Prepared with AI assistance and reviewed for clarity, relevance and unsupported claims.
WhatsApp sales price enquiries often look simple: “How much is it?” The safe answer depends on what “it” includes. An unchanged catalogue item, a caftan with alterations and an on-site service are not the same pricing problem. Treating them alike can turn a valid base price into an unsupported promise about the whole order.
The practical rule is straightforward: share a listed price only when the item, scope and current source are clear. Otherwise, collect the missing inputs and request a scoped review. Do not create an estimate merely to avoid saying that a check is needed.
1. Put the enquiry into one of three pricing lanes
Define the lanes before writing automated replies. Each lane needs a different level of authority.
- Fixed catalogue item: an exact reference and variant with a current approved price. The assistant can relay that price and its documented scope.
- Configurable order: a base product with changes such as alterations, custom dimensions or additional components. Only configurations covered by explicit approved rules can be priced without review.
- Service estimate: work whose scope depends on requirements, access, materials or staff assessment. The assistant gathers inputs for a quotation rather than inventing a total.
A request can move between lanes. Asking about a listed caftan starts in the fixed-item lane; requesting sleeve changes moves it into configurable work. The assistant should notice that change instead of continuing to repeat the original price as if it covered everything.
Accurate classification depends on a clear product reference. See how to turn catalogue details into useful sales answers before adding pricing logic.
2. Define what makes a price current enough to share
A price is not authoritative just because it appears somewhere in the shop's files. Identify the approved source, the person responsible for updates and any validity conditions. If staff disagree about which record controls the answer, resolve that before automating.
Run a short check before sharing a listed amount:
- Match the exact item and variant requested.
- Read the approved price record and its last confirmation or validity information.
- Check whether quantity, channel or offer conditions apply.
- Confirm the currency and documented inclusions or exclusions.
- Identify any delivery, customisation or other cost not covered by that amount.
For a Moroccan shop, explicitly labelling a price in MAD can remove ambiguity. Any applicable charge treatment should follow approved business wording, not an AI assumption. A price check also does not establish stock availability or reserve an item.
There is no universal freshness interval. A stable catalogue and a frequently changing offer require different review rules. Where the source is unavailable, conflicting or outside its validity conditions, route the enquiry for review.
3. Answer fixed-price questions directly, within scope
If all checks pass, do not make the customer complete a long questionnaire to receive a simple listed price. State the verified amount from the approved record, identify the item and explain any material boundary in plain language.
For example, the wording should distinguish “the listed price for the unaltered model” from “your complete order total”. The first may be known while alterations and delivery remain unresolved. In this guide, no sample amount is supplied because a real response must use the seller's current approved record.
If the record contains a documented range or starting price, explain the conditions attached to it. Do not use “from” as a substitute for missing information, and do not imply that every customer's request will qualify for the lowest option.
The trade-off is between speed and certainty. Immediate answers are useful for genuinely fixed items. Adding review to every fixed item creates unnecessary waiting, while removing review from custom work creates unsupported commitments.
4. Example: a caftan alteration requires a scoped quotation
Imagine a hypothetical caftan seller whose catalogue has a verified price for an unaltered model. A customer asks for shorter sleeves and a change to the hem, with collection needed before an event.
Customer: “Is the catalogue price everything, including the changes?”
Assistant: “The listed price covers the unaltered caftan. Sleeve and hem changes need a separate review before we can confirm the total.”
Customer: “What do you need from me?”
Assistant: “Please confirm the model reference, the changes you want and your required collection date. The team will check whether an appointment or further measurements are needed.”
The internal review request records the model, requested work, target date and any details already provided. The seller checks feasibility and the quotation scope before presenting a total. The assistant does not promise that alterations are possible, included or achievable by the requested date.
Once approved, the quotation should make clear what product and work it covers, what remains excluded, any conditions and the next acceptance step. If the customer later changes the scope, the earlier quotation needs review rather than silent reuse.
5. Give the reviewer enough information, but not every possible detail
For configurable products, collect only the choices that affect the requested work. For services, that may mean the desired deliverable, quantity, location where relevant, existing materials and timing. Avoid requesting sensitive or unnecessary details simply because a form can hold them.
Assign a named role to the review and record its status: awaiting customer information, ready for review or quotation approved. An unattended “quote requested” label is not a finished workflow. The guide to defining the next step in a WhatsApp sales conversation helps separate these outcomes.
Tell the customer what is pending. Give a response time only when the team can support it; otherwise, explain the review process without inventing a deadline.
6. Test the boundaries before allowing automatic price replies
Use hypothetical cases that challenge the rules: an expired offer, the wrong size variant, a customer requesting a discount, an unavailable price source and a change added after approval. Each case should either produce a correctly scoped answer or reach the right reviewer.
Pay particular attention to whether the assistant confuses an estimate with an accepted order. Fluency is not evidence of pricing authority. A WhatsApp assistant for sales and order enquiries should use approved records and human handoff rules, not calculate exceptions from intuition.
To discuss a pricing workflow based on your catalogue and quotation process, share the proposed scope with FlowAgent.