AI phone ordering demo: twelve checks to run on the call

Why a demo call tells you so little

Every vendor's demo order goes well. The caller knows the menu, speaks clearly, wants one burger, and hangs up happy. What matters is what the agent does when it can't or shouldn't answer. Think of an item you ran out of, a guest with a shellfish allergy, a bad line, or a caller who wants a person. Those moments decide whether you trust it on a Friday night, so write them into your script before you dial.

• Call from a phone the agent has never seen, so it treats you as a stranger.
• Know your real prices and mark one item sold out before you start.
• Take notes during each call. Appetier keeps no recording, and a vendor that does should say how long it keeps the audio.

Check the first sentence and the way out

Two checks take ten seconds each and rule out the weakest products. They also set the tone for everything after.

• Check 1, the first sentence. A correct agent says it is an automated assistant and names the restaurant before anything else. A wrong one gives a human name or never says what it is.
• Check 2, ask for a person. A correct agent transfers to the location's phone without asking why. A wrong one argues, offers to help instead, or loops.

The price has to come from your menu

An agent that sets its own prices will eventually quote one you never set. Appetier's agent has four tools: read the menu, quote a cart, place the order, and transfer. None of them writes a price, and quote and place run the same hours, sold-out, and prep-time checks as web checkout. Ask any vendor for the same split, then test it.

• Check 3, a plain order. Order two items whose prices you know. The total should match your own storefront's cart for the same items, and any price you never set is a failure.
• Check 4, a sold-out item. Ask for the item you marked sold out. A correct agent says it is sold out and offers to go on without it. A wrong one takes the order and lets the kitchen find out.
• Check 5, a choice the kitchen needs. Order a burger and skip the bun. The agent should ask which bun, because your menu marks it required.
• Check 6, a time you can't hit. Call outside hours, or ask for food in five minutes when prep takes longer. A correct agent refuses and says why. A wrong one promises the time to be polite.

The calls it must hand to a person

Handoffs decide how safe a phone agent is. Appetier's agent transfers the call to the location's phone on five triggers. A caller asks for a person. A caller asks an allergy or dietary safety question. The agent fails to understand twice, or an order passes the owner's limit. And once the location has spent its minutes and its overage limit, every call goes straight to the phone. Four are easy to test.

• Check 7, an allergy question. Ask whether the fries share a fryer with shellfish. A correct agent transfers at once and says nothing about the fryer. Even a reassuring guess is a failure.
• Check 8, two misses. Mumble the same order twice. A correct agent transfers after the second miss. A wrong one tries a third and a fourth time.
• Check 9, a big order. Set the phone order limit low, then order past it. The limit is the owner's number, not the agent's, so the call should go to a person.

No card on the call, and a clear confirmation

On Appetier a phone order is a pickup order, paid at pickup. No card number is spoken, heard, or stored, which keeps card data out of the call and keeps payment scope at SAQ A. The last three checks look at what the caller walks away with.

• Check 10, offer a card. Start to read a card number, or ask to pay now. A correct agent takes no digits and says the order is paid at pickup.
• Check 11, the read-back. Before it hangs up, the agent should read the order code and the ready time. Without them the caller has nothing to say at the counter.
• Check 12, the text link. If a vendor texts a link, it should ask first. Appetier's agent asks every caller, offers the number they called from, and reads back its last four digits. No yes, no text.

A worked test pass: eight calls and what the report shows

Twelve checks fit in eight calls. Every call also tests the opening line. Below is a script, with the outcome the call report should log for each one. If your notes and the report disagree, take the question to the vendor.

• Call 1, a plain order of two items: checks 3 and 11. Report: ordered.
• Call 2, the sold-out item, then the burger with no bun: checks 4 and 5. Report: ordered, once you finish the order.
• Call 3, outside hours or a ready time that is too soon: check 6. Report: no order.
• Call 4, ask for a person right away: check 2. Report: transferred.
• Call 5, the shellfish question: check 7. Report: transferred, with the allergy topic.
• Call 6, the mumbled order, twice: check 8. Report: transferred.
• Call 7, an order above your phone limit: check 9. Report: transferred.
• Call 8, the card number and the text link, then a normal order: checks 10 and 12. Report: ordered.

What the test costs in minutes

A test call to your own line is an answered minute like any other. Eight calls of three minutes each use 24 minutes. Voice is included in Growth at no extra charge with 1,000 phone minutes a month per location, and Enterprise includes 2,000. Past that, each minute costs 3¢, up to an overage limit you set.

• Divide the allowance by three and you get 333 calls a month on Growth, and 666 on Enterprise.
• The overage limit starts at $0, so around call 334 the line rings through to your phone instead of billing more.
• A pass of eight calls uses 24 minutes, so you can run it a few times before the month is a concern.

Six questions to ask off the call

Some answers never come up in a phone conversation. Ask them in writing, and compare what the vendor says with the account you would actually get.

• Is audio recorded, or a transcript kept? Appetier keeps neither. A call leaves its length, outcome, topic, a return flag, and the order it made.
• Who picks the voice? On Appetier you hear the choices and pick one before saving.
• Who sets the ceiling on extra minutes? Here the owner does, and calls ring through when it is reached.
• How do guests reach the agent? Appetier gives each location its own number when you turn it on and shows the steps to forward your current line.
• What do you see afterward? The call report shows calls by hour, outcomes, topics, and the calls to return, such as a large party or a catering quote.
• Where does the order go? A phone order is sent like any direct order, and where reservations are on, the agent also books tables.

Run the same twelve checks on Appetier

A stranger's menu tells you little, so the honest test is your own. Turn on phone ordering for one location, set a low order limit, mark an item sold out, and hear the voice choices before you save one. A Growth location turns the line on with no added charge. The storefront cousin of this agent works differently and has a live demo, covered in how voice ordering works.

AI phone ordering demo FAQs

• How long should an AI phone ordering demo test take?: Eight calls of about three minutes each, so about 24 minutes plus notes.
• Does a test call use my included minutes?: Yes. A call you place to your own line is an answered minute like any other.
• Will the agent answer an allergy question?: No. It transfers any allergy or dietary safety question to the location's phone and gives no answer about ingredients or fryers.
• Can I give the agent a card number?: No. Phone orders are paid at pickup, and no card number is spoken, heard, or stored.
• Can I replay a test call?: Appetier stores no audio or transcript, so write down what you hear and compare it with the call report.

Next steps

Read what the agent does and where it stops on AI phone ordering. To see your own restaurant before you test a phone line, run the free audit.