When a guest books, NomNom confirms it by email, and can also confirm it by text and text them a reminder before their visit. Here’s what goes out, where to switch each one on, and which details you can add to your wording.
What a guest receives
- A confirmation email as soon as the booking is made, if it has an email address. Every new booking gets one, whether the guest booked online or you took it yourself. There’s nothing to switch on.
- A confirmation text a few minutes after the booking is saved, if you’ve switched on INSTANT SMS.
- A reminder text about a day before the visit, if you’ve switched on REMINDER SMS.
Reminders are sent by text only: NomNom doesn’t send a reminder email. Texts only go to UK mobiles, and each one uses SMS credits (see Texting guests and managing SMS credits).
Confirmation emails
The email has the date, time, party size and booking reference. You choose the wording around them, add buttons, and can give a meal or event its own version: see Customising your confirmation emails. The switches for the email are in Settings → Email Settings on the Confirmation tab.
A guest who says they didn’t get theirs? See A guest says they didn’t get their confirmation email.
Switch on confirmation and reminder texts
1. Open SMS Service. In NomNom Web, open Settings from the account menu (top right) or the button at the bottom of the left-hand bar, then choose SMS Service. Settings is for admins only.
2. Turn on the texts you want. Under INSTANT SMS, turn on Enabled for the confirmation text. Under REMINDER SMS, turn on Enabled for the reminder. A new UK venue that starts with free trial credits has both on already; other venues start with both off. You can use either on its own.
3. Check the wording. Click Instant SMS template or Reminder SMS template. Keep an eye on Sender ID at the top too: it’s the name your texts come from, and nothing is sent without it.
In NomNom Web: Settings → SMS Service. In the phone app: Settings → SMS Service.
For exactly when each text goes, and what happens when a booking moves, see When NomNom sends confirmation and reminder texts.
Details you can add to your wording
When you edit an email paragraph or a text, Insert field (Insert Field for texts) adds a detail that’s filled in for each booking. Emails and texts don’t take quite the same ones:
- Emails and texts: [FIRST_NAME], [LAST_NAME], [DATE], [TIME], [GUESTS] and [REF], the booking reference.
- Your venue’s name: [RESTAURANT] in emails, [RESTAURANT_NAME] in texts.
- Emails only: [DURATION], how long the table is held.
- Texts only: [PHONE], your venue’s phone number.
A field in the wrong place, such as [PHONE] or [RESTAURANT_NAME] in an email, or [DURATION] in a text, reaches the guest as the field name itself. Picking from the list keeps you safe.
Checking and resending
Open the booking and go to Messages to see every email and text sent for it; click one to read it. To send the confirmation email again, click Send email and choose Reservation confirmation. To text the guest, click Send SMS: its Booking reminder button sends the reminder by hand.
In NomNom Web: open the booking → Messages. In the phone app: open the booking → Messages tab → Send Email or Send SMS.
Good to know
- Moving a booking yourself to a new date or time emails the guest an updated confirmation, and sends a new confirmation text if those are on.
- Automatic texts only go between 7am and 10pm, your venue’s time. Anything due overnight waits until the morning.
- Bookings brought over from your old system get reminder texts but no confirmation text.
- Your own copy. You’re sent a copy of each confirmation email unless you turn off Copy my restaurant on confirmations on the Confirmation tab.
- After the visit, a follow-up email can ask how it went: see Ask guests for a Google or Tripadvisor review.