There are many things that equate to a profitably run bar – keeping stock audited; having an impactful bar design; efficient management, and pouring good drinks with speed and accuracy to name a few.
The last of those is a key asset – and it ties in with the organisation of your bar space, your staff and your stock. If you can be speedy and accurate you have a happy customer, with a well-made drink, and a smile-inducing profit line.
“We know, in a busy bar, on average, a bartender can generate $600 per hour in sales. If you break that down: $10 per minute or 17 cents per second!
So, every second is worth $0.17 in opportunity cost;” says Barmetrix.
That’s some maths right there. And it shows that even the smallest things count – every second counts... and every lost drop of booze, every over-pour of drinks, every leaking pourer – they all add up.
Not convinced? Here’s some bar maths for you to wrap your head around:
For every one 30ml or 1oz shot you pour,
you’re probably wasting 10-15% extra booze.
That’s 4.6ml over-pour to be precise… and it’s all down to the meniscus.
The mensicus is the bubble that standard jiggers create at the top when liquid is poured in. Don’t believe us – check out the facts here and learn why the innovative trilobial jigger shape guarantees an accurate pour every time.
It's not just about measuring. What about pouring?
A 30ml shot will take 3 seconds to pour
A 35ml shot will take 3.5 seconds to pour
A 50ml shot will take 5 seconds
And so on.
But that time can vary slightly depending on the consistency, or even temperature of the liquid. And relying on this maths to free-pour is all well and good until a bartender gets a bit tired and seconds get longer. In a nutshell, free-pouring is bad news for your bottom line.
Poor Pouring = Poor Bar
According to stats from Diageo Bar Academy, each shift a bartender wastes one over-poured cocktail, averaging in price at approximately $13.00 Australian or $10 US. That equates to a loss of $4,800 AU or $3,500 US per annum!
And liquid loss doesn’t just come from over-pouring – it comes from bad stocktaking, or staff who help themselves. And it also comes from leaky or poor-quality pourers.
Back to the maths!
Each bartender on shift wastes two whiskies in leaky pourers at $7 AU or $5.50 US every day. And if you have five bartenders on, that equates to $26k in AUD or $19.5k USD per annum in liquor loss.
That's $7,355 AU or $5,500 US per year, per bartender - just think of how many cases that equates to, basically going down the drain!
And those figures are hard to argue with.
Having a good quality speed pourer not only means you avoid leaks, but it also helps you along the route to consistency and consistency is a must if you want to get top marks in bar maths!
The ProFlow range of pourers allows bartenders to pour with speed and accuracy and it completely disassembles for easy cleaning and maintenance. This also means it has longevity behind the bar – yet another way to make the numbers look good.
So, it's time to think carefully about bar maths - count your liquor loss, subtract the bar tools that are letting you down, and add some Uberbartools to make a neat sum of profitability. Class dismissed!