The $1,758 Taproom Question: Why To Go Beer Deserves a Bigger Push
How have we not written about to go beer since 2023? And why aren’t brewery staff encouraging it more frequently to guests? We hit peak suggestive selling numbers in 2022, where we saw taproom staff encourage to go beer on 22.3% of visits. Looking at data from November 22, 2022 to February 27, 2024, staff are only encouraging to go beer 18.4% of the time.
Why? Well, the better question might be why not?
A guest is 480% more likely to purchase beer to go when asked, vs when they are not asked.
Taproom staff are actually tipped higher on visits when staff suggest taking some to go (23.9% vs 22.5%).
Tabs are 17% higher when guests purchase beer to go.
The guest who purchases to go is tipping an average of $11.85, vs $9.66.
It’s a common myth that guests don’t tip on to-go beer, and it’s costing your staff money. And this may be true if someone comes in only to grab beer to go. However, the data shows otherwise. Guests who purchase to go beer are not only spending more, but also tipping a greater percentage and amount. This is because the team member who is encouraging beer to go is most likely practicing other habits that exhibit higher levels of hospitality and engagement.
Your taproom staff are most likely working at your brewery for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s a summer job, maybe they’re a huge beer nerd, maybe they want to open a brewery some day. Regardless of why they’re working at your taproom, they’re there to make money.
So, let’s show your staff even further how encouraging to go beer can make them more money, and how much. Let’s assume the average taproom staff member is working 20 shifts per month, and handling 20 tabs each shift, for a total of 400 tabs per month.
What the Average Taproom Staff Member Earns Today
Staff suggest to go beer 18.4% of the time – a missed opportunity.
43.4% of those asked say yes
7.5% of guests still buy when not asked
Based on this, they’re making about $200 in tips per shift, and $4010 in tips per month.
What They Could Make by Asking Every Guests
If staff ask every guest, approx. 4.3 guests out of 10 will say “yes” to taking some home.
Based on this, the average staff member can make $219 a shift in tips.
Over a month, this amounts to $4375 in tips.
This is an extra $18 per shift and $364 per month, by simply asking a question.
It’s like getting tipped an extra $364 a month, with the same number of guests. Your staff doesn’t need to work longer hours or upsell hard. They just need to ask a simple question: “Would you like to take any to go?”
What This Means for Your Brewery’s Bottom Line
If one staff member works 20 shifts a month and serves 20 tabs per shift:
Current to-go beer revenue (asking 18.4% of the time): ~$846/month
Potential revenue if they asked every guest: ~$2,604/month
Additional revenue per staff member: $1,758 more per month
That’s nearly $1,800 in extra sales per month, just by encouraging to-go beer more consistently, and that’s per staff member. Multiply that by your team, and the impact grows fast. All from one question.