Restaurant phones ring hardest exactly when the room is fullest, and most of those calls ask the same five questions: are you open, where are you, do you take reservations, can I order catering, is there a wait. Every one of them pulls a host or a server away from a guest who is standing right there.
Cannon VoIP's auto attendant answers the routine questions instantly, the AI receptionist takes reservations against your real calendar at 2 PM or 2 AM in English or Spanish, and holiday schedules switch themselves so the Thanksgiving greeting does not depend on anyone remembering. Flat $34 per extension, no contracts, texting included.
Friday night, line out the door, phone ringing
The economics of a restaurant phone are brutal: the person answering it is the same person seating guests, and the call is usually worth less than the table. But ignoring the phone is not free either, because tonight's "are you open" caller is Saturday's six-top, and a reservation request that rings out books elsewhere.
Holidays multiply the problem. Special hours, special menus, private events, and a greeting recorded eight months ago that still mentions a patio you closed in October. Every restaurant knows the feeling of realizing the voicemail greeting is wrong on the busiest day of the year.
What we set up for restaurants
Why restaurants pick Cannon VoIP
At a flat $34 per extension per month with no contracts, a single-location spot typically runs two or three extensions: host stand, office, kitchen. There are no taxes or mystery fees stacked on the bill, and texting is included, which matters when confirmations go out nightly.
The number on the window, the menus, and fifteen years of Google results stays put: porting is $15 per line, usually completes the next business day, and the line is down about two minutes during the switch, ideally at 3 PM on a Tuesday.
Restaurants also churn hardware harder than offices do, between grease, humidity, and dropped handsets. Replacements ship preconfigured overnight, plug in, and find their own settings before the lunch rush.
What a typical setup looks like
A single location typically runs a host-stand extension, an office extension, and the auto attendant, with the AI receptionist at a flat $65 taking reservations whenever staff cannot. The day menu answers hours and directions itself; the dinner-rush overflow rule sends unanswered host-stand calls to the AI instead of voicemail.
A group adds a shared main number that routes by location, per-site holiday calendars, and manager extensions that transfer between stores. Volume discounts start automatically at 25 extensions, which a six-location group reaches without noticing.
Common questions from restaurants
Bilingual matters in this business: the AI receptionist detects Spanish-speaking callers and switches languages mid-call, no separate menu required.
Get the phone off your staff's hands
Talk to us about auto attendants and reservations for your restaurant.
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