"Hi, my name is...": The Value of Introducing Yourself to Taproom Guests
Hi, my name is (what?)
My name is (who?)
My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady)
Hi, my name is (huh?)
My name is (what?)
My name is (chka-chka, Slim Shady)
Eminem may not have known it, but he was onto something. Introducing yourself to your audience goes a long way and can help build deeper connections. Not only does it have the potential to propel you to a (controversially) successful career writing hit songs like “Lose Yourself” and “Without Me,” but offering your name will put you on the path to higher tabs, greater tips, and a busier taproom.
The Data: Staff that introduce themselves see tabs 25.2% higher than on taproom visits when staff do not offer their name.
Additionally, staff members who introduce themselves also receive a higher tip percentage. They see an average tip of 26.7% vs 23.9%, an increase of 11.7%.
The action of a team member introducing themselves is one of the first steps staff can take to offer a high level of engagement. We define the levels of engagement as:
Low: The staff does not attempt to build a connection with the guest and is absent for the bulk of the guest's visit.
Neutral: The staff goes through the motions, neither impressing or disappointing the guest.
Moderate: The staff greets the guest, offers recommendations, and checks back in a timely fashion.
High: The staff goes above and beyond moderate, "wow"-ing the guest.
The data shows that guests who receive a high level of engagement spend 29.4% more than guests who receive a low level of engagement.
To achieve a level of perceived high engagement, taproom staff must exhibit a variety of actions that not only provide efficient service but also build human connections. This is the quest from service to hospitality. Our 30-Second Conversation details how even in the shortest encounters you can achieve these goals.
Service is often expected, while hospitality is the result of higher engagement that results in meaningful connections. A guest expects to be served in a timely manner. However, no guest will ever leave your taproom upset that the server didn’t introduce themselves; yet little actions like this can unknowingly create more memorable experiences and have benefits for your brewery. These benefits help take your taproom from a place where beer is served to an important community gathering place where relationships are formed. Deepening the level of interaction from behaviors like offering a name will result in both more memorable and profitable taproom visits.
And it can all start from a simple, “Hi, I’m Andrew.”
Staff that begin an interaction by introducing themselves to a guest are 117% more likely to offer high engagement than staff that do not begin by offering their name. Only 1.8% of visits that begin with an introduction are perceived as low engagement, vs 11.9% of visits when it does not.
The data shows that staff introduce themselves on 60% of taproom visits, which leaves 4 out of 10 where the opportunity still exists. In case you’re curious like I was, we see staff offer their name 62.9% of the time on visits when a guest is visiting for the first time. On taproom experiences where the guest had visited before, we see the staff introduce themselves 57.4% of the time – a -5.5% difference from first-time visits.
Know what you’re going to do after reading this? Get a little better at offering your name to guests and encouraging your staff to do the same. We’re in the relationships business, and how many relationships get formed without a name?
This should matter to your staff, too. Leading with their name on the pursuit to higher engagement will make them more money. The average no-name visit generates $44.59 (including a $8.61 tip). The average name visit results in $55.84 (including a $11.78 tip). The difference in tip is $3.16. This adds up. Over 100 visits the team member offering their name will make an additional $316. The little things can make a big difference.
And the “Hi, my name is” concept can also help create that close-knit “Cheers” feel. Guests who are offered the name of staff members are more likely to return sooner. They are 55% more likely to return within a week and 25% more likely to return within 2 weeks, than guests who have visits where staff do not introduce themselves.
I’m not encouraging your taproom visits to feel robotic. On the contrary, I’m daring you to treat each interaction as the chance to build a new relationship and to find authentic ways to connect. Offering your name is just the start.
The takeaway? Be a little bit friendlier. I always encourage my son to introduce himself to his new friends. Do the same.
The data was collected for a set of 2244 unique taproom visits from April 1, 2021 to November 14, 2022. Each tab represents 1.94 guests and includes tip.