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Watch out! Are you one of the hospitality operators willfully under-serving spirits and beer or not using correct jiggers to take advantage of patrons?

Like many people getting back down to business this January, you're probably looking at the how, what, why, when of the year.

But there's one simple question, that may help you answer a lot of those other questions....

How long should a guest wait for their drink?

A cocktail requires consistency through carefully measured ingredients and should be delivered, to the customer, with no variation in volume, taste, or appearance. All without wastage!

'Easier said than done,' we hear you cry!

Recently I went to a diner and ordered a hamburger for lunch. The traditional square napkin holder was on the table, dispensing single square folded napkins.

By the end of the meal l'd unintentionally used 4 napkins, and felt a little embarrassed.

Did I just make far too much mess?

After the initial guilt trip, some semblance of logic kicked in: on one hand I thought, who cares how many napkins I've used, they’re cheap! On the other I thought isn’t there a financial cost and environmental impact of what I had just done?

The average person isn’t going to be consumed by these thoughts, however on further reflection - who's really to blame? The customer or the manager?

Understand l ordered a messy burger, and was going to make a mess, however the provided napkins were very small when opened, brittle and not well absorbing.

Would l have used as much as l did if the napkins happened to be thicker and higher quality?

Bingo...the answer in one: management presumably wanted to save money buying napkins. Napkins are consumable, rarely thought of, yet still part of a customer experience.

Buyers mandate are built around saving money/reducing costs and do not usually consider end results and consequences.

By opting for the cheapest napkin, the diners still need to get the job done, but at what extra cost in terms of purchase quantity, extra labor and disposal costs?

On face value who'd argue with the righteousness of saving a buck? Yet in practical terms using 2, 3 or 4 times the necessary amount of paper will probably end up costing far more than having purchased a higher grade quality of napkin to start with!

The point: failure to properly invest ends up costing more when the cheapest option tends not to be the best, requiring more time, effort and usage to get the job done.
 
So isn't this a case of too little costing far too much?

What do you think!?

Each incoming new year overloads us with information on the latest cocktail trends - what's fading, popular and what will be popular.

Whenever these reports surface, there’s lots of chatter and interest amongst bartenders and bar owners hoping to gobble up and then commercialise the latest trends:

However, the resulting consequence is less exciting than one hoped to imagine - with bars around the world following the exact same trend and offering similar concoctions with little to no differentiation.

Here’s some things to consider the next time you’re reading (and hoping to implement) about the latest cocktail trend.

Trends are the talk of the town. Whilst it’s great to know what’s happening away from your bar, do you really want to follow a trend that too many others close by will soon follow?
Some trends are irrelevant. Trends tend not to account for nuances such as culture, demographics and geographic differences and can prove to be irrelevant to your customers.

Trends should be symbolic only. Trends should be seen more as an indicator, rather than something that’s definitive, to represent the theme and taste relevant of your bar and its guests.

Who is reporting the trend? Can the information reported be trusted? Is the trend promoted by a liquor company or its reps with a vested interest?

When it comes down to reality, the bar world is competitive with everyone looking to gain an edge...and following a cocktail trend seems like a good idea!

Therefore, while a bar can start crunching profits early on by adopting a trend, the question of a trend's longevity must be taken into consideration. Is investing in the trend worthwhile? Will it provide sustainability for the business? Rather than answering these questions, we can focus our energy on creating a craft bar experience - who are better served being beacons of creativity while offering inspiration, art and experiences rather than slavishly following cocktail trends of dubious or possibly irrelevant provenance.