Is A Self-Serve Wine & Beer Tap System Right For Your Restaurant?
The restaurant industry is always evolving, and self-pour technology might just be the latest trend you don't want to miss. These innovative systems enhance the customer experience like never before, all while protecting the quality of your drinks and reducing labor costs.
Not sure if self-pour systems are right for you?
Don't listen to us, listen to consumer preferences. There's a reason why major players like McDonald's and Starbucks are investing. So, read on to learn more about how you can enhance your operations with GS Draft’s revolutionary self-pour taps.
How Do Self-Serve Beer Tap Systems Work?
A self-serve beer wall allows customers to purchase and self-pour drinks without a bartender. When installing Self-Serve Kiosks, these systems are completely self-contained and refrigerated for easy mobility, allowing for easy, custom installations. They can serve a variety of brews, including beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic draft beverages like coffee, mocktails, or kombucha.
Many self-pour systems also include integrated RFID technology, boosting operational efficiency. Customers can use these systems to complete simple, cashless purchases and pour beer, wine, and other beverages with ease. Easy-to-use touchscreens offer convenient drink information and descriptions, while RFID reads cards, wristbands, and more to ensure that beverages are responsibly distributed to approved customers. For you, these technologies also help track consumption trends to curb waste and better meet customer demand.
Self-Serve Taps Vs. Traditional Bars: What's The Difference?
There are key differences between a traditional and self-service bar, and knowing these differences will help you hone into the broader market. For example:
Traditional Bars
Did you know that the average bartender pours drinks over 4x slower than a ReverseTap self-pour system? At best, waiting for drinks can be a frustrating experience, and at worst, it can cost you your customers. Here's what the traditional system entails:
- Waiting for the bartender: In large bars or during peak business hours, customers must wait their turn to get the bartender’s attention. This can lead to long lines and wait times, ultimately degrading the customer experience.
- Order placement and preparation: After an order is placed, bartenders must process it through a POS system, potentially familiarize themselves with the drink printout, prepare the drink, and place it in the pickup area. This adds multiple steps before the customer even gets their drink.
- Payment delays: In a traditional setting, customers either open a tab or pay per round, adding time to each transaction. This can be tedious and confusing, especially in larger groups.
- Reordering drinks: Each time customers want another drink, they need to repeat the entire process, waiting in line again and restarting the cycle.
Self-Pour Tap Systems
Unlike the traditional bar experience, a self-serve system allows customers to enjoy drinks in two fast, easy steps. They simply:
- Open a Tab: Before using the self-serve system, customers will open a tab with the host and connect it to their RIFD card.
- Start Pouring: Once an RFID card is connected to the guest's credit card, they can instantly self-pour wine, beer, cocktails, seltzers, mocktails, and any other beverage available in your establishment.
The Benefits Of Self-Serve Tap Systems
Efficiency
Did you know that it takes the average bartender over 30 seconds to pour a glass of beer or wine? Self-pour systems like ReverseTap Kiosks can fill a glass in only 7 seconds, all while preventing overflow. After 100 drinks are served, the system will save you just over 38 minutes of pour time!
This is just one example of how self-pour systems can boost efficiency and provide you with more beverage sales. These systems also free up human employees. Instead of wasting time on tedious tasks like cleaning and pouring, they can instead focus on more complex tasks or engaging with customers.
Data and Analytics
With integrated RIFD technology, self-serve systems provide you with more data than ever before. You can easily track what sells the most, and to who, allowing you to invest in the drinks that boost your business. Plus, your inventory can be tracked in real-time, providing you with alerts when supplies are low.
This eliminates guesswork and reduces waste in several ways. By analyzing sales trends and customer preferences, you gain valuable insights into optimizing your menu, streamlining operations, and boosting profitability.
Beverage Quality & Safety
Your beer and wine taps hold the sacred duty of safely transporting beverages from keg to customer with no contaminants. Self-serve technology takes this as seriously as any highly experienced bartender. They provide:
Temperature Control: Beverages stored at the wrong temperature can spoil, wasting thousands of dollars. Self-serve systems can monitor and maintain proper storage to prevent spoilage.
Fewer Contaminants: By avoiding materials like metal and preventing direct human contact, self-serve systems can improve hygiene and reduce contamination throughout the restaurant.
Drink Variety
Every restaurant owner knows that taste varies greatly from customer to customer, which is another reason why self-serve systems can be so valuable. Typically, having a large drink menu requires bartenders to familiarize themselves with drink printouts. Lack of expertise can lead to mistakes and long wait times.
Conversely, self-pour systems allow you to serve a countless variety of drinks perfectly and instantaneously. For example, self-pour systems are compatible with:
- Beer
- Wine
- Coffee
- Cocktails
- Seltzers
- Kombucha
and more!
Customer Experience
When competition is fierce, customer satisfaction keeps your restaurant going. How do self-pour taps enhance the experience? Self-serve taps deliver:
Faster service: Self-pour taps reduce wait times by allowing customers to serve themselves.
Consistent drink quality: These systems pour each drink accurately and maintain the intended taste with every pour.
Personalized interactions: Customers control their own experience, choosing what and how much they want to pour.
Reduced errors: Self-serve kiosks minimize miscommunication and order mistakes by letting customers place their own orders directly.
Real-time updates: Customers can track their orders and consumption easily, enhancing their overall experience and convenience.
Reduced Labor Costs
Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, many restaurants have struggled to maintain staff and keep up with labor costs. If you're in that boat, self-serve taps can help bring costs down significantly.
Self-serve reduces the need for manual labor by handling order taking, drink pouring, and storage. This allows your business to operate effectively with fewer employees and reduces the pressure on those currently employed. These freed-up staff members can then be reallocated to more customer-facing roles, improving service efficiency. Overall, you'll be able to cut overhead expenses, improve employee satisfaction, and increase profitability, all at the same time.
Why Choose GS Draft For Your Self-Serve Tap System?
When it comes to self-pour systems, GS Draft System Solutions offers unmatched services. Whether for our Self-Serve Beer Tap Walls or innovative ReverseTap system, we provide:
Custom Design
From classic saloons to modern cocktail bars, every restaurant is unique. At GS Draft, we custom-design all of our self-serve kiosks to meet your budget, fit your needs, and fit your space. We can customize towers or utilize turnkey solutions for optimum functionality.
Installation
Some suppliers might leave you on your own to install your self-serve systems, but not us. We understand the importance of a properly installed Draft System with exact operating conditions. Our team can also install anywhere in the country.
Staff Training
Self-pour systems are still new to the hospitality industry, with most employees lacking the training required to maintain and troubleshoot. That's why we take the time to train every staff member, so they can avoid mistakes that lead to downtime and make the most of your new equipment.
Digital Beverage Menu
What’s a restaurant bar without a beverage menu? Beer Wizard Beer Menus provides easy-to-use templates, customization, and communication tools to reach customers.
Maintenance
Regular maintenance helps to identify potential issues before they become big problems. Our maintenance programs help to keep the beverages flowing, from regular cleaning to advanced troubleshooting.
Self-Pour System Installation & Maintenance
Knowing whether or not self-pour technology is right for your restaurant may come down to installation and maintenance. While some suppliers may leave you to fend for yourself with new equipment, putting your restaurant in a precarious financial situation, GS Draft instead delivers on all fronts.
Proper installation is the first step to ensuring your self-pour system runs smoothly. These systems are completely self-contained, making them easy to customize and connect to your existing kegs.
After that, ongoing maintenance will be one of the key factors in determining the success of your system. Whether you use GS Draft's ongoing maintenance and repair services or not, you should:
Give your system regular cleanings
Keep your self-serve software updated
Troubleshoot errors
Pay attention to system notifications
Promptly repair leaks and any other damage that may occur over time
Invest in Self-Pour Wine & Beer Systems Today!
Self-serve taps are becoming especially popular with younger generations, streamlining operations and making customers feel right at home in your restaurant. If you're seeking a custom self-serve system, the GS Draft System Solutions team is ready to help.
We take pride in our work and are here to address any inquiries about our extensive product options and services, which are all created to help your business run above the industry standard.
Explore our comprehensive installation options by calling us at (949) 421-3882. You can also email us at sales@gsdraft.com. We look forward to your message!
