5 Tips to Enhance your customers' drinking experience

Being a great bartender doesn't stop at making great drinks! Now more than ever, customer service is a vital part of the job. We caught up with Andrew Coyle from Flow Hospitality and Tim Philips-Johansson to get their top tips on creating the best experience for your guests.

1. Make a good first impression

Top Tip - Improve customer experience by looking at your venue through the eyes of a first-time guest. Conduct a walk-through of your venue from street to seat and note any improvements to be made.

2. Speed of service

With many venues operating at reduced capacity for the forseeable, it's important to make sure drinks are being served efficiently. Speed often requires experience with your movements eventually becoming second nature, but being organised and efficient in the way that you work will also help with speed. Keep these tips in mind:

• Prepping the bar according to the way you like to work will help you to work more efficiently.
  

• Use a checklist to ensure all the equipment you need is in place.
  

• Have a set procedure for the way that you prepare cocktails and rounds of drinks.
  

• Use both hands at once.
  

• Tidy as you go and put everything back where it belongs once you’re finished.
  

• Try prioritising your duties, for example - customer first, then bar top, back bar, under bar and finally preparation.

Top Tip – Remember the 2 step rule. Have all your essential equipment convenient to your workstation so there are no delays when you are serving customers.

3. Serve with Style

Bring some style to your service. A slick polished performance adds value to the drink and it is important to consider how your movements look from the customers’ perspective. Always display a professional manner and involve your customers where possible. Keep these tips in mind:

• Body language is crucial to the impression you give to the customer. Always appear approachable to customers by using open body language such as open hand gestures.

• Take pride in your personal appearance. Remember, during service all eyes are on you, so take advantage of this. Anything you can do that is fun, skilful or unique will add a little theatre to your service.

• Read your customers and try to tailor your style of service to meet their needs.

• Always move with a sense of purpose, this means head up, scanning the bar and acknowledging customers as you work.

• Don’t be afraid to approach customers and ask them how their drinks are.

Top Tip – Smile and make eye contact with your customers and be confident in handling your equipment and glassware.

4. PERSONALISED SERVICE

With reduced capacity for many venues in place, now more than ever you should pay attention to adding a personal touch to your guest experience. Awareness of your environment and of your customers is key to good bar etiquette. Keep these tips in mind:

• Anticipate the arrival of your customers by facing the door so that you can give them a warm welcome as soon as they enter.

• Once your customer has arrived at the bar or is seated at a table, provide them a drinks menu or digital alternative and offer your recommendations.

• Be in constant communication with your customer and always serve in turn.

• Make frequent checks back during service to help you determine if your customers need or want anything else.

• Topping up wine and water for your customers shows you are there to look after them and in many cases this will lead to further drinks orders.

• Be alert and aware of your customers and open to potential sales opportunities that may arise.

• Make sure customers are given a fond farewell and feel appreciated as they leave. Let them know about upcoming events or offers and invite them to return.

Top Tip - Ensure all relevant PPE and social distancing measures are in place. Follow your local guidelines.

5. Know your product

Your product knowledge will assist the customer in making good choices. Customers will ask you questions about drinks that you sell and they will expect you to know the answer! On-going learning will be vital to help develop your knowledge. Keep these tips in mind:

• Get to know your menu back-to-front so that you can make appropriate suggestions for your customers and help them make good decisions.

• Point out anything unique, particularly good, or unusual about any of the drinks on your menu.

• Upsell: add value to something the customer has ordered. For example, if you are trying to convince a customer to order a more exceptional gin than the house gin, you need to be able to tell them why they should buy it. To do this highlight the positive aspects of the product such as quality of produce, superior taste and value for money.

• Try suggestive selling- offering the customer something they did not know they wanted. For example, if you are trying to sell bar snacks to a customer, entice them by letting them know how the food will complement their drink.

Top Tip – Recommending products with real enthusiasm makes customers feel welcomed and valued. People love stories about their drinks - you could talk about the unique ingredients, the brand’s heritage or the inspiration behind your signature serve.

Give it a go and see the results!

Try putting some of these essential tips into practice next time you’re on the bar and see if it makes a difference! Plus, don't forget to measure and evaluate your customer experience. Follow our handy guide to implementing a digital customer experience survey.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Now more than ever, people will be looking for a great bar experience.
• As bar professionals, we should aim to create a safe and friendly atmosphere that will allow our customers to relax and have fun, but we should also be looking for opportunities to enhance the customers’ experience.
• Encouraging repeat custom through speed, style, etiquette and knowledge and focusing on maximising sales will not only improve profitability but will also enhance your customers drinking experience.
• If we are successful at this then we will encourage repeat custom and maximise sales, these in turn will give the bar a good reputation and reflect on the success of the business; we may even make more tips.

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