Five requests your business loses every evening, and how to keep them

I grew up in a bakery. The phone often rang long after the shop door was closed, and mostly nobody picked up any more. Today it rings less. Instead the questions arrive by website, WhatsApp and e-mail, right when you have finished for the day. Here are five requests I see in almost every small business, and what you can do about them.

1. The evening question

Someone wants to know whether you are open on Saturday, whether you have gluten-free bread or whether you also repair e-bikes. They look at your website, cannot find the answer, call, and nobody picks up. The next day they ask your competitor.

The fix: write down the ten questions you hear most often and answer them on your website, clearly visible, one sentence per question. Opening hours, holidays, prices, parking, ways to pay.

What is on your website, nobody has to ask you on the phone.

2. The order after closing time

At 21:40 someone thinks of the plaited loaf for tomorrow morning's birthday. You cannot be reached, so in the morning they buy something else somewhere else. The sale was there; it just never reached you.

The fix: take orders in writing, even while you sleep. That can be a simple order form that sends you an e-mail, or an ordering path with payment by TWINT. Only one thing matters: the customer knows right away that the order has arrived and when she can collect it.

3. The rescheduled appointment

A customer cannot make it tomorrow. He does not want to bother you, so he simply does not come. Your chair stays empty and the hour is lost.

The fix: make rescheduling easy. Send a short reminder the day before, with a link where people can choose a new time themselves. Whoever can cancel easily cancels instead of staying away. And you can still fill the gap.

4. The question in another language

In Switzerland your customers ask in German, French, Italian, English and many other languages. Whoever cannot ask their question, or cannot understand the answer, moves on, often without you noticing.

The fix: offer the essentials at least in English and in the second language of your region. A short sentence on the website already helps: «Feel free to write to us in your language.» For the reply, a good translation tool is often enough.

5. The «We will call you back» that never happens

The message on the answering machine, the note next to the till. The next morning the shop is full, the call-back slips to the day after, and at some point it is forgotten. Not out of ill will, but because the day only has so many hours.

The fix: a request must never live only in your head. Keep every call-back in one single place, a list for instance, and reserve a fixed quarter of an hour a day for it. Better still if the simple answer needs no call-back at all.

That is exactly why we built the Betriebs-Assistent. It works on your website, answers questions in any language, takes appointments or orders depending on the package, and in the morning passes on to you whatever needs a human. Whether you start with it or with a list on paper matters less than taking the first step.

The first step

Take one evening this week and count along: how many calls, messages and e-mails arrive after closing time? The number shows you where your time and your customers go. And if you want to know how much time you could win back, start with the Index Check: 15 questions, about 3 minutes.