Flow:1 Bot: When would you like to book a reservation? (We are only open from 7pm to 10pm)
User: At 8pm
Bot: You have reserved 4 seats in our AC section for 8pm. Thanks! Flow:2 Bot: When would you like to book a reservation? (We are only open from 7pm to 10pm)
Step 4 (Assuminig conversation time is 5pm)
User: In half an hour
Bot: We are not open at that time. We are only open from 7pm to 10pm
Bot: When would you like to book a reservation? (We are only open from 7pm to 10pm)
Explanation
The system needs the number of seats, section and time from the user to book a reservation.
Flow 1
In step 1, the user only expresses an intent to reserve a table, without providing any additional information. Hence, the bot goes on to ask the three required pieces of information from the user in steps 2, 3 and 4. In step 2, it extracts the required number of seats (2) from the given user inputs (2 seats). In step 4, it extracts the reservation time (7:10pm + 30 mins → 7:30pm slot) based on the relative time input by the user (‘In half an hour’). For understanding why the bot outputs 7:30 pm instead of 7:40 pm, please refer to the specification section. The flow ends with the bot summarizing the details of the reservation.
Flow 2
In step 1, the user expresses the intent to reserve a table as well as the number of seats. The bot detects the intent as well as extracts the number of seats (4) from the user input. Hence, the bot directly skips to asking the next required information - the section. In step 4, when the user asks to boot the slot ni half an hour, the bot computes the time to be 5 pm + 30 mins = 5:30 pm. Since the restaurant is not open at this time, the bot responds accordingly and repeats the previous question. When the user inputs an acceptable time (7:30 pm), the bot proceeds with the booking. The flow ends with the bot summarizing the details of the reservation
Specification
Inputs required for booking
- number of seats: integer / text. Eg. 2, two
- section: button click / text. Eg. Clicking on AC button, AC (in text form)
- time: relative / absolute time. Eg. 7pm, 7:30 pm, In half an hour
The above inputs can be provided by the user step by step or even in the initial request itself. Eg. I want to book 3 AC rooms at 7:30pm. Only the inputs not provided by the user in the initial request should be asked via prompts from the bot.
The restaurant accepts reservations for 30 minutue intervals between 7pm to 10pm each day. Hence, a reservation can be booked for 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm, …, 9:30pm. Any times occuring between these intervals should be rounded down. Eg. a request for a reservation at 7:50pm should be booked at 7:30pm.
After accepting all inputs from the user, the bot should summarize the booking information