How to let guests call the waiter from the table

What the Call waiter button at the bottom of the table page is

Calling the waiter from the table is an optional button at the bottom of the page the guest opens by scanning the table QR code — the same page where they watch their order move from Preparing to Ready. Above the button sits the line "Need something? Just call." and, with one tap, qmen.us picks a waiter and sends the alert right away, without going through you or the kitchen. The guest doesn't sign in or install anything: it all happens in their phone's browser.

What keeps this feature from turning into chaos is the proximity check. The guest's browser compares their position with your restaurant's saved coordinates and only shows the button if they're within a few hundred meters — that's why an address with a pin on the map is required. Anyone who opens the link from home, or who denies location permission, simply doesn't see the button. And the call is a live alert, not a record: it flashes on the waiter's screen, disappears after a few seconds and isn't saved anywhere.

Why let guests call the waiter from the table

• No more waving into thin air. The guest handles it with one tap on the screen they're already looking at to follow their order, and knows right away the message went out — the confirmation shows the name of the person who was called.
• The call goes to one person, not everyone. The system picks, among the active waiters, the one with the fewest open orders at that moment. That way the whole dining room doesn't stop for one table, and whoever is swamped doesn't get another task.
• Only people in the dining room can call. The location check compares the guest's phone with your restaurant's pin on the map. A link shared in the family group chat won't turn into a prank on your team.
• The waiter feels the call, no need to see it. On their phone the alert vibrates three times and lights up a banner on top of any screen in the app, even if they were taking another table's order.
• It's an on/off switch. Too packed to keep up? Uncheck the option in Settings and the button disappears from all tables. No need to touch the menu, a table or any printed QR code.

How to turn on table calls in 6 steps

Five minutes of setup and one test in the dining room. From the address on the map to the waiter's phone vibrating right in front of you.

1. Open your restaurant's Settings

   On the Dashboard, tap the gear icon at the top — it's the shortcut to Settings. Everything this feature needs is on that same screen, in two different sections: General and Location.

2. Add your address under Location

   Scroll down to the Location section and start typing in the Address field. Pick one of the suggestions that appear and, if the pin landed off, drag it on the map to your front door. The coordinates the system saves come from that pin — without them, the call button never shows up for guests, even with the switch on.

3. Check the switch under General

   Go back to the General section and look for Let guests call the waiter from the table. It comes turned on for new restaurants, so most of the time you just need to check it. Right below it, the system itself notes that the button only appears for guests who are in the restaurant. Tap Save at the bottom of the screen.

4. Have at least one active waiter

   A call needs someone to receive it. Under Waiters, make sure there's at least one active waiter — the virtual waiter from self-ordering doesn't count, because it doesn't serve tables. If there's no active waiter, the guest taps the button and gets back the message Couldn't call right now.

5. Test with your phone inside the dining room

   Grab your phone, scan the Table QR code and allow location when the browser asks. Once it confirms you're a few meters from the pin on the map, a card appears at the bottom of the page with the text Need something? Just call. and the Call waiter button. Tap it: a short message pops up saying who was notified, something like "We've let Ana know — someone will be right with you."

6. Watch the alert reach the waiter's phone

   At that same moment, on the chosen waiter's phone, the waiter app vibrates and lights up a banner reading Table 4 is calling!, with an OK button to dismiss it. If nobody taps it, it goes away on its own after 20 seconds. The name shown is the number or nickname you gave the table.

   Tip: The alert travels in real time, so it only arrives if the waiter app is open on screen. It's worth agreeing on this with your team: phone in the pocket, qmen.us page open, screen not locking in the middle of a shift.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Table QR code

The code printed on the table that guests scan with their phone, no sign-in needed.

Table

Each spot in the dining room registered in the system, with its own QR code for opening orders.

Waiter

The person who takes orders on a phone at the waiter URL, using the staff password.

Waiter app

The ordering page each waiter opens through the restaurant's own link, right in the phone's browser.

Shift

A status that shows whether a waiter is working the floor right now, switched on their card between On shift and Off shift.

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