What it is
When a caller wants a showroom visit, a test drive, a service appointment or a pickup, Aria checks your real free times during the call, offers one or two, and books the time the caller clearly says yes to. She then reads the exact day and time back.
She books for every caller, whether or not they have called before. Calls Aria makes herself (Aria Campaign calls and calls from an Aria note) book the same way for the person called.
How to use it
- Make sure Aria can book: opening hours (and Settings → Booking), live rules that allow Book appointments, and the Aria switch on Ask first or Autopilot.
- In Aria Lab, the agent that answers the number has both Availability check and Book appointments under Permitted tools, published.
- On the call, Aria reads free times from the day the caller asks for (or from today) through the next seven days, and offers one or two.
- Before she books, she asks for the caller's name if they haven't given it and says it back to confirm it.
- When the caller clearly says yes, she books it. On Autopilot she says, for example, "You're all set: your test drive is booked for Saturday, October 18 at 10:00 AM." It appears in Visits → Appointments.
- On Ask first she says the time was sent to the team to approve and isn't confirmed yet. Approve it in Visits → Action review or My Work → Needs your decision.
- When she can't book, she saves an Appointment request from a phone call task in My Work first, then tells the caller. A team member calls back and books it with + Book appointment in Visits.
What the data means
New callers. If the caller's number isn't a contact yet, Aria saves a new contact with that number and the confirmed name just before she books. Its source note says Source: phone call, and the number isn't verified. A second call from the same number uses that contact.
Several contacts on one number. She books for the one with a conversation at that location when only one has one. Otherwise she doesn't guess: the task tells your team to pick the right contact.
Hidden caller ID. It can't become a contact, so the request goes to your team.
The hand-off reply. When she can't book, the caller hears: "I couldn't book that just now, so I've passed your request for Saturday, October 18 at 10:00 AM to the team, and they'll confirm a time with you." If even the task couldn't be saved, she says she couldn't book or pass it on and offers to take a message. She never says a time is booked unless it was.
Possible issues and fixes
A caller agreed a time but nothing is in Visits
Symptom: The caller and Aria agreed a time, but Visits → Appointments is empty.
Why: On Ask first it waits for approval. Otherwise the booking was refused (resources, live rules, a time that wasn't free) or the right contact wasn't clear.
Fix: Check Visits → Action review first. Then open the Appointment request from a phone call task in My Work, call the customer and book with + Book appointment.
How to check: The appointment shows in Visits → Appointments and the task is done.
Calls only ever create tasks
Symptom: Every call booking ends as a task.
Why: The agent on the number lacks Availability check or Book appointments, there are no booking resources, or the live rules don't allow booking.
Fix: An Owner turns on both tools and publishes, adds resources, and ticks Book appointments in the live rules.
How to check: A test call from another phone ends with "You're all set".
Aria didn't book after the caller said stop
Symptom: The caller asked Aria to stop the transcript, then agreed a time, and only a task was made.
Why: After a stop request nothing more is heard or kept, so the caller's yes can't be checked. The team confirms the time instead.
Fix: Call the customer back and book with + Book appointment.
How to check: The appointment shows in Visits.
