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The puzzle of illogical outcomes
by Tom Zalm, President |
 I am regularly in the company of people extolling the virtues of great beer. Some going to great lengths pairing food and beer, as a chef would. There are Beer Engineers, fluent in brewing nuances and subtleties of the outcomes. There are marketers with tools and resources to sell their beer on its merits to a more sophisticated audience. |
| The message is clear. Draft beer should be a major profit center. Excellent brands are available, with accessible marketing tools, eager to sell to a more sophisticated market. This creates a unique opportunity for a savvy operator to distinguish themselves. |
| Back in the real world, I see operators lose $1000 a week because they feel a $3000 repair is too expensive, and continue to lose more than that every month. If someone offered you a guaranteed cash deal where you gave them $1000 now and they would repay $3000 in 3 months you would be all over it, but not here. Why would that be? |
| Operators talk about how tough trade is with sales lagging, costs climbing, and aggressive pricing being the only alternative. They are getting beat up at the bar, and yet miss their money going down the drain behind the bar. Common sense tells me they don’t understand, and leaves me to wonder how a rational business person can’t see it. |
| My only conclusion is they are suffering Paralysis by Analysis, a syndrome of inactivity, fueled by an uncertain future, creating a reluctance to act, resulting in eroding margins. Continued negative Analysis cements the Paralysis, leading to ever declining outcomes. More value is given to cash today than cash in a few months. It is a known economic fact; you can read about it. |
| There is only one path to success. Take action. Identify opportunities, what prevents you from achieving them, and address them. If your beer mechanic has been telling you to fix something, buy him lunch and ask questions. Invest in your business, you won’t be disappointed. |
| How many people promote their food quality? How many promote their draft beers the same way? Your draft system is an extension of your kitchen, take pride in it and promote it. The result is inevitable, monthly sales will improve, and so should profit. |
| The trick is catching it all, and that is where Sprint becomes a valuable ally. |
| The critical part of the process is making sure every pint out equals money in. Sprint has the products and experience to create a control system, targeted to your bar, that fits your style. You can start small, plugging the biggest leaks now, and filling other holes as they become apparent. Each step forward is based on the success of the step before. Nothing breeds more success better than a little success. |
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| Whenever a business operator must make a capital investment decision two questions become paramount. How long before the investment pays for itself? How long before service costs demand replacement? Critical questions with critical answers. |
| The first is easily answered using the ROI worksheet available at our website. It is an industry accepted fact controlling draft sales adds at least 20% to the gross profit line, yet many operators feel this is an exaggerated figure and doubt it. Our worksheet will accurately identify what your operation will return as it is based solely on your numbers and is accurate to within a percentage point or two. |
| The second is answered as easily. Draft Monitoring systems are simple, need little attention to keep in top form and I suggest a ten year life. The reality is most people have sold their bars, retired, or otherwise no longer there, but the system keeps on chugging along. There are many Sprint customers running their systems for more than 15 years. |
| The ROI Worksheet considers this long life and shows total return over its service life. |
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See for yourself how our web-based reporting process really helps save your business money!
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| CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT |
| Hook and Ladder Pub, Surrey BC |
 The Hook and Ladder was the third installation of Sprint’s proprietary systems in 1994, and has operated well since then. Even though the system is old and could be replaced, the reality is it continues to perform well and until it dies there is no point in replacing it. Service records show less than $100 is spent annually on maintenance, again supporting the decision to leave it alone. |
| At the initial installation the system was interfaced to their POS system, which offered cutting edge reporting and audit features for it’s time. This location boosted profit dramatically and the integrated system became, and still is, the backbone of their management structure. Both systems continue to chug along. |
| The Hook and Ladder is only one of many very old systems that continue to perform well. How many other systems have you installed in your locations that are still there and running after 15 years? Not many I would bet. |
| What does this prove? Not only can you have confidence in Sprint products, you know Sprint will continue to be an excellent resource into the future. |
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| ABOUT US |
| Sprint has been manufacturing and supporting all forms of beverage control systems since 1985. We offer Draft Beer Monitoring, Liquor Gun and Back Bar Systems, all supported by software suitable to fill any need. Based in Western Canada, we are successful across Canada, the US, Mexico and Australia. Our tenure has given us a long list of satisfied customers, and our experience as the industry evolved is the basis for our future plans. |
| Our vision for the future is clear. For our industry to prosper, the Licensed Operator must become profitable. It is inevitable that some operations will fail, but those that take proactive and decisive steps to manage their businesses will survive. |
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