Creating more memorable and profitable taproom experiences

Secret Blogger

3 Things that Don't Matter to Taproom Guests

These things might not matter to guests, but they can significantly impact your taproom. Sometimes, subtle aspects can unconsciously enhance a guest’s experience, leading to more memorable visits. Why should you care? When guests have a better experience, they are likely to spend more.

#1: Introduce yourself

For example, very few guests will care if a bartender introduces themselves. However, when this behavior is included as part of a taproom visit, that guest, on average, will spend 25% more than when staff do not introduce themselves ($55.84 vs $44.59). Currently, 40% of taproom visits do not include a team member offering their name.

#2: Visible Events Calendar

45% of taproom guests don’t encounter a clearly visible listing of upcoming events. I repeat, nearly half of taproom guests aren’t made aware of a future event that could motivate a return visit. When guests see an events calendar, they are nearly 20% more likely to return within 2 weeks and 64% more likely to return within a week.

#3: Check ID

This is a fun one. The impact of checking an ID on spending is something we’ve never explored in before. Secret Hopper collects data based on the question, 'Before serving your beer, did the staff verify your ID if you appeared under 35?'

For those over 35 and not ID’d, we see tabs average $51.91, which is above our study average of $51.15. On visits where staff don’t check IDs for guests under 35, the average spend is $50.03. For the same under 35 demographic, they spend an average of $50.34 when ID’d—essentially flat.

However, when staff check the ID of those 35 and older, these guests spend the highest of all demographics. Guests 35+ who are ID’d spend an average of $54.14. This is almost 5% more than guests, also 35 and older, who are not asked for their ID.

Why is this? Perhaps they’re flattered. Maybe they’re surprised. They could even be reassured that the taproom is strict about checking IDs, which may make them feel more secure about the establishment’s commitment to following laws and maintaining a responsible atmosphere. So, that person who’s obviously over 35 may actually spend a bit more if you card them.

Bonus: Going to spare you another mention on upselling to go beer, but you can read that here.

Takeaways – Pick one of the following three and encourage your team to try it out today:

  • “Hi, my name is…..”

  • ID all guests

  • Make sure you have a visible calendar and have your team mention upcoming events.

For #1 and #3, we use a data set of 2244 unique taproom visits from January 1, 2021, to November 14, 2022. For #2, we use a data set of 1440 unique taproom visits from November 15, 2022 to February 26, 2024. Each visit represents an average of 2 guests, and the total spend includes tip and tax.