A 10-minute habit that keeps Tablevoice working smoothly. Three touch-points per shift; goal of zero Open by close.
The three touch-points
Start of shift (~5 min)
Before service begins:
Open the Inbox.
Scan everything that came in overnight.
Reply to anything urgent (catering inquiries, complaints, late-arrival messages with reservations today).
Mark down anything that needs a manager's attention.
Mid-shift (~3 min, between rushes)
Quick scan of new cards.
Close obvious ones (Foodie booked correctly, no follow-up needed).
Reply to any text-back exchanges.
End of shift (~5 min)
Close every Open card or hand off via internal comment.
Hand off the Inbox baton to the next shift if you're a multi-shift operation.
What "close" means
Close = your team is done with the AI's prompt. It does not mean:
The customer is happy (some follow-up may still be ongoing in email or by phone).
The reservation is confirmed by the guest.
It does mean:
You've read what Foodie did.
You've decided whether anything more needs to happen.
If something does, you've assigned it (via internal comment) or done it.
What "open" means at the end of a shift
A card you literally haven't decided about. Anything else — something deferred to the next shift, something a manager owns — should be closed with an internal comment, not left open.
When to deviate
During service rushes, the rhythm shifts. Most operators check the iPad on push notifications during service and only do the start-of-shift / end-of-shift sweeps. That's fine — the goal is no orphan cards by the time the shift ends.
Common drift
Symptom | Cause | Fix |
Cards piling up unread | Push notifications off | |
One person handling everything | Notification routing too narrow | |
Closed cards being re-opened | Closing too aggressively before completing | Use internal comments to flag deferred items |
Inbox feels overwhelming | Too many subscribed event types | Trim notifications by role |
After the first week, the Inbox starts feeling like email used to feel — just another inbox to keep zeroed.