FAQ

Every question, answered honestly.

No guessed answers here either — organised by topic, so you can jump straight to the part you're curious about.

Answering the call

Who answers first — Bubo or my team? Do I decide?

Yes, entirely your call. You can have Bubo answer every call, only outside business hours, only when your line is busy, or any mix of those — it's a setting, not a fixed rule.

How many languages does it actually support?

70+ — not a fixed shortlist. The caller picks theirs at the start of the call, or you add a language yourself if you need one that isn't already set up.

Does it sound robotic, reading out times and prices?

No — it speaks naturally. Times, dates, and amounts are spoken the way a person would say them, not read out digit by digit.

If the same person calls again, do they have to pick their language every time?

No. A returning caller is automatically routed to the language they used last time — no re-selecting.

Does it only answer during business hours?

No — it answers even when you're closed: after hours, mid-service, or on a day off, the phone still gets picked up.

Reservations

Can I keep using my current reservation system?

Yes — Bubo can integrate directly with the reservation or POS software you already use. You're not required to switch to Bubo's own tool.

What if it books a table or slot that's already taken?

It can't — availability locks the instant it's checked. Two callers can never claim the same table, slot, or window; there's no gap between "available" and "booked" for someone else to slip through.

What happens when you're fully booked?

It offers a real alternative time instead of turning the caller away — and it only ever offers what's genuinely free. It never invents an open slot.

Do all bookings need my manual approval?

No — small groups confirm automatically. You set the group-size threshold yourself; anything above that routes to you for approval before it's confirmed.

Can a caller add a special request after their booking is already made?

Yes. Notes like "window seat, please" can be added after the fact — they still get through even once the booking already exists.

Can I check how booked up a future date is, not just today?

Yes — you can see today's occupancy and also look ahead via the calendar to check how full any upcoming date is.

Does it handle overnight service or a cutoff before closing?

Yes. Overnight service past midnight is supported, and a "last seating" rule stops new bookings once they'd fall too close to closing. Exception days (holidays, special hours) are also supported.

How does it avoid wasting seats when a large group books?

It uses your table inventory intelligently rather than grabbing the first tables that fit. For example, a party of 10 against one 8-top, one 4-top, and one 2-top: a naive system takes the 8 and the 4 (seating 12 for a party of 10, wasting 2 seats); Bubo takes the 8 and the 2 — exactly 10 seats — leaving the 4-top free for the next booking.

Orders & Payment

Can it invent a menu item or a price that doesn't exist?

No — every item is matched against your real menu. It never invents an item name or a price.

Are phone orders confirmed automatically?

No — orders wait for your approval before they're confirmed. You can still adjust items or prices before approving.

How does it handle delivery addresses?

It reads the address back to the caller, piece by piece, to confirm it before the order is placed.

What if my menu prices change after an order was placed?

It doesn't matter — the price locks at the moment of the order. A later menu change never touches a past order.

How does the customer actually pay?

A secure payment link is sent over WhatsApp right after the call. Deposits and pre-payment are supported.

Answering your questions

How does it know what to say about my business?

From "knowledge cards" you enter yourself — hours, address, parking, allergen info, anything else you want it to know. It answers from these instantly.

Can it read out my menu to a caller?

Yes, and it can describe ingredients and allergen information when asked.

Can it tell a caller the price of something?

Yes — straight from your actual menu or price list, not an estimate.

What happens if someone asks something it genuinely doesn't know?

It says so honestly rather than guessing. The question gets logged and the caller is told you'll follow up.

The closed loop

If it doesn't know an answer once, will it keep not knowing it?

No — this is the one place the system actually improves on its own. When a caller asks something outside what's on file, the question is logged and sent to you on WhatsApp (nothing is guessed in the moment). You add the answer as a knowledge card with one tap. Every caller after that who asks the same thing gets the answer instantly — the same gap never costs you twice.

Staying in touch

What kinds of WhatsApp notifications does it send?

Four kinds in total, and each one reaches the right person in the right language — the customer gets theirs in their language, you get yours in yours.

How do the no-show reminders work?

On your terms — you set the timing window yourself, quiet hours are respected (nothing goes out at 6am), and a booking made minutes ago never gets a redundant reminder.

Can customers book without calling?

Yes — bookings also open on your own website, not just by phone. Customers can also view, change, or cancel their own booking themselves.

Does it follow up with customers after their visit?

Yes — it can ask for feedback once the experience is over.

Running your floor

Is there a screen I actually look at during service?

Yes — a live daily operations screen showing bookings in time order and today's load at a glance.

How do I know if something needs my attention?

There's a dedicated queue for approvals and unanswered questions, so nothing waiting on you gets lost in the noise.

How is customer/guest history tracked?

Arrived, no-show, and unmarked are tracked as separate states — an unmarked visit is never silently counted as a successful one. VIPs are flagged automatically.

Can I add a booking manually myself?

Yes — manual bookings are supported too, with a warning if you try to add one outside your normal hours.

Honest reporting

What kind of reports do I get?

Six report groups, covering missed business, arrivals and no-shows, call analysis, demand patterns, channel and language mix, and after-hours calls — all built from what actually happened, not projections.

Can the reports mislead me with too little data?

They're designed not to — there's a built-in warning whenever a sample is too small to draw a reliable pattern from.

Is there a record of who changed what in the system?

Yes — a full audit trail. Every change is logged, with the old value shown next to the new one, permanently.

Are calls recorded?

Every call is recorded and summarised, with duration and outcome — and flagged if it turned into a booking.

Secure foundation

Do you record and store calls?

Call audio is processed to understand and respond to the caller. Whether recordings are retained — and for how long — is a setting your business controls, described in our Privacy Policy.

Who can access my customers' data?

Only your business (as the data controller) and Tuva Euro B.V.'s vetted subprocessors who help deliver the Service — never sold, never shared for marketing.

What happens if there's a data breach?

We follow GDPR's mandatory breach notification requirements — affected businesses are informed without undue delay, along with the relevant details and remediation steps.

Is my data used to train AI models?

No. Call content is never used to train third-party general-purpose AI models.

Can I request my data be deleted?

Yes, at any time — contact us and we'll process the request in line with the retention and deletion terms in our Privacy Policy.

Could my data ever get mixed up with another business's?

No — businesses are isolated at the database level, not just behind a login screen. There's no shared query that could ever surface one business's data inside another's.

Could someone access or cancel a booking that isn't theirs?

No — booking lookups and cancellations only work from the real phone number that made the booking. A number simply spoken out loud can't be used to reach someone else's.

Is my customers' data protected in storage?

Phone numbers are masked in every record, and card data is never stored, without exception.

Does the whole team have to work in English?

No — the staff panel is fully multilingual (Turkish, Dutch, English, German), so your team can work in their own language too.

Do I have to use every feature, or just what I need?

Just what you need — the system is modular, and you only switch on what you use.

Getting started & billing

How long does setup take?

Integrations are typically completed within 3 business days of receiving your menu, hours, and any FAQ information — and you test it with a real call before it goes live.

Is there a setup fee?

Yes, a one-time €149 setup fee applies when you start. This covers onboarding Bubo to your business — your menu, hours, and any integrations.

Do unused minutes roll over?

Yes — unused minutes roll over for up to 2 months.

What happens if I go over my minutes?

Extra minutes are billed at €0.29/minute — Bubo never stops answering, you're simply billed for the overage at the end of the month.

Can I choose which 2 languages are included?

Yes, all plans include 2 languages of your choice as standard. Need more? Additional languages are €29/month each.

Is the reservation dashboard really free?

Yes — free for every plan until December 31, 2026. After that it's €49/month, and we'll notify you in advance before anything changes.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. You can cancel anytime with one month's notice.

Still have a question? Get in touch — or see Features for the full mechanism-by-mechanism breakdown.

Ready to see it work for you

We'll set it up around how your business actually runs.

Send us your menu and listing, pick a time — we'll come to the call with Bubo already trained on your business.

Book your demo