Overview
The Waiter Call system lets customers sitting at a table signal for assistance directly from the QR menu page on their phone — no waving, no shouting. Staff see all active calls in real time from the admin panel and can mark them as attended or dismiss them.
How a Customer Calls a Waiter
- Customer scans the table QR code and opens the restaurant menu on their phone.
- They tap the Call Waiter button visible on the menu page.
- A confirmation message appears: "Waiter has been called!"
- The call is instantly logged in the admin panel against that table.
A 2-minute cooldown prevents duplicate calls from the same table. If a customer taps Call Waiter again within 2 minutes, they see "Waiter is already notified!" and no duplicate is created.
Viewing and Managing Calls (Admin)
Go to Restaurant → Waiter Calls to see the live call board. The page is divided into two sections:
Pending Calls
All active calls that have not yet been attended, sorted newest first. Each card shows:
- Table Number — which table the call came from.
- Customer Name — the logged-in customer, or "Guest" if not identified.
- Type — the call type (default: call).
- Message — any additional message the customer included (if the menu page supports custom messages).
- Time — how long ago the call was placed (e.g. "2 minutes ago").
Two actions are available on each pending call:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mark as Attended | Moves the call to the Recent Calls list with a completion timestamp. Use this after a staff member has reached the table. |
| Dismiss | Permanently removes the call without recording it as attended. Use for accidental or duplicate calls. |
Recent Calls
The last 20 completed calls, showing table, customer, and the time they were attended. This gives a quick audit trail of response times during a shift.
Keeping the Call Board Current
The Waiter Calls page refreshes automatically via AJAX polling — new calls appear without requiring a manual page reload. Staff can keep the page open on a tablet or secondary screen at the service station for a live view.
Notifications
Currently, waiter calls appear on the admin panel call board. In-app notification badges for new calls may also appear in the admin panel notification bell, depending on your notification polling settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can customers specify what they need (water, bill, etc.)?
If your menu page shows a message field alongside the Call Waiter button, customers can type a short note (up to 255 characters). This message appears on the call card in the admin panel.
What happens if no staff is watching the call board?
Calls queue as pending indefinitely until a staff member acts on them. There is currently no automatic SMS or push notification to staff — the call board must be monitored actively during service.
Can I disable Waiter Call without removing the plan feature?
The Waiter Call button visibility on the customer-facing menu page is tied to the plan feature. To hide it, the feature must be disabled at the plan level by your super admin. There is no per-restaurant toggle for this feature.
Is there a sound alert when a new call comes in?
Not currently. The call board refreshes silently. For audio alerts, keep the call board open on a device and use your browser's built-in notification or tab-title change as a visual cue.