Numa Helps Restaurants Take Phone and Text Orders Using a Landline Phone


numa restaurant text message response

Numa has a new tool that helps a restaurant respond to customer calls using AI to generate a text message and other replies.

Some restaurants aren’t set up to accept delivery or curbside orders online or via text. And answering phones and communicating with customers can get incredibly time consuming.

Numa Helps a Restaurant Respond to Customers Via Text Message Using AI

However, Numa is an answering service that can help independent restaurants solve a few of these problems. The tool uses artificial intelligence to respond to customer inquiries via text. Numa can supply restaurants with a dedicated line, or you can simply pair it with an existing landline phone.

The company is also currently providing fast and free options to help businesses struggling due to coronavirus. Learn more about the service and what the company is offering below.

How Numa Technology Works for Restaurants

The service works by answering incoming calls and letting customers either leave voicemails or send text messages. For easy inquiries, Numa can answer for you via text. When a customer needs personal assistance, it lets a member of your team know so you can respond right away. For restaurants specifically, there’s also an upgraded version where you can add your menu and let people actually place orders via text using Numa’s automated system.

CEO Tasso Roumeliotis said in a phone interview with Small Business Trends, “For customers, it’s intuitive and easy to use because they don’t have to pick up the phone and call.”

This can be a pretty valuable benefit, since many of today’s consumers are used to the ability to order what they want with just a few clicks. Calling and actually speaking with someone to place an order can seem a bit analog or outdated. And it can also leave inefficiencies or errors in the process that ultimately impact the customer experience.

Roumeliotis says, “About 70 percent of calls are not answered, either because the business is closed or people call during busy times. For a restaurant, lots of people call during lunchtime or the dinner rush when staff is already busy taking orders or the host is seating someone.”

And Numa isn’t just about making sure customers get a response. It can also save team members time on those questions that are asked over and over again.

Roumeliotis explains, “We also incorporate artificial intelligence, so when you share information about your business, it makes those conversations with customers even better. For instance, if you’re a restaurant and someone calls to ask if you’re dog friendly, you can share that yes, you have a patio where people are welcome to bring dogs. Then the next time someone asks about dogs, Numa can answer automatically on your behalf.”

How Numa Restaurant Text Message Response Helps During Coronavirus

Of course, the ability to place orders automatically can be especially beneficial now, when many restaurants are not accepting in-person business.

Currently, Numa is waiving its fees for all businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, the basic answering service can be set up almost immediately. And the ordering service can often be added to your phone line within a day.

Since many restaurants are currently struggling to get their menus set up on delivery apps like Postmates and Uber Eats, the ability to add easy functionality to your ordering process right away can be a major benefit. These services also tend to take a fairly large percentage of each order, so Numa offers an easy way to place orders without the extra overhead. Of course, it doesn’t include the actual delivery like these other options do. But it may help to bridge the gap for businesses that want to provide their own delivery drivers or curbside pickup options paired with an easy ordering process.

Normally, the basic answering service is $49 per month. And the service that includes ordering is $149 per month. Roumeliotis believes that even once the pandemic has passed, there will be aspects of this type of quick and convenient service that many restaurants will still incorporate.

He said, “A lot of restaurants we work with are currently taking all their orders via text messaging. And even though some of this curbside approach is temporary, there are some aspects of it that I think are going to be a bigger part of our economy going forward.”

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Image: numahelps.com

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Annie Pilon Annie Pilon is a Senior Staff Writer for Small Business Trends, covering entrepreneur profiles, interviews, feature stories, community news and in-depth, expert-based guides. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring all that her home state of Michigan has to offer.

One Reaction
  1. This is great. These days, it is more important for businesses to become reachable. Their customers need to know that they can be reached even if they are staying at home.