Handling customer inquiries and booking requests online
A good inquiry has everything you need to reply in one message: who it is, how to reach them, what they want, and when. Most websites collect a name and a paragraph and leave you to chase the rest. This guide covers a setup that collects the right details, keeps them in one place, and leaves the decisions to you.
Who does what
Avallon handles
- Contact forms that work on publish, with submissions saved and emailed to you
- An assistant that asks for the details you specify before ending the conversation
- Booking requests recorded with service, preferred date, and time
- One inbox for form submissions and assistant conversations, with CSV export
You provide
- Decide what a complete inquiry needs (postal code, vehicle, room count, photos)
- Reply and confirm times with the customer
- Keep hours and service area current so answers stay right
Outside the platform
- Checking your real calendar for availability
- Sending confirmations or reminders to customers
- Automatic follow-up with people who did not respond
Decide what a complete inquiry looks like
Write down the three or four things you always ask before quoting. For a painter it might be the number of rooms, whether ceilings are included, and the neighbourhood. For a detailer, the vehicle and the package. Put that list in the assistant’s instructions and in the form fields, and you stop paying the "can you tell me a bit more?" tax on every lead.
Forms and the assistant do different jobs
A form is best when the customer already knows what they want and just needs to send it. The assistant is best when the customer has a question first. Keep both: a short form on the contact page, and the assistant available on every page. Both land in the same inbox.
Booking requests, not bookings
When a customer asks for a time, the assistant records a request: the service, a preferred date and time, and contact details. It tells the customer the business will confirm. It does not check your calendar, and it does not tell the customer the slot is theirs. You confirm by replying, which keeps double bookings and no-shows in your hands rather than a script’s.
If you use a booking tool today, keep using it and link to it from the site. The assistant can point customers there.
A daily routine that works
- Open the inbox once in the morning and once after the last job
- Reply to booking requests first; they are the most time-sensitive
- Skim transcripts for questions the assistant could not answer, and add the answer to your instructions or FAQ
- Export to CSV monthly if you keep records elsewhere
Limitations to know
- Notifications are email only; there is no SMS or push notification.
- The assistant does not send messages to customers after the conversation ends.
- Availability rules are written instructions, not a calendar integration; the assistant can state your hours but cannot see your bookings.
Questions owners ask
No, by design. It records the request and tells the customer you will confirm. Confirming remains a decision you make with your calendar in front of you.
To the Forms tab for that site in your dashboard, and to your email.
Yes. Pause the assistant from the dashboard. Forms keep working unless you remove them from the page.
Next step
Free to start. You review everything before it is published.
