Follow up on a private dining quote gone quiet

The prompt

Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and fill in each part in [BRACKETS]. Restaurant owners and whoever books private events.

Copy prompt

I run a restaurant. I sent a quote for a private event and the guest has gone quiet. I want to follow up without sounding pushy, and without changing anything in the quote.

What I have:
- The guest's original inquiry: [EVENT INQUIRY]
- What my quote said in a few lines, with the amounts left out: the date, the room, the menu and what holds the date: [QUOTE SUMMARY]
- When I sent it and anything they have said since: [WHAT HAS HAPPENED]
- How long I can hold the date, in my own words: [DATE HOLD]
- How I sound with guests: [MY TONE]

What I want:
1. Write a short follow-up that names their event and the quote I sent.
2. Mention one detail from their inquiry so it does not read like a form letter.
3. Say plainly how long I can hold the date, from what I wrote.
4. Give them one easy next step: a reply, a call or a time to walk the room.
5. Write a second, shorter note I could send if this one also gets no answer.

Rules:
- Write a draft for me to read. Do not send anything.
- Use only what I gave you. If something is missing, ask me instead of guessing.
- Never change the quote, offer a discount or add to the menu. Any change to a number is mine.
- Do not invent other parties asking about the date to hurry them.
- Leave out guests' card details and anything about their health.

Give me back:
- The follow-up, ready for me to edit
- A shorter second follow-up
- Anything you would ask me before I send it

When to use it

You sent a quote for a rehearsal dinner, a holiday party or the back room, and a week or two has gone by with no reply.

When not to

Do not use it to offer a discount, lower a minimum or release the date. If the guest pushes back on price, that answer is yours.

What to paste in

• [EVENT INQUIRY]: The guest's first message, without their last name, phone number or email address.
• [QUOTE SUMMARY]: The date, room, menu and how the date is held, in a few lines, without the amounts.
• [WHAT HAS HAPPENED]: When the quote went out and any reply or call since.
• [DATE HOLD]: How long you will hold the date before you open it to others, in your own words.
• [MY TONE]: Three or four words for how you sound, or a note you have sent before that you liked.

Never paste

• The guest's last name, phone number, email address or card details
• Anything a guest told you about an allergy or their health

A filled-in example

EVENT INQUIRY: Hello, we're looking at your back room for my parents' 40th anniversary dinner on Saturday, March 7, about 25 guests. My mom loves your short rib.
QUOTE SUMMARY: Back room, Saturday March 7, 6 to 9 pm; plated dinner with a choice of short rib, salmon or mushroom risotto; date held with a signed agreement and a deposit.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED: Quote sent February 3. No reply since.
DATE HOLD: I can hold March 7 until February 20, then I open the room to other bookings.
MY TONE: Gracious, warm, no pressure.

What you should get back

• A short follow-up that names their event and the quote you sent
• One detail from their inquiry, so it reads like you wrote it
• The date hold stated plainly, with no made-up pressure
• A shorter second note, and no change to any number

What stays with you

The prompt writes a draft. You decide what happens to it, and nothing should reach a guest until you have read it. Decisions about money stay with a person every time, and so do health questions and complaints. When KeenHand builds a routine like this, every message carries the same four decisions: Automate, Approve, Revise, Reject.

Related

• Answer a catering inquiry from your own menu. A same-day first reply to a catering inquiry that names what your menu can do and asks for the details you need before you set the quote.
• Reply to a large-party reservation request. A reply to a big-table request that offers only the times your large-party rules allow and says what the guest needs to do to hold the table.
• Answer a gift card or refund question. A clear, kind reply to a guest asking about a gift card that will not scan, a lost card or a charge they question, written around the decision you made.

More: every prompt for restaurants, quotes and money, and AI for restaurants.

Which three fit your restaurant?

The free quiz scores your restaurant on sixteen things and picks the three prompts aimed at your three lowest. It takes about three minutes.

Take the quiz