Help  ›  Running service

Running service

Once you are open, your dashboard becomes a counter screen. Sign in on the phone or tablet by the door; it works the same on both.

The Service tab

The front screen for tonight. Across the top, four numbers: bookings today, covers, how many are in now, and who is next. Beneath, two lists:

• In now — parties whose sitting has started. A red rim means they are seated.
• Coming up — the rest of today, in order.

It refreshes itself every minute, so a booking made online while you are talking to someone appears without you touching anything. If the wifi drops, the screen keeps showing the diary it last fetched, marked with the time — see When the wifi drops.

The Floor plan tab

If you drew your room, this is it, live: green tables free, red tables taken, amber on the way. It follows the same bookings as the Service tab.

The Bookings tab

Every booking, by day. Use ‹ and › to move through the days, or type a reference to find one.

Taking a booking over the phone

1. Press Add a booking.
2. Choose the day, then press Find times — you see the same times a diner would, and only those.
3. Pick a time, enter the party size, the diner's name and, if they give one, a phone number and email.
4. Press Add.

If they gave an email, they get the same confirmation a diner who booked online would. If not, nothing is sent and nothing is lost — it is just a phone booking.

Cancelling

Press Cancel on the booking. If the diner gave an email, they are told. If the booking had a card hold, you will be offered the choice to charge or waive the fee — see No-show cover.

Moving a party to another table

Press Move on the booking and pick the table. Same time, different table; the diner is not emailed, because nothing they were told has changed.

Changing the time is a cancel and a new booking. The diner gets a cancellation and a new confirmation, which is right — they need to know.

The Waitlist tab

Switch it on under Tables and a Waitlist tab joins the front row. It is the notebook by the till, typed:

1. Type who is waiting, how many, and a phone number if they give one. Press Add.
2. When a table comes free, press Seated. If they gave up, Left. Changed their mind? Back on.

Nobody on the list is holding a table and nobody is texted. It is a list of who is standing there, in order, that clears itself overnight. Walk over and tell them.

Who can sign in

Everyone at the venue uses the same login for now. Every change is recorded with when it happened. Individual staff logins are planned.

Still stuck? hello@thezi.app reaches a person, usually the same day.