Last month we kicked off the 2023 Tap Room Playbook webinar series with what turned out to be a very inspiring conversation. We invited a few of our favorite people - Kirsten Popcke and Kevin Hamilton of
Canyon Club Brewery
, and Andrew Coplon, Founder of
Secret Hopper
, to talk about ways Tap Room managers are tackling issues like reducing waste, lowering operating costs and ultimately making sure that every guest has their best experience.
Canyon Club is a long-time GoTab operator and they’ve really tapped into every aspect of the platform to run their front-of-house. And they’re not your average tap room. Located in Lamorinda,CA, they really focus on being a place where everyone is welcome. On any given day you’ll find veterans with a book club interacting with the kids that drop in with family. When the town loses power, they put out 50 charging strips for their neighbors. They’ve become an instrumental part of their community. Their customers are so loyal that during the pandemic, they did things like buy merch they didn’t even need to help Canyon Club stay open. They could tell because the guests were buying things without even asking the size!?
Most Tap Room managers believe guests come for the beer, but also for personal connection. That’s true for Canyon Club too. But they’ve spent a lot of time figuring out how to strike the best balance between front-of-house tech and personal service and that’s what we covered in last month’s webinar.?
Of course, we think it’s worth your time to watch the webinar yourself. But, if you don’t have the time, here are just a few of their tips:
- Hire For Personality - when it comes down to it, the tech can do most of the front-of-house work. With a tap room ordering system like GoTab, the server job becomes much less about juggling orders, and more about creating a nice tap room vibe for guests. That means that it’s more important to hire people who are likable and who like other people. You know, the ones who get positive energy by connecting with guests.?
- Invest in a Host Position - when they decided to lean into mobile ordering for the tap room, they learned how important it is to make sure guests start off with everything they need to be comfortable. That first 40 seconds of introducing the ordering system and how it works eliminates a lot of issues during service
- Make Sure Your Host Uses a Script - a script for guest introductions will accomplish two goals: it saves time on training staff and it eliminates 99% of confusion or anxiety of guests not knowing what to do.
- Engagement Pays - Guests that get high engagement with staff generally spend 30 percent more and also tip higher because they’re having a good time. What’s more, according to Andrew at Secret Hopper, when a tap room visit includes that initial greeting, guests are 96 percent more likely to return. When they don't, the number of return guests drops to 79 percent.
- Enable Feedback in-the-Moment - with a tap room ordering system? that allows guests to provide feedback right from their phones, they get to address problems while the guest is still at the brewery, not after the fact on yelp or google where it’s virtually impossible to address.?
- Forecast to Keep Labor Costs Under Control - Canyon Club now has the flexibility to staff to forecasted demand instead of having a fixed amount of staff to cover specific spaces. In that way, they have been able to keep their labor costs under control. They have been able to reduce their labor costs by 30 percent from when they were a traditional table service model. And the good news is, the guests get to control their own ordering, get what they want, and the servers can invest their time actually talking to people.
- Surprise Fans - as stated earlier, Canyon Club doesn’t have a specific demographic. They have people from all stages and phases of life. And those people interact with each other. There’s always some type of pushback. The guests who absolutely love it the most are parents who bring their young kids. The kid just wants their mac and cheese - no fuss, no muss. On the other end of the spectrum, they had a 103 year old using GoTab QRs to order. It’s a great way to enlighten those who just don’t like it or don’t think it’s for them.
There’s so much more to learn from these great people. We really think you’ll enjoy the recording so encourage you to check it out here:?https://gotab.com/event/2023-tap-room-playbook/.
