The day when nobody can pick up
During a service, everyone on the team has a precise role, and the office phone rings unanswered or switches to voicemail. Yet an event enquiry can be compared across several providers: a caller who gets nothing useful will ring the next one on their list.
Reception’s goal that day is modest and precise: that the person hangs up knowing their request is recorded, who will call them back and when, and that on Monday you have everything you need to prepare your reply.
The information that lets you call back with a proposal
For an event, the useful items are the type of event (wedding, seminar, corporate cocktail reception, birthday), the date and any flexibility on it, the town and the reception venue if known, the approximate number of guests, the format envisaged (cocktail, buffet, sit-down meal) and the services expected: delivery only, setting up, serving staff, equipment.
Add the person’s name, number, email address and the best time to reach them. For a company, note the company and the contact’s job title, because the decision-making chain is not that of an individual.
Announcing a callback time you will keep
The promise of a callback matters as much as collecting the information. Announce a realistic time, for example the next working day if that is how you operate, rather than a “we’ll call you back very soon” that a weekend of events will not let you honour.
On the organisational side, centralise the weekend’s requests in a single list, sorted by event date: a request for a wedding in three weeks comes before a request for next summer, even if it arrived later.
Allergies: what the call should note, and what it must not promise
The EU Food Information to Consumers Regulation (known in France as the INCO regulation), no. 1169/2011, sets out in its Annex II the list of substances causing allergies or intolerances whose presence must be indicated to the consumer: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites above a certain threshold, lupin and molluscs. Service-public.fr, the French government’s official information site, specifies that the obligation to state allergens applies in particular to caterers. In France, decree no. 2015-447 of 17 April 2015 regulated this information for non-prepacked foods; its rules now appear in articles R412-12 to R412-16 of the French Consumer Code (code de la consommation). Where meals are served on the premises, article R412-14 requires that consumers be told, in writing, legibly and visibly, either the information itself or how it is made available to them.
On the phone, reception simply notes any allergies and special diets reported for the guests, without stating anything about the composition of the dishes. Guaranteeing that a menu is “free from” an allergen is the caterer’s job, in writing, once the menu has been defined.
What cannot be settled over the phone
Reception announces neither a price, nor a range, nor a “packages from” figure: a rate given without knowing the venue, the format and the number of guests creates an expectation that your quote is likely to contradict. Nor does it confirm that the date is available, unless your events diary is up to date and can be consulted.
Likewise, it does not describe a menu from memory. It can, however, explain how things proceed on your side: callback, discussion of the project, written proposal, a tasting if you offer one.
A reception for service days
Alyas, the AI voice agent, answers 24 hours a day from the information you give it about your services, collects the contact details and the details of the project, and says when it does not know, offering to pass the request on. You find the transcript and summary of the call in your workspace; if Google Calendar or Cal.com is connected, it can offer an appointment for the callback. A caller who asks is transferred to your transfer number. A free 10-day trial, with no credit card required, lets you try it out over a busy weekend.
Frequently asked questions
Should you give an indicative price over the phone so as not to lose the customer?
It is better to hold back. Without the venue, the format and the number of guests, a figure given over the phone is likely to be contradicted by the quote. It is more effective to announce a callback at a specific time and keep to it.
Which allergens must a caterer declare?
Those in Annex II of Regulation (EU) no. 1169/2011: gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites above a threshold, lupin and molluscs. Service-public.fr lists caterers among the professionals concerned.
Can reception confirm that a dish is suitable for an allergic guest?
No. Reception notes the allergy reported; the composition of the dishes and the allergen information are the caterer’s responsibility, in writing, once the menu has been drawn up.