It’s a busy Saturday afternoon, and there’s an eager line forming at the taproom bar. Great news, right? But then you overhear a customer ask this of your bartender: “I want something really strong. Do you have Guinness?”
Or, “I’ll take a Budweiser.”
Or, “I don’t like beer. What do you have that I would want?”
Those are real questions recently gathered by Ari Vera Rivera, tasting-room manager at Method and Muse Spirits, from friends working at other taprooms in the Denver area. Then there’s this baffling anecdote from the staff at Highland Park Brewery in Los Angeles, shared by general manager Blanca Quintero: “A light lager was returned because it was ‘not hot-doggy enough.’”
Did that customer actually want a beer that tastes like hot dogs? How is a bartender supposed to respond to that? What do you say when a customer walks into their local craft brewery and orders a Bud? Or what’s the best response when—and this is a common request—they just want to know which beer is the strongest?
For front-of-house staff who appreciate the beers—and who may have helped to brew them—the knee-jerk reaction might be uncouth. Alas, that’s not exactly great for business. The reality is that if you’re doing things right, your taproom draws a diverse crowd—including, ideally, novices and those who don’t even drink beer. Hospitality is the whole game, and its object is for even the most frustrating question-askers to enjoy their experience and return to the taproom.
So, we asked several breweries how they handle these situations: How do they train staff so they’re equipped to answer every inquiry? How do they interpret seemingly puzzling patron questions? And how do they turn those questions into selling opportunities and positive experiences for those customers?
Here’s what they said.