Getting started — your first day with Della

You just hired Della. She answers your salon's phone, replies to texts and messages, books appointments or hands them to you, and remembers your clients. Her name is Della unless you gave her a different one. This article walks you through day one, the first week, and where to look when something feels off.

What "Della" means

Della is not a chatbot or a feature you switch on. She is a worker with a name, a job description, and a written record of everything she does. A worker asks before doing anything risky, follows the rules she was given, and learns from corrections.

What she never does: diagnose a nail or skin problem, take card or bank details over the phone, quote a price that is not on your menu, or settle a refund or a complaint. Each of those goes to you instead.

Day one

Day one is about 15 minutes, and you can stop at any point — she keeps your place. It opens on its own the first time you sign in, and you can come back to it from Setup.

1. Your salon. Check your name, your hours and your menu. If we couldn't find your services, you'll see the services most salons offer — tick what you do and add your prices. She quotes only what you save.
2. Her questions. A short chat: who works which days, deposits and cancellations, walk-ins, how warm or brief she should sound. Tap an answer or type your own.
3. Your phone. Most salons keep their number and forward the calls they don't pick up to Della. You can also get her a number of her own. If her number isn't switched on for your account yet, day one says so — our team sets it up and tells you what to do next.
4. Your cell. Where she reaches you when something needs you. We text you a code to confirm it.
5. How you book. If you use Square, connect it and she books straight into it. With another booking app, or if you book them yourself, she takes each request and sends it to you — by email until your texting is approved, then by text.
6. Texting. Phone companies approve every business that texts. It takes 3–7 days, so day one starts it.
7. Her rules. What she always asks you about. You sign it, and you can change it any time on the Contract tab in Della.

She answers calls as soon as they reach her number — when your forwarding is set, or on her own number. Until you go live, she tells callers you're still setting her up and takes a message for you; each one reaches you. Day one checks that calls really reach her, and until that and your cell are confirmed, day one and Setup show what's left.

Where to look each day

• Today — what needs you now, what she handled, and how the week looks.
• Calls — every call she took, what was said, and anything she passed to you.
• Inbox — texts, email and messages, and the replies she wrote. Anything waiting for your OK is here and on Today.
• Clients — a card for each person who calls or messages. Have a list already? Import it from Clients.
• Della — who she is, what she knows, what she does, and her contract.
• Proof — the record of what she did and why, and the switches to pause her.
• Setup — every part of her setup, what's working, and what still needs you.

Click any row to open it in place.

When something feels off

If Della did something you didn't expect — the wrong tone, wrong information, or missing something obvious:

• Report an issue from the top right of the workspace, or press ⌘+/ from anywhere. The report picks up the page you were on and what she did recently, so you don't have to describe it. See Reporting an issue.
• Email support@hellodella.com.

Correct her where she went wrong — edit the reply, or fix the fact in Knowledge. Your correction is saved and shapes what she does next.

Your first week

Day 1: finish day one, including the test call and your cell code.

Day 2: open Della → Identity and read the line she answers calls with. Change it if it doesn't sound like your salon.

Day 3: read a few conversations end to end on Calls and in the Inbox. Correct anything off-tone.

Day 4 to 7: check Today each morning. Watch for patterns in your own edits — those are the rules worth writing down in her contract.

What she does on her own

What Della may do without asking is written in her contract, one kind of work at a time: you can let her send appointment reminders herself while every reply to a new client still waits for your OK. You can change it on the Contract tab whenever you like. The hard limits above hold no matter what the contract says.

More

• Reporting an issue — how to tell us something is wrong, and how fast we reply.
• Privacy — what Della keeps about your clients, who can see it, and how to have it deleted.

If anything in this article is wrong or missing, use Report an issue and tell us.