It’s important to make the most of unexpected guests.
Signage
Your pub’s facade is what brings in your passing trade and proper signage advertising what you provide clearly and concisely makes all the difference to whether or not a customer continues through the front door. Promoting upcoming events may mean that they keep you in mind in the future too.
Food
Serving food all day is a great option if you can afford the staff to do it. You may even find that other establishments start sending customers in your direction if you’re the only one in the area that doesn’t run a split food service. Speed is key when feeding passing trade, as they tend to be on a tight schedule. The right commercial catering equipment can help to get things moving faster.
If paying a chef to be on duty all afternoon isn’t feasible, why not have him make up a selection of sandwiches, sausage rolls and salad pots, that you can offer to hungry passers-by to eat in or take away? Keep your snacks and confectionery well stocked too for some extra up-selling.
Service
The one thing that is most likely to make customers stay, spend more and return in the future is good service. A good server will make every customer feel welcome and important, and with that comes the opportunity to up-sell. After all, what is a coffee without a piece of cake, or a sandwich without a packet of crisps? It may be worth getting in some bottled and canned soft drinks too, ready for those customers that are in a hurry.
Take-Away
If you’re already more established on the food side of things and find yourself struggling to fit in all your booked guests, let alone your passing trade, why not consider some take-away options? By charging slightly less for the same dishes that are already on your menu, and investing in some appropriate containers (try 247 catering supplies for some ideas), your revenue is no longer limited to how many seats you have.
Finally, keep smiling! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when an unexpected coach pulls up and you’re the only one on duty, but if you can charm your way through it they may well come back and, hopefully, next time they’ll give you some warning.