Product Restrictions

Product restrictions allow restaurant owners to control product availability based on various criteria such as days of the week, time ranges, date ranges, and service type (delivery vs pickup). This feature ensures that customers can only order products when they are actually available.

Overview

The product restrictions feature works by adding optional restriction rules to products in the catalog. When a customer attempts to order a product, the chatbot validates these restrictions against the current context (time, date, service type) to ensure the product is available.

Data Structure

Restriction Object

The restriction object contains the following fields:

Field	Type	Required	Description
`dow`	DaysOfWeek	Yes	Days of the week when the product is available
`startTime`	string	No	Start time for availability (HH:MM format, 24-hour)
`endTime`	string	No	End time for availability (HH:MM format, 24-hour)
`startDate`	string	No	Start date for availability (ISO 8601 date string)
`endDate`	string	No	End date for availability (ISO 8601 date string)
`availableForDelivery`	boolean	Yes	Whether the product is available for delivery orders
`availableForPickup`	boolean	Yes	Whether the product is available for pickup orders

DaysOfWeek Object

Field	Type	Required	Description
`monday`	boolean	Yes	Available on Monday
`tuesday`	boolean	Yes	Available on Tuesday
`wednesday`	boolean	Yes	Available on Wednesday
`thursday`	boolean	Yes	Available on Thursday
`friday`	boolean	Yes	Available on Friday
`saturday`	boolean	Yes	Available on Saturday
`sunday`	boolean	Yes	Available on Sunday

Default Behavior

When no restriction is specified for a product:

The product is available all days of the week
No time restrictions apply
No date restrictions apply
Available for both delivery and pickup

Implementation Examples

Example 1: Weekend-Only Product

{
  "internalId": "weekend_special_001",
  "name": "Weekend Special Pizza",
  "categoryName": "Specials",
  "description": "Our special weekend pizza",
  "isAvailable": true,
  "restriction": {
    "dow": {
      "monday": false,
      "tuesday": false,
      "wednesday": false,
      "thursday": false,
      "friday": false,
      "saturday": true,
      "sunday": true
    },
    "availableForDelivery": true,
    "availableForPickup": true
  }
}

Example 2: Lunch-Time Only Product

{
  "internalId": "lunch_menu_001",
  "name": "Business Lunch",
  "categoryName": "Lunch",
  "description": "Quick lunch option",
  "isAvailable": true,
  "restriction": {
    "dow": {
      "monday": true,
      "tuesday": true,
      "wednesday": true,
      "thursday": true,
      "friday": true,
      "saturday": false,
      "sunday": false
    },
    "startTime": "11:30",
    "endTime": "14:30",
    "availableForDelivery": true,
    "availableForPickup": true
  }
}

Example 3: Pickup-Only Product

{
  "internalId": "fresh_bread_001",
  "name": "Fresh Daily Bread",
  "categoryName": "Bakery",
  "description": "Freshly baked bread, pickup only",
  "isAvailable": true,
  "restriction": {
    "dow": {
      "monday": true,
      "tuesday": true,
      "wednesday": true,
      "thursday": true,
      "friday": true,
      "saturday": true,
      "sunday": true
    },
    "availableForDelivery": false,
    "availableForPickup": true
  }
}

Example 4: Seasonal Product

{
  "internalId": "summer_special_001",
  "name": "Summer Ice Cream Special",
  "categoryName": "Desserts",
  "description": "Available during summer months",
  "isAvailable": true,
  "restriction": {
    "dow": {
      "monday": true,
      "tuesday": true,
      "wednesday": true,
      "thursday": true,
      "friday": true,
      "saturday": true,
      "sunday": true
    },
    "startDate": "2024-06-01T00:00:00.000Z",
    "endDate": "2024-08-31T23:59:59.999Z",
    "availableForDelivery": true,
    "availableForPickup": true
  }
}

Chatbot Integration Guidelines

1. Validation Logic

When processing an order, the chatbot should validate each product against its restrictions:

function isProductAvailable(
  product: ChatbotProductDTO,
  orderContext: OrderContext
): boolean {
  // If no restrictions, product is always available
  if (!product.restriction) {
    return product.isAvailable;
  }

  const restriction = product.restriction;
  const now = new Date(); // Should be in restaurant's timezone

  // Check day of week
  const dayOfWeek = now.toLocaleDateString("en-US", { weekday: "lowercase" });
  if (!restriction.dow[dayOfWeek]) {
    return false;
  }

  // Check time restrictions
  if (restriction.startTime || restriction.endTime) {
    const currentTime = now.toTimeString().slice(0, 5); // HH:MM format

    if (restriction.startTime && currentTime < restriction.startTime) {
      return false;
    }

    if (restriction.endTime && currentTime > restriction.endTime) {
      return false;
    }
  }

  // Check date restrictions
  if (restriction.startDate && now < new Date(restriction.startDate)) {
    return false;
  }

  if (restriction.endDate && now > new Date(restriction.endDate)) {
    return false;
  }

  // Check service type
  if (
    orderContext.serviceType === "delivery" &&
    !restriction.availableForDelivery
  ) {
    return false;
  }

  if (
    orderContext.serviceType === "pickup" &&
    !restriction.availableForPickup
  ) {
    return false;
  }

  return product.isAvailable;
}

2. Error Handling

When a product is not available due to restrictions, provide clear error messages:

Day restrictions: “Sorry, [Product Name] is only available on [available days].”
Time restrictions: “Sorry, [Product Name] is only available between [start time] and [end time].”
Date restrictions: “Sorry, [Product Name] is only available from [start date] to [end date].”
Service type restrictions: “Sorry, [Product Name] is only available for [pickup/delivery].“

3. Proactive Filtering

Filter out unavailable products from menus and suggestions:

function getAvailableProducts(
  catalog: ChatbotCatalogDTO,
  orderContext: OrderContext
): ChatbotProductDTO[] {
  return catalog.products.filter((product) =>
    isProductAvailable(product, orderContext)
  );
}

4. Time Zone Considerations

Critical: Always use the restaurant’s local timezone for time-based validations:

// Get restaurant's timezone from location data
const restaurantTimezone = location.timezone; // e.g., "Europe/Zurich"

// Convert current time to restaurant's timezone
const restaurantTime = new Date().toLocaleString("en-CA", {
  timeZone: restaurantTimezone,
  hour12: false,
});

Best Practices

1. Clear Communication

Always inform customers about availability restrictions
Suggest alternative products when restrictions apply
Provide clear timeframes for when products will be available again

2. Graceful Degradation

If restriction data is missing or invalid, default to allowing the product
Log validation errors for debugging without blocking orders

3. Caching Considerations

Cache availability results for performance
Invalidate cache when time-sensitive restrictions change
Consider pre-calculating availability for common time periods

4. User Experience

Show availability information proactively in product listings
Use visual indicators (badges, colors) to highlight restrictions
Group products by availability status when helpful

Common Use Cases

Breakfast Items: Available only until 11:00 AM
Dinner Specials: Available only after 5:00 PM
Weekend Brunch: Available only on Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Happy Hour: Available only on weekdays, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Seasonal Items: Available only during specific months
Fresh Items: Pickup only to ensure quality
Delivery-Only: Items that require special packaging

Technical Notes

All times are in 24-hour format (HH:MM)
Dates use ISO 8601 format for consistency
Time comparisons should account for the restaurant’s timezone
Boolean flags default to true when not specified for maximum availability
The isAvailable flag acts as a master switch that can override all restrictions

This documentation provides a complete guide for implementing and working with product restrictions in the Châtaigne chatbot system.

Chatbot - Deprecated

Types

Product Restrictions

Product Restrictions

Overview

Data Structure

Restriction Object

DaysOfWeek Object

Default Behavior

Implementation Examples

Example 1: Weekend-Only Product

Example 2: Lunch-Time Only Product

Example 3: Pickup-Only Product

Example 4: Seasonal Product

Chatbot Integration Guidelines

1. Validation Logic

2. Error Handling

3. Proactive Filtering

4. Time Zone Considerations

Best Practices

1. Clear Communication

2. Graceful Degradation

3. Caching Considerations

4. User Experience

Common Use Cases

Technical Notes

Chatbot - Deprecated

Types

​Product Restrictions

​Overview

​Data Structure

​Restriction Object

​DaysOfWeek Object

​Default Behavior

​Implementation Examples

​Example 1: Weekend-Only Product

​Example 2: Lunch-Time Only Product

​Example 3: Pickup-Only Product

​Example 4: Seasonal Product

​Chatbot Integration Guidelines

​1. Validation Logic

​2. Error Handling

​3. Proactive Filtering

​4. Time Zone Considerations

​Best Practices

​1. Clear Communication

​2. Graceful Degradation

​3. Caching Considerations

​4. User Experience

​Common Use Cases

​Technical Notes

Product Restrictions

Overview

Data Structure

Restriction Object

DaysOfWeek Object

Default Behavior

Implementation Examples

Example 1: Weekend-Only Product

Example 2: Lunch-Time Only Product

Example 3: Pickup-Only Product

Example 4: Seasonal Product

Chatbot Integration Guidelines

1. Validation Logic

2. Error Handling

3. Proactive Filtering

4. Time Zone Considerations

Best Practices

1. Clear Communication

2. Graceful Degradation

3. Caching Considerations

4. User Experience

Common Use Cases

Technical Notes