SMS Concierge — A Texting Number That Answers Your Customers
Give customers a number they can text. An assistant instantly answers questions about your hours, menu, and ordering — day or night, using your live restaurant data.
In this article
What is SMS Concierge?
SMS Concierge is a paid add-on that gives your restaurant its own dedicated texting number. When a customer texts it — "Are you open?", "How much is the karaage?", "Do you deliver?" — an assistant replies within seconds using your real, live data: your current hours, your actual menu and prices, and your ordering page link.
It works 24/7, including during the dinner rush when nobody can get to the phone, and after close when customers are planning tomorrow's lunch.
Important: your existing phone number does not change in any way. The Concierge number is a new, additional line used just for texting. Customers keep calling your regular number like always.
What it can answer (and what it hands to you)
Answered automatically:
- Hours — "Are you open right now?", "What time do you close Sunday?"
- Menu and prices — "Do you have spicy tuna rolls?", "How much is the ramen?"
- Ordering — shares your online ordering link so customers can order directly
- Delivery and pickup availability
- Reservations — shares your booking link where customers see live availability and confirm instantly
Handed to you:
Anything the assistant is not sure about — complaints, catering questions, changes to an existing reservation, refund requests — it replies "I'll have the owner text you back shortly!" and immediately emails you the customer's question. You reply directly from your dashboard, and your reply is sent as a normal text from your Concierge number.
The assistant never invents answers. If it doesn't see the answer in your data, it hands the conversation to you.
Setting it up
Once the add-on is active on your account, setup is done for you:
- We assign your texting number. We pick a local number in your area code. You will see it at the top of Dashboard → SMS Concierge.
- Your menu and hours are already connected. The assistant reads the same menu and business hours you manage in your dashboard — there is nothing to duplicate. Keeping your menu and hours accurate is the only "maintenance" this feature needs.
- Publish your number. Put it where customers look:
- Your website ("Questions? Text us: …")
- Your Google Business Profile — Google has a dedicated "chat/text" field separate from your call number
- A small sign at the register or on tables
- Your receipts and to-go bags
That's it. The moment a customer texts, the conversation appears in Dashboard → SMS Concierge.
Your SMS Concierge dashboard
Go to Dashboard → SMS Concierge to see:
- Your texting number with a copy button
- Auto-answer toggle — pause the assistant any time (for example, if you temporarily want to handle all texts yourself). Customers can still text; messages are logged, but no automatic replies go out.
- Every conversation — full message history, with each reply labeled "Assistant" or "You"
- "Needs you" badges — conversations where the assistant handed off to you. You will also get an email each time this happens.
- A reply box — type a message and it is sent as a text from your restaurant's number
Conversations where the customer replied STOP are marked "opted out" — they have unsubscribed and cannot be texted again unless they text START.
Good to know
It introduces itself with your restaurant name. The first reply in a conversation always starts with "Hi, this is [Your Restaurant]!" so customers know who they are texting.
It never books tables by text. For reservations, it shares your booking link where the customer sees real availability and gets instant confirmation. This prevents any chance of a mistaken booking.
Rate limits protect you. The assistant answers up to 6 messages per customer per hour. Past that, it politely points the customer to your phone number. You are never billed for runaway conversations.
Customers can always opt out. Replying STOP unsubscribes them instantly (handled automatically, as required by US carrier rules).
Coming soon — missed call text-back. A future upgrade will let you forward unanswered calls to your Concierge number, so a customer who calls during the rush automatically gets a text: "Sorry we missed your call! Text us your question here." Your phone and number stay exactly the same — it only activates when you don't pick up.
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