Templates

What a template is

A template is how the receptionist works for your kind of business: what it asks a caller before it books, what it takes a message for, what it never says on the phone, a starter list of services, the one detail it keeps about each customer, and how your business counts what it can take at once. Your sources on Knowledge say what your business offers; the template says how the receptionist handles a call.

Dialhop has templates for an Auto shop, Home services (plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical), a Law office, a Restaurant, a Salon or barbershop, a Dental office, a Veterinary clinic, and a Chiropractic office. For example, the auto shop template asks for the car's year, make, and model before it books, and never says what's wrong with a car or when it will be ready. The dental office template asks for a date of birth and insurance, and tells a caller with a real emergency to call 911. The home services template asks for the job's address and who will let the technician in, and tells a caller who smells gas to leave the home and call 911.

Each card on Templates shows what it asks to book, what it Keeps about each customer (the car at an auto shop, the property for home services, the matter at a law office, the pet at a veterinary clinic; a dental office, a chiropractic office, a restaurant, and a salon keep only the name and numbers), what it takes a message for, what it never says, and the services it starts with. That detail names a column on Customers and a line on every booking; a template that keeps none has no such column. The template also names the capacity setting on the Receptionist tab of Settings: Cars at the same time at a shop, Clients at the same time at a salon. The one your receptionist uses says In use.

The starter services are used only until your sources name your own, and they have no prices, so the receptionist quotes nothing from them.

See your template

1. Press Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then the Template tab. Every template is a card.

Switch to another template

1. Press Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then the Template tab.
2. On the card that fits your business, press Use this template.

The next caller is handled by the new template. Your sources don't change.

Add your own template

When no template fits your business, Eli writes one for it. You can add as many as you like and use any one of them.

1. Press Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then the Template tab.
2. Press Add template at the top.
3. Describe Your business in a few sentences: what you do, what you need to know before you book someone, and anything you never want said on the phone. For example: "We're a mobile dog groomer. We book by breed and size, need the home address, ask whether the dog is nervous, and never give health advice."
4. Leave Let Eli pick and Eli gives it an emoji that fits, or press the Icon square to pick your own: an emoji from Emoji, or any icon from Icons. Each tab has a search box, such as "bike".
5. Press Write it. Eli's draft joins the cards, marked Draft. Nothing changes until you save it.
6. To change something, write it under Change something, such as "Also ask whether the dog has had its rabies shot", and press Change it.
7. Press Save template, or Discard to throw the draft away.

Eli names your template, such as "Dog groomer", and gives it an emoji if you left the icon to Eli, such as 🐶. The card shows Custom beside the name. To have the receptionist work by it, press Use this template on its card.

Change your own template

1. Press Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then the Template tab.
2. On your template, press Change with Eli.
3. Write what to change and press Change it, then Save changes. Cancel leaves it as it was.

If it's the one in use, the next caller is handled by the changed template.

Rename your own template or change its icon

1. Press Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then the Template tab.
2. On your template, press Rename.
3. Change the Name. To change the icon, press the Icon square and pick an emoji or an icon.
4. Press Save.

The new name shows on the card.

Delete your own template

1. Press Settings at the bottom of the sidebar, then the Template tab.
2. On your template, press Delete, then Delete again to confirm.

The template in use can't be deleted; use another one first.