Listening to your staff can help boost sales

How we got here

Rebecca and I have been here for just over two years now, but Rebecca's family has run the pub for many years. She has lived here all her life. She used to be a manager of a Thomas Cook shop and has bought a lot of the skills she learnt there to the pub. The Crispin was always in a reasonable state, but if I am totally honest it was quite dated when we took over in terms of the toilets and some of the decor. It had also got to the stage where staff were just doing what they had always done without thinking about it much. It has always been a busy local pub but after about six months things did drop off noticeably and that is when we decided to get staff better organised and motivated.

How we communicate with staff

We hold staff meetings once a month so that if there are any problems then they can be addressed and not left to fester. The meeting usually takes about half an hour and in return we let staff take half an hour off at some other point. We set an agenda for each meeting and have a fixed schedule of seven points to make sure we cover all the topics we need to. We discuss things such as customer service, professionalism and also ask staff for any ideas for events or on how to improve trade. It keeps all the staff involved, which is very important. The meetings are very productive but it can take a good half a day for me to sit down on my own and think about where we are and where we want to be and what we are doing to set the agenda for the meeting. That planning time is also very useful if you can find the time.

How we train staff to upsell

Rebecca's skills from her Thomas Cook days really came into play here. She did a lot of training there about selling up. We introduced an incentive scheme for staff. Originally it was on sales of deserts and coffees. We had a big apple pie chart on the wall and each member of staff had a slice of it. Each sale they made, they were given a piece of cardboard custard to stick on their slice. The member of staff who covered their slice with custard first won vouchers for a shop of their choice. It turns the process into a game, but really encourages staff. The more you encourage upselling, the more it becomes second nature.

Our best business idea

One of the most productive ideas to come out of the staff meetings was to give a 10% discount on all pre-ordered food at lunchtimes from Mondays to Thursdays. That was our quietest period. The benefit of pre-ordering is that we can get it ready a lot quicker for customers and it takes the pressure off the kitchen but also it means staff have seen one of their ideas actually put into practice. That itself is an incentive. We also do a pensioners' lunch on a Tuesday where we go and collect them.

How we cut costs

One of the things I have learnt is that increasing trade and margins is not just about getting more people through the door but also about cutting costs. We had a lot of wastage and we had to retrain staff. It was not just at the bar but also on the food side. They bought the same food each day, regardless of what was needed and just froze the leftovers. Now we have introduced rotas and schedules so we know how much of everything we have. We are a lot more organised and have saved on wastage. We've also changed staffing times to better suit our business.

How we increased wine sales

All the wine used to be in a box or bag via a Stowell's tap. People sometimes still want just a glass of wine but now we also have a wine list by the bottle. It was easy to do as we used the Greene King online wine list maker. It has really taken off and wine sales are up 30%. We sell a lot on Friday evenings when the quiz is on. It also takes the pressure off the bar on a busy night. We made sure we have a good back-bar wine display and have used the Greene King wine awareness kit where you can hang small blackboards around the neck of the bottle which describes the wine in a few words.

How we plan to grow business

We have redecorated the ladies toilets and the bar area but still have a bit to do and will work our way through the pub. We have just finished the website and are hoping that will bring in more trade from local businesses. It has our menu on it and a list of all our events. We have just a done a real-ale day, a kind of mini beer festival, which was a success. We don't tend to do food on Saturday evenings but once a month we have a themed food night. Last month we did Chinese food and next month will be lots of different starters from around the world. Repeat business is the key for us, as we are a small, but busy local pub. The way to get that repeat business is through good customer service and we will continue to try and provide that for our visitors.

My Pub

Lease: Greene King, five years

Wet:dry split: 75%:25%

Wine sales: Up 30% in two years

Beer sales: 300 extra pints sold a week in two years

Staff: Six, two full-time

Ales: Morland Original,

St Austell Tribute

Price of a pint: £2.60, Morland