Custom orders in a shop: how an AI agent handles them
A custom order might be a wedding bouquet, an engraved piece of jewelry or a gift basket: many details, a firm date and often a deposit. This guide follows the whole journey the way Zoé, the Orvel agent for shops and retail businesses, prepares it, from the first request to the loyal customer. Zoé prepares and follows up; you decide, set the prices and approve.
Why custom orders get lost
A custom order arrives through a Facebook message, a phone call or a slip of paper left at the counter. Without a file, the date, the budget or the size gets forgotten. And when the big holidays arrive (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Christmas), everyone orders at once: the shop overflows, with no order list and no reminders sent in advance.
The journey below has eight stages: Request, Quote or special order, Deposit received, In preparation, Ready, Delivered or picked up, Review requested, Loyal customer. Each stage has its own task and template message, so nothing depends on one employee's memory.
Stage 1: every request gets a same-day answer
As soon as a new file is created, the rule "Reply to the new request" generates a task due by the next day at the latest. Zoé first sends a text message acknowledging the request: thank you, could you tell us the occasion, the date you want and your approximate budget?
The answers feed the customer's file. The goal is to forget nothing that matters for the order.
- Occasion and date of the event or handover
- Approximate budget
- Preferences: colors, materials, sizes, allergies
- Handover method: pickup or delivery
- Delivery address and the person receiving it
Stage 2: the quote, the follow-up and the freed date
You prepare the proposal. Zoé sends it by email in a message that states the details, the total price and the handover date, along with the deposit, cancellation and refund terms, before any payment. She does not set prices or terms herself.
Three days later, a follow-up task is created: did the customer have time to look at the proposal, and do they have questions? Zoé then sends a courteous text message noting that the date is held until the customer replies. If the file stays inactive for seven days at this stage, a final follow-up is requested and, with no answer, you are notified so you can release the date. The agent never deletes anything on its own.
Stages 3 and 4: deposit received, then preparation
Once the deposit is recorded, Zoé sends a confirmation email: the order is confirmed and the date is reserved. The related task asks you to restate the agreed terms and to note every detail: materials, colors, size, message. The file also keeps track of what has been paid and what remains.
At the In preparation stage, two days after the file moves there, a task calls for confirming the address, the delivery window or the pickup time a few days before the date. The reminder text states the planned handover and invites the customer to reply to confirm the address or change the window.
Stages 5 to 8: ready, handover, review, loyalty
When the order is ready, the customer is notified the same day by text, with the option of coming to pick it up during your opening hours or waiting for the delivery confirmation. After the handover, a thank-you message with a review request goes out three days later. The same message goes to every customer, never only to those you expect to be happy.
Finally, at the Loyal customer stage, Zoé offers to record important dates (birthdays, celebrations), only with the customer's agreement. If consent is valid, a reminder can go out ahead of last year's occasion, or ahead of a big holiday, with an unsubscribe link.
What Zoé never does
The safeguards are simple and not negotiable. Zoé never guarantees that an item is in stock. She promises no delivery date and confirms no price without your approval. She hands over to a person for a complaint, a refund or any delicate request.
She also never writes promotions to someone whose file does not show consent. The human decides; the agent prepares, reminds and keeps the record.
A clear eight-stage journey prevents oversights, especially as the big holidays approach. Zoé keeps the file and the follow-ups; you keep the decisions and the prices.
General information, not legal advice. Check with your professional order or the official source.
Questions
Can Zoé confirm that an item is in stock or give a delivery date?
No. She never guarantees that an item is in stock and promises no delivery date. She tells the customer that the shop will confirm the price and the delivery window.
What happens if a customer does not answer the quote?
A courteous follow-up goes out after three days. After seven days of inactivity, a final follow-up is requested and, with no answer, you are notified so you can release the date.
What does a customer's file contain?
The occasion, the date, the budget, preferences, handover method, address, deposit received, dates to remember and consent to promotional messages.
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