Start with Zenith, or talk it through first.
Thirty minutes with Ferrata Labs on how calls and messages reach you today. You leave with a view of where Zenith fits, and an honest answer if something else should come first.
Your menu, your policies, your routing and the way you talk to customers are yours. Zenith is configured to them. You are not fitting your front desk into a template.