Operator guide
How a conversation flows
Follow a single enquiry from the customer's first message to a confirmed calendar event, and see the two moments where you step in.
Enquiry and first reply
A customer messages your customer-facing bot. Within a second or two they receive your item prompt— the message asking what they need. They reply with a description and, ideally, photos.
The item forward
Their item description lands in your internal channel, posted by your internal bot. The message carries a header identifying the customer and the conversation, like [Jane @janedoe · chat=12345]. If the customer sent photos, each one is forwarded as its own post so your team can see exactly what the job involves.
Setting a quote
To quote, use Telegram's Reply feature on the forwarded post in your internal channel and type the price — for example $250. reply-chain relays it to the customer as a quote message asking them to reply YES to confirm or NO to decline.
Reply to the right message
Confirmation and the booking form
When the customer replies YES, the bot takes over again:
- It acknowledges the confirmation.
- It sends your booking form as a single prompt listing every field.
- The customer replies in one message; reply-chain reads it and maps the answers onto your fields, then acknowledges completion.
If they reply NO, the conversation closes quietly — no further follow-up.
Calendar booking and conflicts
With the details collected, reply-chain books the requested slot on your connected calendar. If that slot is free, the customer gets a booking- confirmed message and the event appears on your calendar.
If the slot clashes with something already on your calendar, reply-chain runs a short back-and-forth with the customer to find an alternative — covered in Automated follow-ups & timeouts.