Make voice ordering an option, not a barrier

Start with guest choice

Provide a clearly communicated way to reach staff and, where available, a nonvoice path. A guest should not have to explain a disability to receive help. If the alternative involves a link or screen, consider people who do not have a smartphone, cannot read the screen or cannot use the input method.

Train staff to continue from the information already collected when appropriate. Repeating an entire order can turn a nominal fallback into a significant burden. Document what context the receiving person sees and what the guest has already been told.

Give the conversation room

• Allow pauses without treating silence as consent or abandonment too quickly.
• Offer repetition and slower clarification without forcing the guest through the full introduction.
• Make corrections understandable and confirm only the changed details when that is enough.
• Avoid relying on a single voice command as the only exit.
• Do not make assumptions about competence, intent or identity from accent or speech pattern.

Test with participation and consent

Invite representative users to try tasks voluntarily and explain what is being observed. Compensate participation fairly when applicable. Do not imitate a disability or manufacture an accent and call the result representative evidence. Record the setup, accommodations and individual feedback without collecting unnecessary personal information.

This guide is practical planning, not legal advice or a certification of accessibility compliance. Requirements vary by location and context. An accessibility professional can evaluate the complete service, including physical access and alternatives, rather than only the speech model.

How to read Loman’s language claim

Loman’s current multilingual page describes 55 languages, automatic language detection and English POS/KDS tickets. Those are useful selection criteria for the phone channel. They do not establish accuracy for every accent, menu term, impairment or language combination.

Select the languages your guests actually use, ask human speakers to test your own menu and review handoffs. Keep a nonvoice or staff-assisted option in the plan regardless of the published language count.

Check the alternative end to end

Ask a willing participant to complete the same task using the available staff or nonvoice path. Record where the alternative is explained, how help is requested and whether the guest can finish without using the original voice channel.

Include a person who does not use a smartphone when evaluating a link-based fallback. Ask for feedback about the actual task rather than inferring needs from an accent, speech pattern or diagnosis.

A successful test supports that specific scenario and setup. It is not evidence of universal accessibility or a legal certification.