Asking visitors their opinion can clarify your tasting room directives.
By Craig Root
If you’re like me, you’re probably numb to polling requests. Every restaurant, phone company, plumbing company, website and health provider (among others) is sending emails requesting your feedback.
But I’m not talking about these requests because they are email and impersonal. I’m talking about short live, in-person polls at your tasting room (TR). There are two types of polls that have been very effective for my clients. The first is about immediate feedback as people leave your TR to find out how customers did or did not enjoy themselves. The second type of onsite poll is to gauge visitor reactions to proposed changes in your operation.
The first question
Let’s start with the first poll. You need two of your most gregarious staff to stand about 20 or 30 feet away from your exit so guests don’t feel “jumped” as they leave. The two staff members, preferably in winery logo apparel, will need a clipboard with copies of your very short questionnaire for taking notes. They will also need a quantity of some small gift (such as your least expensive logo waiter corkscrew).
The staff members need to make a quick calculation: Are departing guests absorbed in conversation, do they look in a hurry or distracted? If so, leave them alone.
But if they appear open and relaxed — or, better yet, are carrying wine they just bought — then approach them with the following script: “Hi, we’re with [the winery] and want to ask only two questions. We promise it will only take two minutes, unless you want to talk more, and we have a small gift for you.”
The time frame of two minutes is extremely important. I have done hundreds of these surveys and invariably the first question people ask when you approach them is “How long will this take?”
If they accept, the first question is: “What did you like about the experience you just had, and what could we do to make it better?”
I don’t know about you, but if I have a bad experience in a business, I’m not going to seek out the manager to talk about it. However if you approached me in the manner I described, I would be willing to share my thoughts.
This conversation should be written down by the staff person who is holding the clipboard (they can take turns at this task). This is vital information about staff behavior, cleanliness, tours, your wines and tasting procedures and anything else the visitors care to mention. When they finish, thank them and give them the small gift and, maybe, a two-for-one tasting pass to encourage future attendance.
Your notes on the conversation should reflect their comments and any observations on the part of the two staff members. Were they carrying wine? Did they seem knowledgeable about wine and tasting rooms or was this their first time. Obviously, the opinions of someone who is an experienced taster will carry more weight than those of the beginners.
The second question
The second question is “How did you hear about us?” This helps you measure your outreach (advertising, networking, billboards, etc.) effectiveness. I recommend doing this polling every quarter for two full weekends. If no one mentions your magazine ad, for example, you may want to reconsider that placement.
With the first question, you may discover that you have a problem with a rude or bored staff member who will need more training and closer supervision. Or perhaps there is something they don’t like about a certain wine or food item you served. I think we can all agree that this is valuable information, and all it costs is the labor of the two staff people and the time afterward to discuss and analyze the results. It’s best to do this “post mortem” the same day as the poll while it is still fresh in everyone’s mind.
I will cover the other type of polling — asking guests about proposed changes to your guest experiences — in my next article.
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Craig Root
Craig Root has more than 30 years experience working with tasting rooms. For over 13 years he was first staff and then a successful manager. For the last 20 years he has consulted with more than 200 tasting rooms including over 90 start ups mostly in the U.S. but also in China, Canada, and France. He is the only person who lectures on tasting room design and management at UC Davis in its continuing and professional development division.
