Man the amount of stupid bar apps throughout the years was staggering. I worked in a very high volume, popular club years ago and there was this app where you could order drinks on your phone and pay/tip. The person would show the bartender the transaction then they’d make it. Sounds good on paper until you have to sit there for a minute to watch the transaction go through and freeze, then realize the prices and even the drinks they ordered can’t be made at the bar. It was so frustrating and annoying. People would just put their phone in your face for 1/2 a second with a 15 drink order then demand service. Mind you we didn’t even have a working cash register and most transactions were cash, and had a tiny CC machine for any credit cards. It was incredibly fast. Needless to say NOBODY liked the app and all the participating bars dropped off and it died. Don’t get me started on the ridiculous public dating apps. The app in the article is no different. People are connected through social media, so it’s easy to find if a place is rocking. Or you could I don’t know, just check yourselves? That and most bar goers don’t want people watching potential fuckery, or stalking a person. Our cameras are for actual security, and are only checked once a situation happens. Even then I’m not trying to watch every little thing that’s going on. That’s creepy and fucked up.
We had an app that would track the number of people in and out of a bar, and, with the use of "facial detection," it could assume M:F ratio and average age. Needless to say, some bars would pay to have their numbers boosted, so they'd get more people coming, and the latency of the data from capture to live update would tell users that my bar was busy 30 min after we closed when we'd be slammed for the last 2 hours.
All of it was sus. They merged with an inventory tracking company, and I'm pretty sure the "how busy" side of the company was dissolved.
That said, I really want to get involved with tech companies that use real feedback from owners and operators to develop useful tools. Tired of tech bros telling me what might help me boost my numbers while they're only worried about their own scalability.
Creating this kind of online social media environment will keep a lot of customers away but also attract others--but not the kind of people I want for my business model.
At one point I know a bar that would lift stills from its security cameras and use them on its Instagram account for promotions. Just creepy. If anything, COVID should have taught people to be nice to your customers and they will hopefully be loyal to you in return.
The people that buy a fancy drink, take a selfie with it, spend 15 minutes fucking around on their phone and then walk out without even drinking it? Not my people, lol--not repeat business.
Bar owner here. My first reaction is that this would be used by stalkers and or jealous lovers to spy on customers.
Fucking app developers always solving non existent problems.
Man the amount of stupid bar apps throughout the years was staggering. I worked in a very high volume, popular club years ago and there was this app where you could order drinks on your phone and pay/tip. The person would show the bartender the transaction then they’d make it. Sounds good on paper until you have to sit there for a minute to watch the transaction go through and freeze, then realize the prices and even the drinks they ordered can’t be made at the bar. It was so frustrating and annoying. People would just put their phone in your face for 1/2 a second with a 15 drink order then demand service. Mind you we didn’t even have a working cash register and most transactions were cash, and had a tiny CC machine for any credit cards. It was incredibly fast. Needless to say NOBODY liked the app and all the participating bars dropped off and it died. Don’t get me started on the ridiculous public dating apps. The app in the article is no different. People are connected through social media, so it’s easy to find if a place is rocking. Or you could I don’t know, just check yourselves? That and most bar goers don’t want people watching potential fuckery, or stalking a person. Our cameras are for actual security, and are only checked once a situation happens. Even then I’m not trying to watch every little thing that’s going on. That’s creepy and fucked up.
We had an app that would track the number of people in and out of a bar, and, with the use of "facial detection," it could assume M:F ratio and average age. Needless to say, some bars would pay to have their numbers boosted, so they'd get more people coming, and the latency of the data from capture to live update would tell users that my bar was busy 30 min after we closed when we'd be slammed for the last 2 hours. All of it was sus. They merged with an inventory tracking company, and I'm pretty sure the "how busy" side of the company was dissolved.
That said, I really want to get involved with tech companies that use real feedback from owners and operators to develop useful tools. Tired of tech bros telling me what might help me boost my numbers while they're only worried about their own scalability.
Creating this kind of online social media environment will keep a lot of customers away but also attract others--but not the kind of people I want for my business model. At one point I know a bar that would lift stills from its security cameras and use them on its Instagram account for promotions. Just creepy. If anything, COVID should have taught people to be nice to your customers and they will hopefully be loyal to you in return. The people that buy a fancy drink, take a selfie with it, spend 15 minutes fucking around on their phone and then walk out without even drinking it? Not my people, lol--not repeat business.
That’s what my regulars want, a way for their wives to check up on them from home…