An AI phone assistant answers in your restaurant’s name, so it should be held to the standard of your best employee on the phone. These are the ten questions worth asking any provider, with Ordero’s answers alongside.
1. Does it say it is an automated assistant?
Callers deserve to know who they are talking to. Ordero’s greeting names your restaurant and says it is the automated ordering assistant.
2. How does it handle call recording?
New Jersey law lets a party to a phone call, or someone with the consent of one party, record it, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’s guide to N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2A:156A-3 and -4. Callers from other states may be covered by stricter rules, so telling every caller at the start is the safe and honest default. Ordero’s greeting says the call may be recorded. This is general information, not legal advice.
3. Does it know your real menu?
Ask it for a large half-and-half with extra cheese on one side, and for something you do not sell. A good assistant sells from your menu as it is: sizes, toppings, extras and prices, and never what you switched off. Ordero reads your menu from a PDF, photos, a spreadsheet or Clover, and you check every item before it is saved.
4. Can a caller always reach a person?
Some calls need a human: a complaint, a large catering order, a delivery gone wrong. Ordero passes the call to your staff whenever the caller asks for a person.
5. What happens after hours?
An assistant that takes orders while the kitchen is closed makes angry customers. Ordero knows your opening hours and tells callers when you open next.
6. Where do the orders go?
With Ordero, the order, the call and its transcript are in your panel the moment the call ends. If you run Clover, Ordero brings your menu over from it, and it only reads from Clover, never changing anything there.
7. Does it speak your callers’ languages?
About a third of New Jersey residents speak a language other than English at home. Ordero speaks English, Spanish, Turkish, German, French, Arabic, Korean and Hindi, and switches when the caller does.
8. What happens in the rush?
A single line that gives a busy signal on Friday night saves you nothing. Ordero takes several calls at the same time.
9. What exactly will you pay?
Per minute, per call, per order or a flat plan, and is there a commission? Ordero is a flat monthly plan with calls included every day. A call of up to five minutes counts as one; a longer call counts as two. There is no commission on orders, setup is $299 once (free on annual plans) and the first month is half price.
| Plan | A month | Calls a day | Each call over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counter | $500 | 100 | $0.55 |
| Kitchen | $750 | 225 | $0.50 |
| Rush | $1,000 | 300 | $0.45 |
10. Can you hear it before you sign?
Call the demo line, +1 (516) 724-9773, open around the clock, and order like a customer. Then try to confuse it. When you are ready, getting started takes a few minutes and no card.
Questions and answers
Is it legal to record restaurant phone calls in New Jersey?
New Jersey lets a party to a call, or someone with one party’s consent, record it, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2A:156A-3, -4). Telling callers at the start is still the best practice, and Ordero’s greeting does. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does an AI phone assistant replace restaurant staff?
It takes the calls your staff cannot get to, and the routine ones, so people can stay on the food and the customers in front of them. Calls that need a person still go to your staff.
How much does Ordero cost?
From $500 a month with 100 calls a day included, $750 for 225 calls a day or $1,000 for 300. Extra calls are $0.55, $0.50 or $0.45. No commission on orders.
Sources
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Reporter’s Recording Guide: New Jersey
- USAFacts How many people speak a language other than English at home in New Jersey?
Figures were checked against these sources in October 2026. What Ordero does is described as it works today.