Key points
- Write your reservation rules before you take the next one: days and hours, party size, how long you hold a table, and a down payment or ordering ahead for large groups.
- Keep every reservation on one list with the name, WhatsApp number, number of guests, date and time, and a note, then confirm the day before.
- At peak hours, limit how many tables can be reserved so walk-ins still find a seat, and work out your no-show rate every week.
- A reservation in Kazeer stores the guest's WhatsApp number. Use that number only for the reservation unless the guest agrees to other messages.
Picture this: it's Saturday night at your cafe. Since 18:30, a waiter has been holding the long table by the window for a reservation of eight at 19:00. In that half hour, two groups walk in without a reservation and have to leave because there's no table for them. At 19:30 the group still hasn't arrived, and nobody picks up the phone.
Reservations only help when every guest gets the same rules and every reservation is written down in one place.
Set the rules first
If each staff member answers with their own rules, one guest is told the table is held for an hour and another for ten minutes. Write the rules once and use them for every reservation. What to decide:
- Which days and hours you take reservations. You can choose not to take them at your busiest hour, or to take them only for groups.
- The smallest party you take, say 4 people, and the size you count as a large group, say more than 10.
- How long you hold a table after the booked time, say 15 minutes. After that, you can give the table to other guests.
- Whether large groups make a down payment or choose their food in advance. If you take a down payment, also decide when it's returned, for example if the guest cancels at least a day ahead.
Tell guests these rules when they book, before they make any down payment. To keep every staff member's answer the same, save the rules as a quick reply in WhatsApp Business and put them up near the counter.
Example: We take reservations for 4 people or more. We hold the table for 15 minutes after the booked time. For groups of more than 10, please choose your food by the day before.
If an AI agent in WhatsApp Business answers your customer chats, add these rules to what it knows too.
Keep every reservation in one place
Reservations come in from all directions: WhatsApp chats, phone calls, Instagram DMs, or in person at the counter. If each one is written down somewhere different, one table can be promised to two groups, or the evening shift doesn't know a group is coming.
Pick one list, such as a reservation book at the counter or an app, and use nothing else. Whoever takes a reservation writes it on that list first, then tells the guest it's booked.
| What to record | Why |
|---|
| Name | To greet the guest and find the reservation when they arrive |
| WhatsApp number | To send the confirmation and reach a guest who is late |
| Number of guests | To pick the right table |
| Date and time | To know when to start holding the table |
| Note | A birthday, an allergy, a high chair, or a seating wish such as near the window |
| Down payment, if any | Amount, date, and how it was paid, so the cashier takes it off the bill |
| Staff member who took it | To know who to ask if something is unclear |
On the day, pass any allergy note to the kitchen before the guest arrives.
A guest's WhatsApp number is personal data. A reservation in Kazeer stores it too, along with the name, number of guests, and a note. Use the number only for that reservation, unless the guest agrees to other messages. Messages about new menu items or promotions need the guest's separate permission, and our guide to bringing customers back through WhatsApp explains how to ask for it.
Confirm the day before
The day before, send a confirmation from the outlet's WhatsApp number. For a reservation made at short notice, send it that morning. Make one person, such as the afternoon cashier, responsible for confirming all of tomorrow's reservations.
Example: Hi [name], this is [cafe name]. We'd like to confirm your reservation for [number] people tomorrow, [day, date], at [time]. We'll hold the table for 15 minutes after that time. If the number of people or the time changes, or you need to cancel, just reply to this message. Thank you.
Mark on the list who has replied. If a guest still hasn't replied a few hours before the booked time, call them once. If the number of people changes, update the list and check the table again. If a guest cancels, write "cancelled" and free the table for other guests.
Split your tables at peak hours
If every table at peak hours can be reserved, guests who walk in may find nowhere to sit. Decide how many tables can be reserved at those hours, and keep the rest for walk-ins. To find your busy hours, note your sales every hour for two weeks and watch when every table is taken. The guide to shift schedules shows how.
Worked example for a cafe with 10 tables:
| Table | Number of tables | Seats |
|---|
| 4-seat table | 6 | 24 |
| 2-seat table | 4 | 8 |
| Total | 10 | 32 |
Every Saturday from 18:00 to 21:00, this cafe takes reservations for at most 4 of its 4-seat tables, which is 4 × 4 = 16 seats. The rest, 2 of the 4-seat tables and all 4 of the 2-seat tables (8 + 8 = 16 seats), or half of all seats, stay for walk-ins.
A reserved table doesn't need to sit empty all afternoon, either. Say guests usually stay about 90 minutes, and a table takes 15 minutes to clear. A table reserved for 19:00 can still take walk-ins who sit down before 17:15, which is 90 + 15 = 105 minutes before 19:00. Tell those guests from the start that the table is needed again at 19:00. At 17:15, when you start holding the table, put out the "Reserved 19:00" card. Walk-ins who arrive after that can still sit there if they agree to finish by 18:45.
Late guests and no-shows
Use the hold time in your rules, then go through these steps:
- When the booked time passes and the guest hasn't arrived, send one message or make one call: "Hi [name], we're still holding your table for [number] until [time]. Are you still coming?"
- If the guest says they'll be late, the shift lead decides whether to hold the table longer, then tells them politely until what time.
- If the hold time passes with no word, give the table to guests who are waiting, then write "no-show" on the list.
- If the guest arrives after the table has gone, apologize, explain the hold time, then offer the next free table.
What to say in that last step: "I'm sorry, we held your table until 19:15 and then gave it to other guests. The next table should be free in about 20 minutes. Can I put you on the waiting list?"
You can ask guests who have skipped several reservations without a word to make a down payment for their next reservation, as long as you tell them when they book.
Large groups
A group of 12 ordering all at once can put the kitchen behind for every other table. There are two ways to prevent that. One is a set menu: one fixed package at a price per person, agreed before the day. You can set bundle prices in Kazeer's promo feature. The other is ordering ahead: the group chooses its food by the day before, so the kitchen can prepare the ingredients and the number of portions.
When the group arrives, the cashier records the food they ordered ahead as that table's order, so the cashier and the kitchen read the same order. The guide to the cashier to kitchen order flow covers the steps.
Ask about the bill at the start: one bill, or does each person pay their own? If they pay separately, record orders per person from the start. Splitting one big bill at the end makes a line at the counter and is easy to get wrong. If the group makes a down payment, give them proof when they pay, then take it off the final bill.
If your outlet uses table QR ordering, the group can add orders themselves without waiting for a waiter. That guide also has tips for tables pushed together.
Check the results every week
Once a week, go through the reservation list and count how many reservations the guests kept, how many they cancelled with notice, and how many were no-shows with no word. Ask the cashier to also note walk-in groups turned away because you were full, with simple tally marks on a sheet of paper.
Worked example from one week at a cafe:
| What you count | Number |
|---|
| Reservations | 20 |
| Came | 15 |
| Cancelled with notice | 2 |
| No-show, no notice | 3 |
| Walk-in groups turned away when full | 6 |
No-show rate: 3 ÷ 20 = 15%. Those three reservations were for 4, 6, and 4 people, so 14 seats were held empty until the hold time ran out.
How to read it:
- If most no-shows never replied to the confirmation, release reservations whose guests haven't replied by a set time, and say so in the confirmation message.
- If most no-shows are large groups, ask large groups to order ahead or make a down payment.
- If many walk-in groups are turned away at peak hours while reserved tables often sit empty, cut the number of tables that can be reserved at those hours.
Change one rule at a time, then compare the results with the week before.