Managing a successful Taproom / FOH

I have little "managerial" experience, but as for taprooms and restaurants, (as a patron) it's very nice to be able to interact with the FOH manager. In some of the best casual dining/drinking establishments I've experienced recently have involved being served by or having conversation engaged by the FOH manager. Being the one who the staff reports to, you have the potential to be the most influential person interacting with your clientele face-to-face.

It's nice to have an "upper" in the establishment casually checking on their regulars and others, making themselves present.

I think it means a lot to customers when the usually-elusive superiors bounce around on the floor.

Just from a customer perspective. Cheers!

 

Training. At least weekly.
The "oh, you'll catch on." mentality, while at first seems friendly, leaves employees foundering and leaves guests in an odd position of "what can I get away with?".
Training staff properly can empower them to make simple decisions than will have universal application and eliminates the "let me find out, I'll be right back" answers that frustrate staff and guests.
Don't forget the new employees. Thursday's new hire didn't get the Monday training. Limit their interaction with customers until they are trained.
Staffing. One employee on duty is never a good idea. Assuming a winning business model, the bottom line suffers while understaffed. Payroll is a huge percent of cost, but shorting staff will hurt the bottom line in the long run.
Cheers and have fun

 

Dude, this is exactly the most wrongest forum to post this question on.

Yes, there are folks from breweries of all sizes that participate here, either officially or unofficially, but, your concerns will be better suited at an industry focused site.

Start here: http://www.probrewer.com/

 

I am not in the business, but can offer that the more that staff know about the beer they offer, the better. Two local independent craft taprooms foster beer knowledge in their staff, and I note that when something new is tapped, they all sample it - small samples. They also wear badges with their names handwritten, along with their favorite of the current 40 taps. In a brewery taproom, you would want the staff to be most familiar with the house taps, to the point of showing them how it's made.

In those local taprooms I've also noted that the staff talk to the customers about local beer events, even those not at that taproom. These folks are really into craft, rather than just taking a job that happens to be in the craft industry, so when you are hiring don't hire anyone unless they already have an interest in craft. Otherwise let Applebee's hire them.

Some other taprooms I've been to, even brewery taprooms, have had staff that didn't seem to know anything about their products. They're apparently there to just fill glasses.

One other thing is that you need a policy on how to mitigate the risk of sending folks on their way drunk when they may well be driving. I realize that you can't collect keys and track what everyone has had - but you can't totally ignore it either due to liability lawsuits. I don't have any specifics but be sure the staff know and follow whatever policy you have. This is particularly an issue with high ABV beers combined with taprooms that have a policy to urge folks out the second they're not drinking.

 

As a customer, I like people who know what they're doing, that is they know something about the beers. If I say "What's your stout offerings" and they rattle off 2 IPA's and a Berlinerweiss they either don't know (bad) or didn't listen (bad).

I get they're not all going to be beer experts, some will be there to make $$ for whatever but they can all be customer service experts.

I can not stress this enough - it is ok to say I don't know, let me find out and then come back with an answer. The taproom should have at least one person available to them as THE expert when it comes to the company's beers. Be it a manager or brewer working or a principle owner etc.

Training I guess helps all of this. Training on what they know, training on equipment, training to find out etc. And something to remember (goes for breweries, Home Depot, Car Quest etc) - sometimes the customer does know quite a bit more than you. Don't ever try to bullshit them. Simply admit you don't have the answer and find someone who does.

Can't tell you the number of times I've had staff argue with me about things they "think" they know because "I work at a brewery".

 

You have to have a zen like mastery of chaos while also handling a gang of beer loving misfits to be considered one of the good ones.
Be a dick. But be a humble one. i..e know your shit, but don't be afraid to hire people smarter than you.
It all goes back to your beer and sharing it. WIth a handsome profit margin.

 

i all add to the an informed staff being important, especially if you have several offering of the same style (i.e. multiple IPAs). Its nice to know what the differences are and then let the customer make an informed decision. also nice if the staff knows of what beers or events are coming up so people know when they should come back.

while it likely comes with experience the balancing of customer's needs/wants is important. i like it when i have time to casually interact with staff on the bar/brewery/beer info; and i dont like not being able to get a beer because the staff is tied up with an other customer. Of course others may prefer to be left alone, and others may need prodded to open up and actually like it. So not sure if you can train your staff this way or just help them learn what it takes.

 

Hire enough staff. That's a big one for me. Make it known early on if people can order at tables or need to order at the bar. Some places make it known that sometimes they can get you at the table, other times, you need to stand in line. Also, make it apparent where ordering can take place at the bar. The worst is when its just a free for all at the bar top with people waiting for a bartenders attention.

It's the little things and hiring that 3rd person may not seem worth it money wise , and your bar tenders may love what they are getting with just two people splitting the cost, but I want to make it known that consumers do care, and can see the difference in extra staff. With so many breweries opening, there are more than enough people willing to work in this sector. So hiring those that love the craft, and not just the $$$ is another important step imho