Ultimate Guide to VoIP for Restaurants

Introduction 

Depending on the size of the establishment, restaurants can receive anywhere from 20 to 200+ calls in a day. This huge number is a reflection of the fact that when it comes to restaurants, customers want to pick up the phone and book their reservations. 

So with this relentless volume of calls, how do you manage to ensure each and every one is attended? And what do you do if a significant percentage of these calls are abandoned? Do you let it go or do you engage them? 

VoIP for restaurants might just be the answer to all your call management needs. In this article, we will discuss the importance of VoIP for restaurants, its use cases, Top VoIP platforms, and more. 

Why a phone system or VOIP is important for restaurants 

Restaurants are not going to get rid of calls any time soon. Many customers prefer calling and this means of communication is quite frankly, indomitable. Let’s look at some of the few reasons why a phone system or VoIP is important for restaurants: 

Customers are already calling 

Even as we advance toward online scheduling platforms for restaurant reservations, almost 47% of reservations are still made over call. 

Customer calls are not only restricted to reservations but also for inquiries, takeout, delivery orders, etc. 

Even with an increase in food delivery apps such as DoorDash and UberEats, phone orders remain significant. According to a survey, 25% of customers still prefer calling a restaurant to place their order. 

Customers are also calling to inquire about restaurant services, opening hours, menu options, dietary restrictions, etc. 

So to handle these varied situations, you will inadvertently need a phone system or VoIP for restaurants. 

Helps manage high call volume 

As we just saw, customers are calling for a variety of reasons. Handling this significant but varied call volume needs to be dealt with properly. 

In the restaurant industry, calls peak around lunch and dinner hours. The time window between 11 AM to 1 PM and 5 PM to 7 PM sees a majority of calls for reservations, order placements, and general inquiries. This is also the time when you see an increase in customer footfall. So how then can you manage both customers on the line and in your restaurant? 

VoIP for restaurants for phone systems comes with advanced features to help route customer calls based on their intent. This way each call reaches the correct department and gets resolved quickly. 

Improves customer experience 

Call wait times are a major contributing factor to bad customer experience. In many restaurants, the call wait time can lie anywhere between 30 seconds to 2 minutes. With such a long wait time, customers tend to abandon the call if it isn’t answered within 1 minute. This translates into bad customer service and damages the restaurant’s reputation. 

Through VoIP for restaurants, customer calls are routed to the correct department through IVR menu’s, ensuring that calls get picked up timely and customers arrive at a resolution quicker. This ease in communication and reachability greatly improves customer experience. 

Improves operational efficiency

VoIP for restaurants can help them manage multiple locations and help streamline customer calls. Phone systems or VoIP for restaurants come with IVR menu options. When the customer calls they will be able to navigate to the correct menu option based on their intent. A lot of restaurant calls are inquiries about its hours of operation, an IVR menu option stating the timings will significantly reduce the number of calls needing human interaction. 

With VoIP, you can also handle multiple calls simultaneously without needing to use separate phone lines. Without the need for traditional phone lines to handle multiple calls, the cost is also significantly reduced with VoIP. Restaurants can often pay a flat rate or reduced rates for unlimited calls, including long-distance, which cuts costs compared to traditional phone lines

Helps leverage AI technology 

VoIP for restaurants comes with many features. It is not only limited to calling but often provides AI solutions as well. 

AI can intelligently route calls according to user intent. AI can identify the nature of customer call and route it to the appropriate department for resolution. This feature reduces the customer wait time significantly, impacting customer satisfaction. 

AI can be used for automated call handling. AI in the form of a chatbot or assistant will be able to handle many customer queries such as location details, opening hours, menu options, etc. This intervention allows to free up staff time and let them concentrate on more pressing tasks. 

AI can also be leveraged to engage customers who have dropped off. A feature called missed calls to text can be implemented through AI. In this feature, as soon as a customer call is abandoned or missed, it is immediately followed up with a text message. This way the conversation can be continued by text even if the restaurant is unavailable to attend to the customer’s call and keep them engaged. 

If customers leave a voicemail message, AI speech recognition can also be used to transcribe the message for quicker staff reference. 

Use cases of VOIP for Restaurants

Now that we know why the introduction of VoIP is essential for restaurants, let’s look at how we can use VoIP for restaurants or the use cases of VoIP.  

Reservations and Bookings

You can use VoIP phone systems for reservations and bookings at your restaurant. VoIP systems can integrate with reservation software, allowing the system to automatically check for available tables and book them without human intervention. Whenever a customer calls they can be directed to bookings through VoIP. 

Takeout and Delivery orders 

A restaurant receives a high volume of takeout or delivery orders via phone, especially during busy periods. A VoIP system integrated with the restaurant’s POS can streamline order-taking by directly inputting the order into the system through VoIP’s IVR option. 

Menu Inquiries

VoIP’s IVR feature can be utilized to avail menu information. Any customer who calls to inquire about the menu can easily find their answer by navigating to the menu option through the IVR. Not only that, the IVR feature can be utilized for general inquiries such as location details, opening hours etc. 

Top 5 VoIP for Restaurants: A Quick Comparison 

The Top 5 VoIP for Restaurants are

• Emitrr
• Nextiva
• RingCentral
• Ooma
• 8×8

Here’s a quick comparison table detailing the features and ratings of each of these VoIP services 

Key Highlights: 

• Emitrr is the only VoIP software that scores 5/5 on customer support. 
• Emitrr has the highest rating for value for money at 4.9/5 
• Emitrr provides the most number of features. 
• Emitrr pricing is not dependent on per line. 
• 8X8 scores the lowest on customer support with 3.8 
• RingCentral and 8X8 score the lowest in value for money at 4.1/5 

Top 5 VoIP for Restaurants: A Detailed Comparison 

Emitrr

Emitrr is the best VoIP for restaurants as it offers VOIP and texting features at its core. Whether it’s making VoIP calls or sending texts on the go, Emitrr has your back for seamless communication. Our cutting-edge texting features and user-friendly interface make staying connected effortless. 

Emitrr Features 

Call Features 

IVR/Call Tree

• You can set up 1 or multiple Call Trees
• Forward calls on key press to
  • Phone number
  • Extension
  • Call Queue Groups
  • Ring Everyone
  • To another call tree 

Call queue groups

• Setup call groups with multiple extensions/team members
• Define call routing rules for each call queue group
  • Call forwarding
    • Simultaneously
    • Sequentially
  • When call is missed
    • To another extension
    • To a number
    • To a voicemail

Extensions

• Setup multiple extensions – one for each individual user
  • Setup user hours
  • Setup user availability by day
  • Setup call forwarding rules for each user/extension 

General phone settings

• Define how your VOIP is setup during and after hours
  • Ring everyone
  • Ring an extension
  • Forward to a call tree/IVR etc
  • Call recording settings – Automatically record / not record all calls
  • Setup general business working hours

Other features 

• Mass texting 
• Missed calls to texts 
• SMS Marketing 
• Voicemail Transcription

Emitrr Pricing

Starts at $30 per month. You only pay for what you use. 

Emitrr Pros 

• Easy to use software 
• Round the clock support available 
• Easy integration
• Great call quality 
• 99.99% uptime 

Emitrr Cons 

• More advanced VoIP features are under development and will be launched soon! 

Nextiva 

Nextiva is a popular VoIP platform. It promises seamless communication between businesses and customers.

Nextiva Features

• Call center management
• VoIP connection services
• Conference call functionality
• Call queue management
• Multichannel communication support
• Video conferencing features
• Improved call management
• Mobile and desktop app availability
• CRM system integration
• Data analysis tools

Nextiva Pros

• User-Friendly Interface
• High-Quality Calls

Nextiva Cons

• High cost
• Unreliable service performance
• Loss of voice packets
• Continuous auto-renewals
• Ineffective customer support

Nextiva Pricing

• It starts at $18.95 per month 

RingCentral 

RingCentral is a popular VoIP choice among businesses. It’s a unified platform that integrates voice, video, and messaging into one dashboard. It also offers features which include call forwarding, call queuing, auto-attendants, and a lot more to ensure efficient handling of customer inquiries

RingCentral Features 

• Automatic Call Distribution
• Call Monitoring
• Call Recording
• Call Reporting
• Call Routing
• IVR
• Multi-Channel Communication
• Online Voice Transmission
• Power Dialer
• Reporting & Statistics
• Third-Party Integrations
• VoIP Connection

RingCentral Pros

• User-Friendly Interface
• Easy Installation

RingCentral Cons

• Poor Customer Support
• Inefficient Contact Management
• Confusing Interface

RingCentral Pricing

• It starts at $19.9 per line 

Ooma 

Ooma is a VoIP phone system with many robust phone capabilities. It offers extensive features which include unlimited calling, call recording, and much more.

Ooma Features

• Automated Attendant
• Automatic Call Routing
• Call Center Oversight
• Conference Calling
• Call Handling Outcomes
• Call Management Lists
• Two-Way Voice and Video
• Integrated Communications
• Video Meeting Capabilities
• Virtual Call Center Operations
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Ooma Pros

• User-Friendly Interface 
• Easy installation

Ooma Cons

• Poor Call Quality
• Subpar Customer Service
• Regular Service Interruptions
• Hidden Fees

Ooma Pricing

• It starts at $19.95 per month 

8X8

8X8 Features

• Automated Attendant
• Automatic Call Distribution
• Call Center Management
• Call Conferencing
• Call Disposition
• Call List Management
• Callback Scheduling
• IVR
• Real-Time Reporting

8X8 Pros

• User-friendly
• High Audio Quality

8X8 Cons

• Poor Customer Support
• Extended Downtime
• Unfair Billing Practices

8X8 Pricing

• It starts at $24 per month 

Why Emitrr is the best VoIP solution for restaurants? 

Over 100+ POS integrations 

For any VoIP for a restaurant to function at its best, it needs to integrate with the restaurant’s POS or Point of Sale system. Emitrr offers over 100+ POS integrations making it a formidable VoIP option for restaurants. The integration allows for real-time updated communication with the customers regarding bookings, and reservations, and even helps personalize communication with customers by utilizing details about customers. 

Advanced call features 

Emitrr comes with advanced features for calls such as AI-based call routing, call recording, call analytics, and voicemail transcription. Apart from advanced call features, Emitrr offers features such as missed call-to-text to ensure that every customer is engaged even if the call was unable to connect. 

Restaurant Templates 

You can utilize existing templates in Emitrr by selecting “Templates” in the message editor, like so: 

You can also create and save new templates that you often use for quick message access. Find more restaurant SMS templates.

Texting and Conversation Management 

Emitrr offers many conversation management features such as: 

When you open a conversation, you can

• Mark the chat as read/unread
• Assign it to a team member
• Add a note for a team member 
• Print the conversation
• Block the contact 
• Set a status/disposition

Stellar Customer Support 

Having access to good customer service is equally important as having good software because good customer service can ensure you never get stuck with a problem for too long and bear the loss of time and money. Thankfully, Emitrr has been rated 5/5 on Capterra for its customer support, so you can ensure peace of mind after purchasing the software. 

How to Use Emitrr’s VoIP Service for Restaurants?

Track Your Calling Activity

STEP-1: Go to the call section on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

STEP-2: Select the My Performance Option.

Now you will be able to track all your calling activity such as the number of total calls, answered calls, missed calls, and more. 

Easily Import Contacts with a Few Clicks

STEP 1: Go to the “Contact” option on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

STEP 2: Select the “All Contact option”

STEP 3: Click on the “Menu” on the right side then select the “Import Contact” option

Now you are all set to import contacts. 

Turn Voicemails into Text

STEP 1: Go to the “Voice Mail” option on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

Now you are ready to convert voicemail into text

Here’s a quick video for your reference:

Effortlessly Manage Incoming Calls

STEP 1: Go to the “Settings” option on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

STEP 2: Select the “Phone Settings”

STEP 3: Click on the “General Setting” option

You will get all the options to manage the calls as per your preference and needs!!

Handle Call Queue Groups Efficiently

STEP 1: Go to the “Settings” option on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

STEP 2: Select the “Phone Settings”

STEP 3: Click on the “Call Queue Groups” option

Manage Users and Extensions with Ease

STEP 1: Go to the “Settings” option on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

STEP 2: Select the “Phone Settings”

STEP 3: Click on the “ Users and Extensions” option

Customize Your IVR Menu

STEP 1: Go to the “Settings” option on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

STEP 2: Select the “Phone Settings”

STEP 3: Click on the “ IVR” option

Gain Insights with Advanced Call Analytics

STEP-1: Go to the call section on the left panel within the Emitrr dashboard. 

STEP-2: Select the “Metrics” Option.

You will get all the insights related to your calls

Make Direct Calls Instantly

Effectively Manage Call Queue Groups

VoIP for Restaurants FAQs

Additional Reading: VoIP for Restaurants Community Discussions 

Should I move my restaurant business phone service to VoIP service instead of a landline?