How an AI Receptionist Handled 300+ Monthly Calls for a Multi-Branch Restaurant Chain

Overview

A growing restaurant chain operating across 3 locations in the United States was struggling to manage high call volumes during peak hours. Staff were juggling floor service and phone calls simultaneously — leading to missed reservations, incorrect bookings, and frustrated customers. The owner needed a solution that worked around the clock without adding headcount.

The Challenge

The core problem was simple but expensive: no one was reliably picking up the phone. During lunch and dinner rush, calls would go unanswered or be handled poorly. There was no central system to track reservations across locations, and double-bookings were a recurring issue. The client needed something that could speak naturally with customers, access live availability, and update records instantly — without human involvement.

The Solution

We built a 24/7 AI voice receptionist using Vapi for the conversational layer, connected to an Airtable base acting as the live reservation CRM, and Google Calendar for per-location scheduling. n8n handled all the backend logic — routing calls to the right branch context, checking real-time table availability, confirming bookings, and sending SMS confirmation messages via a connected automation. The AI could handle reservation creation, modification, and cancellation entirely on its own, and escalated to a human only when explicitly requested.