Self-Service Beer in a London Pub

At last an innovation that can improve the lot of the long-suffering British Consumer.  No more waiting to be served.  Customers at the new Thirsty Bear pub use tablets and self-serve beer to help themselves.

After struggling for years to make ends meet, London’s Stamford Arms pub was taken over by The Robot Pub Group and reopened in January as The Thirsty Bear. Designed in part to showcase the company’s Robobar system, the pub was outfitted with iPads at 15 tables, 12 of them linked to self-serve taps. Not only can customers now pour their own pints and order food using the tablets — doing so simply requires setting up an electronic tab at the bar — but they can also send text messages requesting waiter service, order songs from a connected Jukebox, and even update their Facebook profiles. A dedicated advertising channel on the tablets, meanwhile, lets the pub promote its latest special offers.

Since installing the new technology, revenue at the pub has increased by 78 percent, the Robot Pub Group says. The company is now licensing its technology for use by other pubs and restaurants or at bespoke events. Restaurateurs around the globe: time to help your patrons engage in a little self-help as well?

Report on Springwise

This is one innovation I need to check out carefully..

image credit: thirstybear

Don’t miss an article (4,600+) – Subscribe to our RSS feed and join our Innovation Excellence group!

Paul Sloane writes, speaks and leads workshops on creativity, innovation and leadership. He is the author of The Innovative Leader and editor of A Guide to Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing, both published by Kogan-Page.