“I genuinely love it. I do it purely for the passion of it. I don’t need the money whatsoever. However, the crowds, the environment, diversity of people you meet, that’s what it is about. I love it and there is no other job you experience it.” The words of Luis, the bartender that I got chatting to on a recent visit to Belfast, where I stumbled across a jazz bar and settled in for a negroni.
Over an hour or so, I observed Luis, effortlessly tending to the guests, methodically giving recommendations, telling stories in a strange Spanish/Northern Irish drawl and providing nearly as much entertainment as the fiddler and old tambourine man on stage. He, along with his two colleagues behind the bar, kept the whole operation afloat, the link between parched punters and their thirst-quenching elixir, the experience makers and the purveyors of good times.
I am sure this is familiar to many of you. Our On Premise experiences are shaped as much by the service we are provided as it is by the drinks. Great hospitality has the power to transform drinks brands into a fundamental pillar of fond memories with which long-lasting relationships are formed.
It reminded me of a word that I recently learnt while researching the On Premise landscape of Japan. More than a word, it sums up excellent hospitality culture and what hospitality venues should aspire to; omotenashi is said to be impossible to fully put into words, but in essence means wholeheartedly looking after guests. An intrinsic part of the Japanese On Premise, it centres around delivering more than just good food and drink, instead elevating that delivery to encompass the whole guest experience.
The culture of omotenashi is one which Japanese hospitality staff are intensely proud of, and with reason; a culture that delights guests and fulfils servers should be celebrated, as it comes with no lack of effort. Leaving guests with smiles on faces is difficult, especially in an age where social-media fuelled expectations are higher than ever and we are in a never-ending search for perfection.
It is with this in mind, and as a dedicated student of the On Premise, that I set out on a quest to identify the fundamental elements of a perfect hospitality experience, in which drinks brands can build relationships between their brands and their prospective consumers.
Yes, I took on the unenviable task of sitting down at three more bars to observe how experiences are curated and delivered – all in the name of research of course. Alongside the jazz bar in Belfast came a London East-end boozer, a Mancunian speakeasy bar and a jam-packed Bavarian bierkeller, a shelter from the blistering summer heat of Munich.
It would be difficult to find four different-looking venues, but as soon as I stepped foot in each, I knew I was in for a treat. Walking into the cockney pub on a Sunday afternoon was like an embrace with a long-lost friend; the warm murmur of conversation drowning out the low hum of football commentary from the TV in the corner. In the cocktail bar I was perfectly greeted by our host; a sense of confidence immediately letting me know that I was in very capable hands.
But it was the relief of the cool, subterranean bierkeller when I most knew that I had made a good choice. As I entered, what hit me wasn’t necessarily the aroma of pork knuckle and sauerkraut or the vast displays of steins that got me, but the pure contentment of the guests. I’m not talking about those cheesy, easy-to-please punters either, those who would sit with big grins delivered by bogus, ‘instagramable’ versions of ‘German’ hospitality (not that there is anything wrong with that – it just ain’t for me), these were serious hospitality buffs – and they were happy.
Why? Well it, like each of the other venues that delivered on the On Premise experience was authentic. It was friendly without being cocky. These guys wanted me to have a good time, they wanted me to have the best drinks they had to offer, but they didn’t want to push anything on me. If I wanted to hear a story, they had plenty, but if I wanted to be left alone, then that was fine too. It’s difficult to describe, but it was the staff that made it. Maybe it was omotenashi.
To learn more about CGA’s REACH survey and other sources of consumer insights for suppliers and operators across global markets to support your global strategies, click here or contact Charlie Mitchell here.
Originally published in Global Drinks Intel Magazine
