Restaurant
Call waiter / request bill
Diner-side bell button → operator inbox.
Hot Actions are the customer-side requests that fly from a diner's phone to your operator inbox in real-time. The classic three: Call Waiter, Request Bill, Clean Table. You can define any custom type beyond these.
Two surfaces, easy to confuse
| Surface | What it does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Action Types | Defines what types exist for your brand (the registry) | Brand-level — sidebar, NOT inside a store |
| Hot Actions tab | The live inbox showing diner requests | Inside each store's tabs |
Define types once at the brand level → they appear as buttons on every menu page. Live requests show up in the inbox tab of the store the request came from.
How to set up types
Step 1 — Define the types
Sidebar → Restaurant → Hot Action Types. Tap the icon you want (bell, water, hand, etc.), enter a label ("Call Waiter"), tap + Add.
Step 2 — Pick which stores expose the type
Each type can be active at specific stores. Useful when you have 3 locations but only 1 has table service. Tap the store chips below each type to toggle.
Step 3 — Test from a diner phone
Open /menu/<your-slug> on a phone. Tap the floating bell button at bottom-left. Pick a type. You should see a green "Request sent" toast.
The operator workflow
When a diner taps a Hot Action button:
- Within 10 seconds, the request appears in your store's Hot Actions tab
- A two-note chime plays (mute toggle persists per device)
- Page title flashes "(1) New request · Drentio Dashboard"
- Sidebar badge shows the count from any restaurant page
When you're free, click the row:
- On it — tells the diner you saw it (acknowledged)
- Done — mark resolved when you've handled it
- ✕ — cancel a false alarm
Put the operator dashboard on a tablet at the host stand. With the sidebar badge visible from any page (orders, KDS, even billing), you can't miss a request. Plus the sound + title flash mean it works even when you're focused on a different tab.
What's NOT built (yet)
- ❌ Browser push notifications (when no dashboard tab is open)
- ❌ PWA / mobile push (for floor staff phones)
- ❌ SMS to a configured number
Coming on roadmap. For now, the dashboard-open-somewhere model covers ~90% of real restaurant operations.