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Fellow Foodies!

Happy Tuesday and for those who served, thank-you for your service. In the restaurant biz, we thrive on hospitality – that warm welcome, the quick answer to a guest’s question, the feeling that someone’s always there to help. But on your website or Facebook page, at 11pm when a customer wonders “Do they have gluten-free options?”, who’s there to respond? Often, nobody – and that customer might move on. 🤷‍♂️ That’s where Tidio comes in. Tidio is like having an always-on chatbot and live chat system for your restaurant, ensuring that every visitor to your online front door gets greeted and helped instantly, just as if they walked into your actual restaurant and asked a host. It’s customer service for the digital age, and it can capture leads, answer FAQs, even take orders or reservations while you sleep.

What it does:

Tidio provides a combined chatbot + live chat platform that you can easily embed on your website (and integrate with messaging on social media). When someone visits your site, a friendly chat window can pop up, possibly with a custom message like “Hi there! 👋 Got any questions about our menu or want to book a table? I’m here to help.” The beauty is, AI-driven chatbots can handle the common queries automatically. For example, if a guest types “Are you open on Sundays?” or “Do you have vegan dishes?”, the Tidio chatbot, pre-loaded with your restaurant’s info, will reply instantly with the correct info: “Yes, we’re open 12–8pm on Sundays!” or “Absolutely, we have a full vegan menu – try our famous tofu stir-fry!” It’s like an interactive FAQ that’s much more engaging than making someone search your site.

The chatbot can also suggest menu items (“Looking for recommendations? Our chef’s special today is the grilled salmon!”), assist with reservations (“Can I book a table for you? How many guests and what date/time?” linking to your reservation system or taking the details directly), and even handle orders (“Would you like to place an order for pickup or delivery?” linking into your online ordering). If the inquiry gets too complex or the user wants a human, Tidio seamlessly allows a live chat takeover – you or your staff can chat in real-time through Tidio’s app or dashboard. Say someone starts with the bot about catering info and you see it’s a hot lead – you or a manager can jump in live and close the deal.

Tidio also has features like chatbot-driven marketing: it can collect an email or phone (“Want a 10% off coupon? Drop your email here!”) which builds your marketing list. The chatbot can follow up on certain triggers – e.g., if a user has something in an online order cart but hasn’t completed, the chat can pop up “Have questions about your order? I can help!” which might save the sale. The platform is customizable: you can script your bot with a personality that matches your vibe (formal, casual, funny – your call). And it supports multiple channels: website chat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram messages, and more – so it’s a centralized place to handle all those digital conversations with customers. For instance, if someone DMs your restaurant on Facebook asking about wait times, Tidio’s bot can answer immediately, or route to a human if needed. And it’s not just text – you can integrate quick-reply buttons in the chat (like options for “View Menu,” “Track Order,” etc.).

Tidio can also send out proactive messages, like “Hi, let us know if you have any questions!” after a visitor has been on your site for, say, 30 seconds. It’s essentially an all-in-one tool to make sure no customer’s question goes unanswered online.

Why it matters:

Today’s customers expect quick responses – our patience is thin, especially online. If they ask something via your website or social and hear crickets, they’ll likely bounce to a competitor or a third-party delivery app (where you pay high commissions). By using Tidio, you engage them instantly, increasing the chances they’ll do business directly with you. That can mean more direct reservations (instead of them booking through OpenTable and costing you fees, or worse, not booking at all) and more direct orders (avoiding those big delivery platform fees). Even beyond that, it’s about customer experience. You’re basically extending your hospitality to the digital realm. A prompt friendly answer at 11pm might impress someone so much that they visit the next day. It shows you care and are accessible. Also, Tidio’s chatbot can handle an unlimited number of inquiries simultaneously – something no single staff member can do. So whether 3 people or 30 people land on your site with questions at once, nobody has to wait.

Capturing leads is another huge benefit. That 10% coupon for email trade tactic can grow your marketing list fast – which you can use for future promotions. And answering FAQs through the bot frees up your staff’s time; fewer phone calls interrupting dinner service with “do you have parking?” because folks got their answer online. If someone’s asking “What’s the status of my delivery order?” – the bot can (if integrated with your ordering system) fetch that info: “Your order is being prepared and will be out for delivery in ~10 minutes.” This real-time transparency saves you from an angry call later.

Additionally, boosting sales: Tidio’s AI can subtly upsell or promote. For example, if a user is browsing the menu page, the bot could say “Psst... our chef just added a new dessert today: Chocolate Lava Cake! Type ‘dessert’ to see it.” This might entice an order that otherwise wouldn’t happen. Or if someone starts a chat asking about gift cards, the bot can not only answer “Yes we do $50 and $100 gift cards” but also provide a link to purchase one right there.

Another aspect is feedback collection: after an interaction or an order, the chatbot can ask “How was your experience? Please rate us or leave feedback.” That gives you immediate insight and possibly intercepts negative feedback before it hits public review sites. Tidio reports that having live chat on a site can increase conversion rates significantly – customers are simply more likely to act (reserve/order) when their questions or concerns are addressed instantly. It’s akin to how in-store, a customer might walk out if they can’t find an item or info; but if a helpful associate intervenes, you save the sale. Tidio is that associate for your online storefront.

Plus, from the operational side, it centralizes communication – rather than juggling Facebook messages, website contact forms, etc., all funnel into one interface, which can often be managed by someone off-site or even automated largely. And it works 24/7, which is perfect as many people do their dining planning off hours. So essentially: improved customer satisfaction, more conversions, time saved, and even increased reviews or marketing reach – all from one tool.

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Who it’s for:

Honestly, any restaurant with an online presence can benefit, especially if you actively get traffic on your site or social media. If you have a website (and you should!), and especially if you allow online orders or reservations, Tidio is a no-brainer to handle queries around those. It’s great for restaurants that don’t have a full-time person to answer phones/emails (which is most small-medium restaurants). The chatbot covers when you can’t. If you’re a small cafe, you might get by without it, but even then, a bot answering “What’s today’s soup?” or “Do you have Wi-Fi?” could free you up. For larger or multi-unit restaurants, a consistent chatbot ensures all customers get the same accurate info (no risk of a staff member giving wrong hours on the phone).

Also, takeout-heavy places or pizza shops get a lot of repetitive inquiries – perfect for automation. Restaurants that promote through social media likely get DMs with questions – Tidio can unify those with web chat, making it easier to handle. If your restaurant is in a touristy area, you probably get after-hours queries from people planning trips – the bot can capture those leads and even direct them to reserve. If you run a catering arm or event space, initial inquiries often come at odd hours – the chatbot could gather event details and pass them to you to follow up, effectively acting as an assistant. Basically, any restaurant that wants to appear responsive (which should be all) can use this. And the good thing is, even if you’re not tech-savvy, Tidio is designed for business owners – it comes with templates for FAQs, you don’t need to code AI responses from scratch.

It’s also for those who want to build their customer contact list; by engaging on your site, you can gently capture email/phone for follow-up promotions. If your site traffic is low, the impact is smaller, but it might also help increase traffic because the experience is better (people might tell others “just go on their site, the chat will help you out!”). And if you already have some form of contact form or messenger, upgrading to a more interactive solution like Tidio can drastically improve how many people actually reach out (some folks shy from forms but will engage in a chat). So from the neighborhood diner to a high-end restaurant with reservation inquiries, Tidio scales. It’s particularly useful during pandemic times (and beyond) when guests have lots of questions about safety measures or policy – the bot can handle those calmly 100 times a day without breaking a sweat. In summary: if you have a website or social page and ever wished “I wish I could answer that customer’s question right now,” then Tidio is for you.

How to get started:

Tidio prides itself on being easy to install and use. Step 1: you sign up for Tidio and install the chat widget on your website. If you use common site platforms (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, etc.), it’s usually as simple as copy-pasting a code snippet or using a plugin. You customize the look – color to match your brand, agent avatar (maybe your logo or a friendly photo), welcome message, etc. Step 2: you’ll set up your chatbot flows. Tidio often has pre-made chatbot templates for restaurants (like “Restaurant FAQ bot,” “Order Taking bot,” etc.). You go through those and input your details – e.g., hours, address, menu link, reservation link, commonly asked Q&As (“Do you have gluten-free?” “Yes, indicated by GF on our menu.”). You can create rules like if someone mentions “allergy” or “gluten” the bot sends them info about allergen-friendly options. It uses keyword triggers or button flows (like the bot can present buttons: “Press 1 for hours, 2 for menu, 3 for reservation”).

Many restaurants start by automating the FAQs and reservation handling. Step 3: integrate any other platforms – connect your Facebook page, etc., so messages there also come into Tidio. You can also integrate with OpenTable or Resy for reservations, or Google Analytics to track how chat influences conversions. If you do online ordering through certain systems, Tidio might integrate (or at least link out smoothly). Step 4: Test it out. Go on your site as a user, ask a bunch of stuff to the bot and see that it answers correctly. Fine-tune responses as needed (the interface for editing chatbot flows is usually a visual builder, quite user-friendly). You can also decide when the bot should escalate to a human. Maybe during business hours, if someone types “talk to a person” or something complicated, it should notify you or a staff user via the Tidio app or email.

You or team members can then reply live from your phone or computer via Tidio’s dashboard. It’s wise to train staff or yourself on how to use the live chat – it’s not hard, basically like using WhatsApp or any messenger. Step 5: Go live. The widget is on your site now for real visitors. You can monitor chats – Tidio often shows what people are asking in real time and chatbot success rates. Over the first weeks, you might find a new common question not in the bot’s brain yet (“Do you have outdoor seating?”), so you add it. It’s an evolving knowledge base. Meanwhile, you’ll likely start seeing results: maybe more reservation completions (because the bot guided them), or fewer phone calls for trivial questions (freeing host staff), or more direct orders. You might also see your mailing list grow from the chat prompts. Tidio provides metrics like number of chats, satisfaction, etc. If someone gives a poor rating to a bot chat, you can review what went wrong and improve it.

It’s continuously learning in a sense – at least you, the operator, learn what people care about. Also, you can set up proactive greetings, like at certain times or on certain pages. For instance, if someone is viewing the catering page for 60 seconds, pop “Hi! Planning an event? I can help answer any questions or take your details for a catering quote.” That can increase leads captured. Tidio’s panel also lets you see if someone’s typing so you can jump in, or see what page they’re on to better help. That context is great for personalized service (“I see you’re checking out our private dining room info. Yes, it can seat up to 50 guests.” – the customer will be like wow, personalized!). Over time, you might integrate with other marketing – e.g., if someone chats and leaves an email, automatically add to your newsletter list. Possibilities are broad. But even keeping it simple (answering FAQs and offering to make reservations) can majorly boost your responsiveness.

Ultimately, Tidio becomes like a digital member of your team – one that can handle endless front-end inquiries and leave your human team to do what they do best: serve food and in-person hospitality. With Tidio, you’ll never leave a customer hanging – and that’s a big win in hospitality. 💬🤖👍

🧠 If you enjoyed this week’s deep dive, forward it to someone in your restaurant who wants to fully grasp AI. They’ll thank you later.

Your slightly self-deprecating, definitely human narrators,
Anicia & Shane