Hi All!
We're a little winery that just opened at the beginning of 2016 (I'll spare the details in case anybody looks us up & sees this) and, at first, we were getting a ton of great business. We were the hip new place in town with excellent decor, a great selection of wines, and a unique business model that set us apart from other wineries in the state. The others (of which there are very few) are typically run out of someone's barn/garage and have "by appointment only" tastings run by part-time owners/volunteers. Perhaps this should have been my first hint that this was a challenging environment, but we forged ahead with a new idea: we are a winery that functions as a wine bar, making small batches of very unique wine while supplementing with other wines from across the state. This includes draft cider, mead, sangria, etc. making us the BEST selection of local craft vinous beverages in our state.
What made this different is that, instead of the "free tasting" idea some people have in their head, we offer flights, paid tasting events, food pairings, by the glass drinking, entertainment, food trucks, etc. to make for a high-scale, but approachable experience with 100% local fare, right down to the snacks. We even run a trivia night, a "wine glass club" which entitles people to certain discounts after paying in, and free movie nights...
So here's the problem: while we were really popular at first, as the seasons have changed we're having a serious and problematic decline in business. Not just that, but people have cued into the idea that we have gift cards for trivia night first-place winners and that we have the wine glass club, various promotions etc. They also realize we are the MOST beautiful place in town to have a private event... so the result is that a lot of people are coming in, drinking water, bringing outside food (normally ok because we don't have a kitchen), and bringing large groups of 8-10, where only one or two people will order a drink. It's become somewhat of a meeting place, but people don't feel obligated to buy anything. I'm losing money fast because people are taking serious advantage of us.
Now, I don't want to be the jerk and say "hey, you can only hang out if you're buying something" and drive off customers leaving a bad taste in their mouths. Then again, they're not really my customers if they don't buy anything! I've had to implement a few policies, such as a ledger for trivia gift cards, expiration dates, limiting what people can get for free if they win on quiz night, changing our glass club from "one free glass of our wine on glass night" (which would have worked if people didn't just get one glass and go home!) to Buy One- Get One, etc. I'm even having to put signs up today that say "No outside beverages" and "our complementary coffee bar is for paying customers, their children, and designated drivers only... all others pay at bar". We are also saying a "one drink minimum" on quiz night because literally 80% of our "customers" now come and drink water until they win a free glass of wine.
I'm a very caring, generous, and courteous person and therefore we've gotten excellent reviews across the board on customer service, but I feel like we're being taken advantage of here and it's becoming alarmingly frequent... or at the very minimum we are reaching the wrong demographic. What would you do, as an owner, to curb this abusive and destructive behavior of our non-paying, (technically) non-customers treating my building like it's a public library? I'm finding my enthusiasm for my business decline and I know desperation will only hurt us, so I'm trying to keep positive and see what insight others have.
What would you recommend?
We're a little winery that just opened at the beginning of 2016 (I'll spare the details in case anybody looks us up & sees this) and, at first, we were getting a ton of great business. We were the hip new place in town with excellent decor, a great selection of wines, and a unique business model that set us apart from other wineries in the state. The others (of which there are very few) are typically run out of someone's barn/garage and have "by appointment only" tastings run by part-time owners/volunteers. Perhaps this should have been my first hint that this was a challenging environment, but we forged ahead with a new idea: we are a winery that functions as a wine bar, making small batches of very unique wine while supplementing with other wines from across the state. This includes draft cider, mead, sangria, etc. making us the BEST selection of local craft vinous beverages in our state.
What made this different is that, instead of the "free tasting" idea some people have in their head, we offer flights, paid tasting events, food pairings, by the glass drinking, entertainment, food trucks, etc. to make for a high-scale, but approachable experience with 100% local fare, right down to the snacks. We even run a trivia night, a "wine glass club" which entitles people to certain discounts after paying in, and free movie nights...
So here's the problem: while we were really popular at first, as the seasons have changed we're having a serious and problematic decline in business. Not just that, but people have cued into the idea that we have gift cards for trivia night first-place winners and that we have the wine glass club, various promotions etc. They also realize we are the MOST beautiful place in town to have a private event... so the result is that a lot of people are coming in, drinking water, bringing outside food (normally ok because we don't have a kitchen), and bringing large groups of 8-10, where only one or two people will order a drink. It's become somewhat of a meeting place, but people don't feel obligated to buy anything. I'm losing money fast because people are taking serious advantage of us.
Now, I don't want to be the jerk and say "hey, you can only hang out if you're buying something" and drive off customers leaving a bad taste in their mouths. Then again, they're not really my customers if they don't buy anything! I've had to implement a few policies, such as a ledger for trivia gift cards, expiration dates, limiting what people can get for free if they win on quiz night, changing our glass club from "one free glass of our wine on glass night" (which would have worked if people didn't just get one glass and go home!) to Buy One- Get One, etc. I'm even having to put signs up today that say "No outside beverages" and "our complementary coffee bar is for paying customers, their children, and designated drivers only... all others pay at bar". We are also saying a "one drink minimum" on quiz night because literally 80% of our "customers" now come and drink water until they win a free glass of wine.
I'm a very caring, generous, and courteous person and therefore we've gotten excellent reviews across the board on customer service, but I feel like we're being taken advantage of here and it's becoming alarmingly frequent... or at the very minimum we are reaching the wrong demographic. What would you do, as an owner, to curb this abusive and destructive behavior of our non-paying, (technically) non-customers treating my building like it's a public library? I'm finding my enthusiasm for my business decline and I know desperation will only hurt us, so I'm trying to keep positive and see what insight others have.
What would you recommend?
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