BENEFITS OF SELF-POUR IN THE WAKE OF A PANDEMIC

By Tana Rulkova | PourMyBeer

The self-pour trend started to pick up a couple of years ago due to the need to increase efficiency at wineries, bars, taprooms. But in a post-COVID world, there are many more benefits of transitioning to a self-pour wine on tap system.

Reduce Touchpoints & Maintain Social Distance

When using self-pour technology, customers don’t have to worry about the bartender and server who would usually touch their glass of wine and spend time around their open glass. The guests are in charge and the only ones touching their wine.

A self-serve wine wall will generally limit the number of interactions that would be necessary between the staff and guests at a bar with a traditional dispense setup. The conventional method includes a bartender(s) pouring and a waiter/waitress bringing the wine to one’s table, resulting in many touchpoints and interactions between the staff members and customers.

With self-pour technology, this can be limited to one single touchpoint – checking the customer in (verifying their legal age to drink while setting them up with their RFID card linked to their preferred payment method). Furthermore, thanks to self-pour beverage walls, the poured glasses of wine will no longer be carried through the establishment by a waiter. Customers will carry their glasses and make sure that they’re keeping their distance from other patrons, ensuring that their wine will not get exposed to others.

Increase Efficiency

Self-pour was designed to increase efficiency for both the staff and the customers. Self-pour taps eliminate steps from the process of ordering a drink; customers don’t need to flag down the waiter, wait for them to come to the table, receive a menu from them, have them take the order, eventually coming back with the beverages.

When an establishment offers self-pour wine, guests can get drinks when they want, as opposed to going through the entire process of placing an order like at a traditional bar. When servers are busy helping other guests, customers can just serve themselves, allowing the waiters and waitresses to complete all of their other tasks efficiently and diligently. This is particularly helpful now, as they need to focus their efforts on sanitation and cleanliness much more than was necessary pre-pandemic.

Avoid Forming Crowds

No more crowded bar areas! Having a self-pour tap wall allows for the appropriate social distancing necessary to stop the spread of Covid-19. Many self-pour taprooms utilizing have stickers on the floor, reminding patrons to keep 6-feet of distance between one another, keeping both their customers and their staff safe.

Optimize Space of the Establishment

A simple beverage wall, commonly situated towards the brick and mortar wall, usually saves around 10-15 % of usable space in the establishment. This extra space is especially valuable now that restaurants are facing capacity restrictions, sometimes to as little as 25% inside.

Easy Cleaning

One of the most significant reasons why self-pour wine walls present both a great and safe solution in the wake of the pandemic is because, with a self-pour set up, you put the customers in the driver's seat. This allows them to clean whatever they want themselves, ensuring they feel safe and in control of their entire drinking experience.Also, the self-pour setup is easily visible to everyone, so having a staff member wiping down the self-pour wall consistently, helps to make the customers feel more at ease. This is a great way to show your customers that you are proactive about the issue and truly care about their well-being and safety.

Maximize Customer Flow and Revenue

During these unprecedented times, businesses in the hospitality industry have to evaluate their operations carefully and make necessary adjustments. With a limited capacity, maximizing the flow of customers is the key to keeping revenue flowing. This is where self-pour perfectly fits into the equation, as unnecessary waiting experienced at traditional bars is eliminated, and customers can consume more in a fraction of the time (with less staff help needed).

Decrease Waste

If you’re forced to tighten up your belt a bit due to mandated closings and now not being able to serve the same number of customers, self-pour wine brings the perfect solution. Kegged wine stays fresh for up to 3 months, as opposed to wine in bottles, which, if opened but unfinished, often need to be thrown away in less than a week. Now that your establishment might not be experiencing the same flow of customers as it used to, you might not be able to go through all of the wine bottles as quickly. So, self-pour wine is a perfect solution to avoid waste and make sure every ounce (always paid by customer) is accounted for.

If you would like to learn about the benefits of self-pour wine, visit PourMyBeer.com or email info@freeflowwines.com!

ABOUT TANA RULKOVA

Tana is the Senior Marketing Manager at PourMyBeer. She’s been part of the self-pour revolution for two years now, but she’s been involved in the beverage industry for her entire life. Growing up in the Czech Republic as the daughter of a pub owner, it only makes sense that she is combining her knowledge of beer & wine with her ninja-like digital marketing skills.