Napa Technology Shares Sinfully Smart Tips for Restaurant and Retail Operators
Wine is a fragile commodity and any number of things can go wrong during the shipping, storage, and consumption process. Napa Technology has put together nine of the scariest wine facts and quick pointers to help you keep your customers happy and your wines by the glass business profitable.
The Ghost of Sticky Fingers
Invisible and unintentional theft by over-pouring and unauthorized “complimentary” wines by the glass are two of the most common ways employees shave profits from behind the bar. According to BevIntel, this loss equates to nearly 20-30 percent of potential revenues each week. Using an intelligent wine dispensing system, like the one created by Napa Technology, can greatly reduce theft by accurately tracking and reporting each staff member’s interaction with an operators most valuable wines.
How to Kill a Meal
If you’re looking for the undead, paying attention to temperature changes is important. Same with wine. White wine that is served too cold can overpower your chef’s creation and ruin the experience of the meal. If red wine is stored at room temperatures that are too warm, it will make diners feel full faster and they’ll be less likely to order dessert or incremental glasses. Precise temperature control can prevent turning a perfectly good evening into a horror show.
Haunted By Premonitions
Does the fact that the traffic to your website doesn’t translate into sales, send a shiver up your spine? According to survey data from Angelsmith, more than 64 percent of consumers visit a restaurant’s website to review the menu and approximately 70 percent will choose another venue when they can’t find it within the website. Another study by Wine List USA showed that 24 percent of wine consumers visit restaurant websites just to view the wine before making their dining decision. Make sure your wine list is current and easily found on line to assure your guests don’t think all your lights are off — and go visit another house.
Send Your Wine Loss to the Morgue
Like a forensics team on CSI, uncovering wine loss can be a gruesome exercise with deadly results to any business’ bottom line. Behind the bar, the largest margin of loss is in sales of wines by the glass. Beverage Information Services found that loss to range between 11-15 percent. In tandem with tight inventory management, eliminating waste due to spoilage will make your headaches vanish. Automated preservation systems like the WineStation provide any bottle of wine with a 60 day life span. In a recent study, nearly half of the respondents cited using a preservation system to avoid letting spoilage suck the life out of their profits.
All Treats, No Trick
Consumers today are far more savvy about their wine selections, on and off-premise, and 65.4 percent of Napa Technology’s survey respondents report offering samples to encourage increased sales. Automated dispensing systems allow the customer to sample a broad range of wines with zero risk to the restaurateur or retailer.
Destroyed By Daylight
Light can decimate not just vampires, but also lead to oxidation in wine. The taste of an opened bottle of wine can change in as little as one day, ruining the experience of drinking the wine. Professional wine preservation and dispensing systems are the best way to create a perfect pour for each guest, every time.
Like Magic, Half is a Whole
Wine drinkers are splurging on wines by the glass. Just in smaller doses. The addition of the half glass to any menu encourages guests to indulge a little more, while allowing the operator to introduce flights and dessert pairings.
For Whom The Bell Tolls
The cash register rings most when pricing is perfect. According to Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research, dollar signs and un-rounded price points (i.e. $12.50 vs. 13) are off-putting to guests and lead to a decline in overall sales. So round your prices up and drop the dollar signs on your next wine list.
Dawn of the Dead
No, we’re not talking about your service staff. But having a ghost-like presentation of your wines by the glass list will make your profits vanish. According to Beverage Information Services 28% of respondents selected higher priced wines when the server made an educated suggestion.
Napa Technology, LLC is a designer and manufacturer of Intelligent Dispensing Solutions for wine that ensures optimum freshness with each pour. The company’s breakthrough product, WineStation, is designed to drive revenues and maximize the profitability of each bottle. WineStation has been adopted by hospitality, entertainment and foodservice industries as a new way to serve, preserve and capitalize on the value of available customer preference data.
For additional information on WineStation and Napa Technology visit www.napatechnology.com.
