Joep compared with a receptionist and an answering service
A receptionist answers and holds the conversation; an answering service takes a message. Joep is an AI receptionist that holds the conversation itself and processes the result: the receipt out of your printer, the reservation booked. This is the difference, part by part.
Facts checked on
| Aspect | Joep | Receptionist or answering service |
|---|---|---|
| When it is busy | Joep: Takes several calls at the same time, at peak hours too. Nobody hears a busy tone. | Receptionist or answering service: A receptionist holds one call at a time; an answering service takes a message that you call back later. |
| What happens to the order or reservation | Joep: Processed at once: the receipt comes out of your printer or the reservation is booked, with a confirmation to your customer on WhatsApp or by email. | Receptionist or answering service: A note or an email that you still process and call back yourself. |
| Knowledge of your venue | Joep: Knows your menu, prices, opening hours and delivery rules from your portal, including today’s change. | Receptionist or answering service: Has to be trained, and brought up to date with every change. |
| Cost | Joep: €100 per month, no per-call or per-order charges. No setup fee: snack bars and cafeterias set Joep up themselves, restaurants we set up together at no cost. | Receptionist or answering service: A receptionist costs wages per hour; an answering service usually charges per call or per minute. |
| Availability | Joep: Always, outside your opening hours too: then Joep notes a call-back request or says when you open. | Receptionist or answering service: Within the hours you agree. |
| Languages | Joep: Dutch and English; German and French on request. Joep switches when a caller does not speak your main language. | Receptionist or answering service: Depends on who answers. |
| Honesty towards the caller | Joep: Joep says on every call that he is an AI assistant, as the EU AI Act requires. | Receptionist or answering service: A human, and the caller hears that. |
| Privacy | Joep: GDPR, data in the EU, a data processing agreement included with your subscription. | Receptionist or answering service: Depends on the provider and on what you agree. |
Which fits when?
Joep fits a venue whose phone is mostly about ordering, reserving and the questions around them, and where the rush is the problem. If your phone is mostly about things a human has to judge, a receptionist is the better choice, or a combination: Joep answers and puts the caller through to your number for what you want to do yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Can I combine Joep with answering myself or with a receptionist?
Yes. You forward your number to Joep when you want: always, only when you do not pick up yourself, or only at busy times. Your phone provider sets that. For topics you choose, such as complaints or large orders, Joep puts the caller through to your number.
What if Joep does not know something?
Then he says so honestly, notes a call-back request with name and phone number, and you hear about it at once.
How fast can Joep start?
A snack bar or cafeteria sets Joep up itself in the portal and tries him for 7 days for free, with no payment details up front. A restaurant plans a demo; after that we set Joep up together.