1. Not having support staff
It's very common for all staff to be extremely busy taking and serving orders to customers. This quickly becomes a logistics problem, for instance, if one of the beer taps needs a new keg.
Assign some of your staff to support roles and make it their job to keep coolers stocked, exchange empty kegs for full ones, and ensure there is always ice on hand.
2. Having a messy bar
It might strike as evident but keeping your bars organized can greatly improve your staff's efficiency and happiness.
Make sure you have at least some of every product in every cooler and distribute the coolers evenly along the bar. In this way you'll prevent bartenders from having to run around the bar to get drinks.
Organize spirit bottles in tables behind the bar, organized by kind of spirit and brand, and remove lids so that the staff can pour drinks with only one hand.
Most importantly, make sure you hav enough trash cans to avoid accumulating waste in tables and fridges.
3. Running out of drinks
Make an agreement with your drinks provider to have extra bottles and kegs that you can return and get a refund as long as they are not opened. The single biggest problem you can face is having to close early because you ran out of stock.
Use software to forecast how much stock you'll need depending on the size and type of the audience, like FesteaPay.
4. Running out of ice
Following up on the previous point, while it might seem obvious, most drinks other than beer are prepared with ice (think spirits, sodas, sangría...). Make sure to rent enough freezers and fill them up with all the ice you'll need, because if you run out you won't be able to serve the majority of your products.
5. Not having proper lighting when it gets dark
If your event extends after sundown, visibility at the bars will be reduced significantly. Try to set up enough lighting fixtures on the bars so that your staff doesn't have to waste time looking for what they need.
6. Coolers that don't get cold enough
Not managing what's in your coolers correctly can lead to not having enough cold drinks. The standard technique is to use the middle separator in coolers to keep at least half of your stock cold and ready to be served. It works like this:
- Take drinks from just one side of the separator.
- When that side is about to run out, restock it and switch to the other side for taking out drinks.
- This will ensure cold does not escape through the side you want to cool down, speeding up the cooling process.
7. Using low-quality equipment
A typical example of this is the tongs used to pick up ice cubes for mixed drinks. Has we've mentioned in the 4th common error, ice is a fundamental part for most drinks and these tongs will be used very frequently. Purchase decent quality tongs that are resistant and easy to use so that you waste no time when preparing drinks.
It's always better to invest a bit more in the quality of equipment that your staff will use. Low-quality equipment will be very frustrating to use in high-pressure periods apart from breaking more easily.
8. Not using a cashless payment method
Having bartenders collect payment and serving orders increases waiting times enormously, since collecting payment is the bottleneck at drink bars. Therefore, we suggest you use a cashless payment method like payments with phones or with a cashless wristband.
Unlike wristband systems, mobile cashless systems have the added benefit of also freeing bartenders from having to input orders in a system since payment has already been collected and they just need to scan the order and serve it, thereby reducing waiting times for customers.
Moreover, you'll enjoy fine-grained data about consumption and billing through a management interface, so that you can better estimate how much stock you need and complete accounting much more easily.
FesteaPay provides a payment method that's easy to use for attendees. They scan a QR code, make their order and pay with Google Pay, Apple Pay, Bizum PayPal or credit or debit card in under 30s. If you want to learn more about this payment method contact us and we'll be happy to answer any questions.