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Ava / Nail salon front desk Live demo

The AI front desk system for nail salons that answers while your hands are busy

Ava answers your phone while your hands are in a client’s nails, books into your calendar on the call, phones clients the day before, texts back missed calls and tells you what needed you. She introduces herself as your AI assistant on every inbound call. English only.

AnswersBooksFollows upTells you what needed you

Part of Ava for beauty and wellness businesses, from Eleven88, a Toronto automation company.

Find the leaks Hear a full demo call

A demo line running a demo hair salon (open Monday to Friday), not a customer’s business. Calls may be recorded for quality control and service improvement purposes only.

One call, answered and bookedIllustrative example
01 / The leak

Why nail salons miss calls.

Your hands are in a client’s nails, there is polish on a brush, a gel is under the lamp. Nobody can peel off gloves and answer. A caller who reaches voicemail may ring the next salon on the list, and you rarely find out they tried.

  • During a serviceThe call rings out.
  • After closingVoicemail, if the caller waits.
  • On a day offNobody sees it until the next working day.

How often it happens differs from salon to salon, so we do not quote a number. The free Revenue Leak Report looks at your own calls.

A technician in black gloves painting a nail under a UV lamp while the desk phone behind them shows a red light
The same call, answered Thu 1:30 Gel fill · booked on the call Confirmed Illustrative example
02 / The front desk system

More than an AI receptionist: the nail salon front desk, piece by piece.

A steel tray of nail tips, files and small brushes laid out in a precise grid, one brush with a red handle
Gel, acrylic, fills, pedicures: each booked at its own length
The phone rings while you are with a client
She answers, introduces herself as your AI assistant and books into your calendar on the call.
The time the caller wants is already taken
She checks live availability up to 30 days ahead and offers the 2 to 3 nearest times. If the caller has no flexibility, she offers the waitlist, never for times outside your business hours.
A fill, a full set or a pedicure is requested
She books the length you set for that service. Lengths are set at setup, by hand, with you.
A call is missed and nobody picks up
A check runs every 2 minutes. The person who called gets a text, in wording set with you. Callers with hidden or anonymous numbers cannot be texted.
A client cancels
The next waitlist person, who has agreed to texts, is offered the slot.
A client may forget tomorrow
A reminder phone call at 9 AM Eastern the day before.
Something needs you
An alert goes to you, the salon owner.
A day at the front desk

Your hands are in the nails. She’s at the desk.

Illustrative example
  1. 9:00 AM

    Reminder calls

    At 9 AM Eastern the day before, Ava phones each client booked for the next day, once. They can confirm, cancel or reschedule on the call. A voicemail gets a short reminder, and if she cannot complete a change the salon is told to call the client back.

  2. 9:40 AM

    Incoming call

    Every technician is mid-service. A caller wants a gel fill Thursday at 2:00, which is taken. Ava offers the 2 to 3 nearest times, books the one the caller picks, and says “booked” only after the system confirms.

  3. 11:05 AM

    Incoming call

    A caller asks for a full acrylic set for herself and a pedicure for a friend. Ava books both on the one call, each at the length you set, and reads them back.

  4. 12:30 PM

    Incoming call

    A caller asks whether you take walk-ins today. Ava tells them your walk-in policy as you have taught her and offers an appointment if the calendar has room. She cannot see how busy the salon is right now.

  5. 2:15 PM

    Call nobody could take

    A call comes in while every technician is busy, and the caller hangs up. The 2-minute check spots it and the caller gets a text back.

  6. 3:20 PM

    Cancellation

    A Friday 10:00 slot opens when a client cancels. The next waitlist person is offered it by text. The offer lasts 30 minutes, then moves on. YES books it and sends a confirmation text.

  7. 4:20 PM

    Incoming call

    A client reports a rash after a gel appointment. Ava stops, tells her to call 911 or urgent care, takes her name and callback number, and alerts you. She gives no medical advice.

  8. 4:45 PM

    Incoming call

    A client calls upset about a nail that lifted. Ava does not argue, guess, or promise a redo or refund. She offers a person, and if the transfer does not connect, logs a callback request.

A phone lying face down beside a manicured hand
01 / Missed callTexted back within minutes.
An open appointment book with empty time blocks and one marked in red
02 / BookingInto your calendar, on the call.
A phone and a red nail file on a salon counter beside a small plant
03 / ReminderA phone call the day before.
03 / What the owner sees

You do not need to listen to every call to know what happened.

Your calendar

Ava books into your Cal.com calendar, which can sync with Google Calendar or Outlook. Bookings appear there like any other.

Alerts

Alerts go to you, the salon owner, for failed bookings, safety or emergency callers, transfers that did not connect, and requests to change an appointment that she could not complete. Eleven88 separately gets alerts if the system itself fails.

The report

A monthly report or a dashboard of what Ava handled, in plain terms: calls answered, bookings made, missed calls texted back, reminder and waitlist outcomes, and what needed you.

We do not publish sample numbers, because they would be invented.

04 / How it is set up

How the front desk system is set up.

Set up your calendar.

Ava books into your Cal.com calendar, which can sync with Google Calendar or Outlook.

Teach her your nail salon.

Your services (gel, acrylic, fills, removals, pedicures) and how long each takes, hours, roster, walk-in policy and the wording of your texts. Each client is set up individually.

Forward your calls.

Point your existing number at Ava, or use a new one. We test before it goes live.

Setup is done by us, by hand, with you. There is no self-serve sign-up. Reminders run on Eastern time; another time zone is custom set-up work, not a setting.

05 / What she does

What she does, and does not do, for a nail salon.

What Ava does

  • Answers and books into your calendar, up to 30 days ahead, at the right length for each service.
  • Texts back missed calls and phones reminders the day before.
  • Fills cancellations from your waitlist.
  • Hands off upset callers to a person.

What she will not do

  • Invent an open slot, or say “booked” before the system confirms.
  • Change a booking unless the caller’s name and phone number match it.
  • Decide pricing, refunds, redos or complaints.
  • Give medical advice. Reactions go to 911 or urgent care, and an alert to you.
  • Pretend to be a person, or hold long calls (about 3 minutes).
  • Do nails, or tell you who is waiting in your salon.
06 / How a call goes
Live demoRecorded call · demo salon

Hear a real booking call, start to finish.

Two bookings in one call. The panel on screen is the backend working as she talks.

Recorded on our demo line with a demo hair salon (open Monday to Friday), not a nail salon and not a customer’s business. The booking works the same way for a nail service: she checks the calendar, books and reads it back after the system confirms.

2Bookings, one call
4Backend steps per booking, shown on screen
0“Press 1” menus

Ava only says “you’re booked” after the booking has gone through.

Hear it on our demo line · (289) 275-7217Live demo

Calls may be recorded for quality control and service improvement purposes only.

07 / Who it is for

For nail salons where the technician is also the front desk.

Built for

  • Independent nail salons and studios where technicians have their hands busy when the phone rings.
  • Salons that take bookings by phone and want the phone answered and followed up.
  • Businesses that work in English only.

Probably not a fit

  • A walk-in-only salon with almost no phone bookings.
  • A salon where almost every booking already happens through an online booking page.
  • A large chain with a dedicated call centre.
  • Anyone who needs a language other than English, or a time zone other than Eastern without custom set-up.
  • Anyone who wants a guarantee on revenue. We don’t give one.
08 / Questions

Questions nail salon owners ask about AI front desks and receptionists.

How much does an AI receptionist or front desk for a nail salon cost?
It depends on your call volume and how Ava is set up, so we quote after a short conversation and do not publish a price. What moves the cost: how many calls your salon gets, how many technicians and calendars she books into, which jobs you want her to do (answering and booking, reminder calls, missed-call texts, waitlist offers), and how much she has to be taught. The first step is free: a Revenue Leak Report on where your calls may be slipping away. You keep it either way. When you compare providers, ask whether pricing is flat or per minute, whether there is a setup fee or contract, and what happens in a busy month. For a Canadian view, read what an AI receptionist costs in Canada.
Is an AI receptionist worth it for a small nail salon?
It depends on how many calls your salon misses, and we will not guess that for you. If the phone rings out during services and some of those callers would have booked, it can pay for itself. If almost every booking already arrives through an online booking page, it probably will not. The free Revenue Leak Report looks at your own calls first, so you can judge before you pay for anything.
Will an AI front desk replace my front desk?
No, and she is not built to. Ava answers the phone and handles the follow-up around it. She cannot greet a client at the door, do a gel manicure or read how someone feels in the chair. She takes the calls that come in while your hands and your desk are busy: she answers, books, reminds, texts back missed calls and hands anything unusual to you. If a caller is upset, she offers a person, and if the transfer does not connect she logs a callback request.
Can an AI answer my nail salon’s phone, and will callers know it is an AI?
Yes. On every inbound call Ava opens with "Thanks for calling [your salon]! This is Ava, your AI assistant." On reminder calls she confirms she is an AI if the client asks. She talks normally, with no press-1 menu, and you can hear how that sounds on our recorded demo call. She speaks English only.
Can an AI receptionist text back missed calls at a nail salon?
Yes. A check runs every 2 minutes, and if a call went unanswered, the person who called gets a text, in wording set with you, so they have a way back to you. Callers with hidden or anonymous numbers cannot be texted. Whether you switch texting on is your decision, and following the texting rules that apply to your business is your responsibility. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Does Ava work with my salon’s booking software?
Ava is built around a Cal.com calendar, which can sync with Google Calendar or Outlook. We have not tested her on other booking platforms, so we will not promise it works with yours. Tell us which one you use, and we will say plainly whether it is a fit before you pay for anything.
Does Ava speak other languages?
English only, today. If many of your callers need another language, Ava is probably not the right fit yet.
Can Ava book the right time for gel, acrylic and fills?
Yes, because we set it up with you. Your service lengths are entered by hand at setup, so a fill is not booked into a full-set slot and a pedicure is not booked like a polish change. She checks live availability up to 30 days ahead, offers the 2 to 3 nearest times if the exact time is taken, and says "booked" only after the system confirms it. If a request does not fit a service on your list, she says so and someone from the salon follows up.
09 / Start

Start with the leak.

Tell us about your nail salon. We’ll write a free Revenue Leak Report on where calls and bookings may be slipping away. Fixes are scoped and quoted separately, and you keep the report either way.

Find the leaks Book a 15-minute call
info@eleven88.ca+1 647 640 2542

“Live demo” means a recording or line we run ourselves. “Illustrative example” means a layout or scenario, not a client result.

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