Taking a Bad Taproom Experience and Making it Awesome
I love small town getaways. They’re the perfect chance to disconnect, spend time with my family, visit a new brewery, and explore the outdoors. Recently, we took a trip to the middle of nowhere North Carolina. We took the scenic route in, strolled through the highly vacant Main Street, and parked in front of our Airbnb. It matched the description perfectly.
We threw our bags down and set back out to explore. We hit up both local breweries, were 3 of 7 guests in one of the only restaurants open, and then called it an early night. However, once we arrived back to the quaintly named Tucker Cottage Guest House, we encountered a few road bumps.
Issue 1 – TV trouble: For the life of us, we couldn’t get the TV working. Even my tech-savvy 4-year-old had trouble. I always try to avoid messaging the host; however, shot her a quick note. Less than a minute later, she provided us with a solution. Almost time for Kung Fu Panda…except…
Issue 2 – The toilet wouldn’t stop running: I like to think I’m pretty decent at troubleshooting basic household issues, but despite my best attempts, I couldn’t find a reason that the toilet wouldn’t stop running. It would make the running noise we all know, stop, then start again. Have no fear….Superhost is here! Victoria arrived soon after and fixed the problem.
The little things make a big difference, and by helping resolve two small issues, Victoria made our visit even better. She didn’t make me feel bad for having trouble, responded to my concerns extremely promptly, and in no time had a solution.
If your guests have issues, can your taproom staff resolve them in a way that not only makes the situation better, but also blows their mind? And despite the issue, makes them want to return even more?
Even the best businesses have bad days. It is important that you not only provide your team with the tools to offer engaging taproom visits, but also the strategies to create a world-class experience when things go wrong. Guests won’t remember the negative. They will have a deeper connection with your brewery because of how they were wowed by your staff.
So, before you flip out on that guest who’s upset that their sour is way too sour, take a deep breath and get ready to offer them a dose of empathy, enthusiasm, and good ole’ problem solving.
Most important, empathy. When something isn’t going right for a guest, give them your undivided focus and hear what’s going on. Let them know you understand their frustrations/concerns/issue, and that you want to make it right.
In the situation of the “sour beer being too sour,” simply offering to get them something they may enjoy better should resolve the situation. Use the initial “wrong beer” scenario as an educational opportunity that transforms into “right beer, right guest.”
(Disclaimer: if they happened to order your super-limited release that’s $32 for a 10 oz pour, I understand that this solution may not work.)
Perhaps they believe they had to wait way too long for their second beer? Apologize and express understanding. Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility. “I am truly sorry for the wait.” While it may be your busiest Saturday of the year, if the guest is already noticeably upset, they most likely don’t want to hear your explanation. They want to feel heard.
If they appear more level-headed, it may be best to be transparent. “I’m really sorry for the delay. We’re currently experiencing staffing issues and our kitchen is 2 people short. We appreciate you and I apologize this happened.” You’re opening up to the guest. Emotions are a two-way street and while I’m not suggesting pouring your heart out to someone a few IPAs deep, relationships are strengthened when both parties share.
Like finding the perfect beer, each guest has unique needs and expectations. As taproom staff and managers, fully digest the situation and offer the solution you believe best fit for that guest. The first-time guest who had to wait too long and the manager from a nearby local brewery will require two very different responses to resolve a seemingly unfortunate situation.
Through this process, you must also act quickly and with enthusiasm. If a guest complains, and then you proceed to help several others, or worse, forget about them, their negative emotions will grow, reducing the likelihood that you’ll emerge with a win for everyone involved. It’s necessary to act swiftly and demonstrate sincerity in your desire to understand how they feel.
The guest wants to feel confident that you have heard their concerns and will take steps to avoid similar situations in the future. Your job is to create the best experience possible. If you take too long to address the situation, the guest may already be one foot out the door and heading to the brewery down the street. Likely to never return and share this negative experience with their friends and family.
But caring and a positive attitude don’t alone generate results, you must have a plan. As taproom servers and managers, part of your responsibilities are not only being able to acknowledge the situation at hand, but also solve the problem. Being a good listener and then walking away won’t fix an unfortunate situation. Someone who is frustrated wants to be heard and provided with a solution. In many cases, providing the guest with a new beer to replace something they weren’t happy with is an easy fix. For just a few bucks, you’ve deescalated a situation.
In other potential scenarios, the path to resolution may require more time and effort. You may offer a new beer, and the guest may not be a fan of that option. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Read the situation and mentally review all options and potential outcomes. If the guest does not respond favorably to your proposed solution, be prepared to suggest alternatives. It will involve more work, and potentially creativity; however, if they’re listening, they’re also open to making their visit end on a positive note. Keep listening and work towards finding what will turn their visit around.
Let’s recap:
Show empathy.
Respond quickly.
Emit positivity.
Think creatively.
Let the guest know you value them, their feedback, and their concern.
“You charged me for an extra beer!” The tab may be 100% correct and the guest may have had more than they can remember, but other people are watching and you don’t need your day to get worse. Deep breath, quick thinking, “I’m sorry,” “we appreciate you,” and take the drink off their bill. Maybe even give them a sticker.
Don’t just solve their problem, wow them. They’ve been on an emotional taproom rollercoaster. Make their occasion unforgettable in the best of ways.
A guest’s food from your new in-house kitchen took too long, you brought the wrong drink, accidentally overcharged them – but you took accountability, and surprised those out-of-towners with a shirt from last year’s order that you knew you’d have a hard time selling anyways. Guess what they’ll always remember as they proudly show off their new shirt? How well you handled the situation. You, my friend, saved the day.
How to prepare:
Don’t just train your staff on how to educate/sell/serve beer. Train them on what to do when things go wrong.
Create a playbook of potential scenarios with possible solutions. Remember, you don’t want your staff sounding like robots and spewing out pre-generated responses. They must truly show empathy and handle each situation authentically.
Have them role play (yes, really) with other staff to find their voice.
Empower your staff to make decisions. If they must wait for a manager’s approval on how to resolve a guest’s negative experience, you may have missed the window to fix it. Provide your team with a menu of options to turn a negative into a positive customer experience.
Learn from your past interactions. How did you handle unfortunate situations before? Did it work? What could you have done better?
Of course, the customer can be wrong. Whether wrong or right, it should be your goal to maximize the experience to the best of your ability.
I’m currently reading Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results, and the author, Shane Parrish, states, we should be focused on “outcomes over egos.” I love this. Don’t let your feelings get hurt by an experience that starts to go sour. Focus on making the best of a bad time.
You have the power to flip the narrative. One second it may be “WORST BREWERY EVER,” but with a little empathy, enthusiasm, and problem solving, you have potential to make the guest forget the initial problem. Instead of spreading their terrible experience with their friends and family, now they’ll share what you did to make their visit special.