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Permalink Reply by Matt Swenson on January 4, 2009 at 8:46pm

One good idea that we have had a positive response from was a pre-opening private party. You can invite, friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and encourage your employees to do the same to receive free drinks. Not only does this showcase your business, it allows the baristas to have a great "rush" experience while easing them into the customer service aspect if they are not experienced. Since you (owner) will already know many of the "customers", they will generally not be nervous to give you an honest opinion for constructive feedback.

Also, the free drink thing is a great idea. Many new owners tend to see dollars adding up and adding up when you are supposed to be starting to MAKE money, but you have to think of it as training/practice, with free marketing out of that practice. Double the benefit for the same cost.

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Permalink Reply by John P on January 5, 2009 at 3:39pm

I agree with Matt about the pre-opening party. I would disagree with giving anything away free as you've described.

First: Trust your instincts. You're the professional, either it's good, or it's not. I would guess that you DO know if X is good or not... go with it!

Secondly: Your product has a value, inviting someone to a pre-opening party as a means of testing the waters retains that perception of value. If you just give a drink as a "free" drink then their initial perception is that it conceptually has no value. "Free" can be ok with a purchase during your opening, but "free" should only be approached after value has been established.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 5, 2009 at 6:13pm

Agree with John here. This is about your concepts, ideas, and recipes. Develop drinks you love and believe in and work on them till they are perfect. Don't release them until then. Be very selective and limit your number of guinea pigs, and don't feel like you need to test every drink on them. Try them behind the bar and release them.

Open-ended free drink giveaway to walk-ins sounds like a bad idea. A single "free drink" card given out sparingly to thank the people that help you along the way is better... respect the value of your product, and treat it like something of value.

Great idea with the pre-open party. Blow it out and take lots of pictures.

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Permalink Reply by Rob on January 5, 2009 at 6:23pm

Thanks for the replys, they certainly are appreciated and respected. I'm looking forward to a private blow out but we'll be thinking hard about our "free" coffee etc while we are training staff. The value of our product and service is certainly worth something.

Thanks again!


Brady said:

Agree with John here. This is about your concepts, ideas, and recipes. Develop drinks you love and believe in and work on them till they are perfect. Don't release them until then. Be very selective and limit your number of guinea pigs, and don't feel like you need to test every drink on them. Try them behind the bar and release them.

Open-ended free drink giveaway to walk-ins sounds like a bad idea. A single "free drink" card given out sparingly to thank the people that help you along the way is better... respect the value of your product, and treat it like something of value.

Great idea with the pre-open party. Blow it out and take lots of pictures.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 5, 2009 at 6:45pm

We had alot of drop-ins. Didn't serve much prior to open. We let the anticipation build, and it paid off on opening day.

Mostly due to some last-minute machine installation specifics (power)... not due to any grand scheme or wisdom.

By the way, good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Tyler on January 5, 2009 at 10:06pm

the pre opening party is a great idea, at my old cafe, we had a very open environment when we were in the final states of the building process, we had the bar and everything set up, but no permit to sell items, so we just invited the community to check out the space and every now and then would offer free drinks, so it was like a secret bonus for those interested enough to check out the space while we were still building it, of course we also had a tip jar out and made a couple bucks that way...

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Permalink Reply by Rich Abker on January 5, 2009 at 10:44pm

Generally, I agree that giving free drinks away is not a good idea. And the reason is exactly as stated in this group discussion, the perceived non value. Many people will take a free drink and not consider the quality of the drink, in fact they will not really appreciate the drink as they would if they had to pay. Depending on how it is done, it could be unsuccessful and a waste of money.

Occassionally free drinks can be successful if you limit the drink type, selection, and quantity. As an example if you announced that the first one hundred (your figure) people will receive a four ounce mini latte as part of a tasting event, and will be expected to give honest feedback...This establishes interest and perceived value. Next, check with a few of your vendors that will be your working partners in helping you build your business. Ask them if they would like to participate in offering door prizes for your pre grand opening party. Get their ideas. You will be surprised and encouraged at how much your vendors are willing to participate. (Coffee Roaster, Baker, Flavored Syrups, etc.)

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