Do You Need Wine?

This is not about wine

I was going to write about valuations on business so that if you decide to buy a restaurant or brewery, you could have an idea on how to value it. But Sandy and I went out to dinner and I wanted to instead write about service. I’ve done this before but it’s worth repeating, especially if you already have a brewery or you are thinking about one.

We were camping and biking in Arizona, something most of us here in Colorado do to escape the snow in the Spring. Anyway, we were eating in a nice Italian restaurant that was very busy. When a restaurant is busy, I will cut some slack in my unrealistic expectations honed from decades in the restaurant business.

It took much too long for the server to let us know she would get to us. No problem. When she came, just to speed everything up a bit we each ordered a glass of wine and our meals. The salad came before the wine. No problem. Then it took about 45 minutes from the time we finished our salads until our entrees came. Still, no problem. Where this article comes from was when the manager breezed by our table and said “Do you need wine?” We said no and a good thing too, because she didn’t look like she was going to stop! I’ve been there and I am sure you have too, but here’s the thing: if She had taken the extra ten seconds to stop, and instead said, “Would you like another glass of wine?” -better grammar - and quickly added, “or I can bring one glass and you can share. What kind of wine are you drinking?”Now we have entered into a conversation. We’ve also been given a good option.

Two extra glasses of wine adds about $20 to the tab. That’s over $10 pure profit for the restaurant. It’s also an extra $4 in tips for the server. And finally it’s better service for us because we get an extra glass of wine, which might make us feel like having dessert and leaving the restaurant with a good impression. Really, the extra time it takes to SERVE rather than ORDER TAKE makes all the difference in how well the restaurant and the server does financially.

In you brewery you are presented with selling opportunities all the time. You aren’t a retail store. No one comes into your place to look. They are ALL buying. You just have to direct how they purchase. Here are some examples.

Ordering Beer: Customer- I’ll take the IPA. You - Do you want a regular pint or an Imperial pint?

Ordering Wine: Customer - The Cabernet please. You - We serve two sizes, a glass and a glass and a half.

To Go Orders: Customer - Two Pepperoni pizzas please. You - Would you like a growler or can of beer with that?

Give customers a choice to upsell, and 50% of the time they will choose the larger volume. Remember, they are hungry or thirsty, and as for to go’s, why yes a beer sounds fantastic.

It’s also the way you sell. Service is suggestion. Order taking is just that. For example instead of saying the tired old “Did you save room for desert?” you could instead just come into the conversation explaining how your chef created this incredible individual chocolate soufflé and before they have a chance to say no, add in “I can bring extra spoons so you can share”. Most likely they will say yes. Sales go up, tips go up, customer has a better experience and will return. Stop me if this sounds like too much of a hassle.

Your POS system keeps track of the numbers too. It will tell you which servers have the better check average. Wouldn’t it be better to give those servers the busiest shifts?

As I’ve mentioned before, ours is a business of pennies. Every day of the year you work the numbers to raise sales and lower costs. By doing this, at the end of the year you are in an enviable position of having cash in the bank for equipment purchases, bonuses, whatever you choose. By not taking care of all these small things you may wind up at the end of the year no better off than when you started.

To do this right, choreograph interactions with your customers, then train that choreographed dance with your servers. It works, I’ve done it. When the dining room is empty go through all the steps with your servers, having them take turns actually acting out the part. It starts with acknowledging a customer as soon as they sit down by saying “I’ll be right with you”. This lets the customer know they’ve been seen. Next how you present the menu and any specials including beers. When they place their drink order you upsell. Always giving customers a choice. When they order dinner, suggest an appetizer by giving an example of one, rather than asking if they would like an appetizer. When they order their meals, suggest a side dish they can share.

This may seem like a lot of work but the paycheck is enormous. Your sales could increase by as much as 20%. So a million in sales per year becomes 1.2 million. Not only that but it is also an extra $40,000 in tips. This not only makes you brewery more money, it makes your servers more money and also means your customers are actually getting served, meaning they will be back. Yes it’s more work but the return has no down-sides.

A book I read along time ago and have mentioned in the past is called Service That Sells, and I recommend it. I know this sounds like a retread, but I think this is really important if you have a brewery or are in the planning stages.

Next week we will take about business valuations, I promise.