Stampede app keeps pub, bar & restaurant trips alive!
We’re all aware that pubs, bars and restaurants are reopening. Yet what help is there for these businesses to adhere to government guidelines on track and trace? Stampede, the Scottish hospitality software start-up, has solved a big challenge for UK venue owners. The company has launched a new secure, contactless service to help the hospitality industry collect customer data and reopen safely.
Stampede
Software developer and tech entrepreneur Patrick Clover founded Stampede in 2015. His mission was to enable venues of all sizes to engage with their customers more easily and effectively and to understand them better. So, whether an independent coffee shop or a multi-site company, the software provides businesses with a level of customer insight previously only available to large corporations. Stampede has grown rapidly and has served more than four million users from over 800 locations across the world.
Smart technology
The technology allows customers to share details securely and easily with their smartphone. However, it also allows venues to track and timestamp new visitors. The venue can then choose to delete the data after 21 days, as per government guidelines. For regular or returning customers, the service will automatically register their smartphone on arrival and reset the 21-day counter. So, they do not need to provide their details each time they arrive at the venue. This goes some way to preserving the sense of spontaneity people want from trips to pubs, bars and restaurants.
The service is fully managed by Stampede but can be customised by the venue owner. Therefore, venues are not obliged to maintain complicated records if they don’t want to.
Providing data via Wi-Fi
The Stampede app gives customers two options for providing data. The most seamless experience is to provide details while registering with the venue’s guest Wi-Fi. This way, smartphones automatically join the network on each visit. It also saves time for venue staff. Another advantage of this method is that it mitigates data protection or health and safety issues created by physical ledgers or digital spreadsheets. Being connected to Wi-Fi could also encourage customers to order drinks at the table via the venue’s website or dedicated app, rather than ordering at the bar.
Other ways of providing data
However, not everyone will want to join the guest Wi-Fi. So, the software also allows customers to scan a QR code displayed at the venue. Additionally, staff can enter details manually into the Stampede app, if preferred. “The Government guidance on how pubs, bars and restaurants should support track and trace measures and implement data collection policies was frankly woeful”, said Patrick Clover. “It lacked clarity and eschewed responsibility, putting the onus on venues to act responsibly and find their own solutions.”
Stampede app helps customers and staff
The software makes it easy for venue staff to collect data. It also helps to keep the customer experience as ‘normal’ as possible during this difficult time. Patrick continues: “Pub owners care about the health and safety of their customers. However, most won’t know where to get started with data collection, security and privacy. Nor will they want to risk spoiling the experience by making customers jump through hoops. Our data collection service means spontaneous pub trips and walk-ins can still happen under the right circumstances. The outlook for British pubs and bars was extremely bright before the outbreak. Pub numbers were up for the first time in a decade. I expect the industry to get back to its feet asap.”
Uptake of the Stampede app
Many venues are already using Stampede successfully, including Cold Town House in Edinburgh. This is where Nicola Sturgeon had announced the easing of lockdown restrictions in Scotland.
Oliver Etridge, Operations Director at First Restaurant Group & The Waterway restaurant in London is very positive about the Stampede software. “We want to do right by our customers, reopen responsibly and provide the most normal and enjoyable experience possible. We’ve done a lot of research into how we can collect data securely, comply with government guidelines and support track and trace measures however we can. For us, the Stampede service was the best way of collecting data securely without infringing on the experience of our customers.”
As hospitality venues reopen, Stampede is set to offer a very valuable service. By demonstrating that they’re taking safety seriously, pubs, bars and restaurants will garner more trust and loyalty with their customers. In time, this should reflect in increased sales.
Check out Ryebeck’s Industry Insights pages for other news on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the drinks industry.
Author: Robin Goldsmith of The Write Taste
