Beverage Tracker declares war on strong, free drinks

Once the world's bartenders are all replaced by robots, so-called liquor shrinkage will probably only occur if the bots can be hacked to measure out stronger drinks, but until that day, overpouring and undercharging will remain a $7 billion-a-year nightmare for bars in the U.S. alone. Well a San Francisco-based company called Capton says it can solve the problem today without resorting to expensive, unfriendly robots by using a system called the Beverage Tracker to keep a real-time tally of all the liquor that's been consumed and help shame the human bartenders into more accurate pour counts. The $10,000 to $20,000 setup consists of an RFID-enabled spout that's attached to every open bottle, a reader that collects and transmits information, and proprietary software that runs on the bar's existing computer; each time a drink is poured, the spout measures the volume of liquor, stamps that data with the time and bottle ID number, and sends it off to be collated into nightly reports that can be used as evidence for handing out the pink slips. So far over 100 establishments have installed the Beverage Tracker to keep their employees honest, with the latest being Treasure Island in Las Vegas -- which is good to know, because for the 15 minutes of free time we're given each year at CES, we can't afford to hit up a bar that's gonna be so frugal with the booze.

[Via Roland Piquepaille]

[tyler @ Jun 25th 2006 4:12PM]

how many people will choose to visit these bars...
not me!!

show me the old fashioned "I'll pour until I'm done pouring" bar tenders!!!

[Scott @ Jun 25th 2006 4:54PM]

"$7 billion-a-year nightmare" is hilarious, and the typical mindset you see in every industry these days. What that really means is that they are upset at not being able to fully gouge you for every penny they can. I think when a bar charges $7 for that bottle of beer, when the supermarket down the street will sell you 12 of the same bottle for $12, they're probably not hurting for cash.

I've been to several places here in Los Angeles which don't think twice of charging $10-12 for vodka sours. Even counting overpours and freebies, they have to be making bank with a markup like that.

[Russell @ Jun 25th 2006 5:12PM]

^ Exactly... the Bartenders aren't just giving out these "freebies" to everyone, it's a way they can reward some good customers, repeats, and heavy drinkers :)

Creating a tracking environment like that will ruin business, IMO.

[JRM @ Jun 25th 2006 5:29PM]

Bad idea.

Going to the bar is about having a good time, and that includes the serving of drinks. Whoever came up with this dumb idea obviously doesn't go out and have fun at his/her local bar.

[Eli @ Jun 25th 2006 6:34PM]

Accountants don't understand that you have to spend a little money now and then to get repeat business.

Perfectly measured drinks are the reason I don't drink in Canada. Canada, people! I've eliminated an entire country, just because they make weak drinks. Don't think I won't do that to any bar that uses crap like this too.

[Keith L. Dick @ Jun 25th 2006 6:34PM]

I will always prefer to mix my own drinks...

"99% Alcohol & 1% Coke for color"... hehe

[justin j @ Jun 25th 2006 6:53PM]

Who would want to be a bartender at a place that has one of these? This is crazy. I know around here in the US the bartenders make less then minimum wage, work their a$$ off, and live off of the tips.

[** Hello Moto ** @ Jun 25th 2006 7:04PM]

"Who would want to be a bartender at a place that has one of these? This is crazy. I know around here in the US the bartenders make less then minimum wage, work their a$$ off, and live off of the tips."

Which is why they give out freebies, and they are about to lose those custumers that they reward, and thus their tips.

[Vince @ Jun 25th 2006 7:34PM]

I'd be willing to bet that few of these 'systems' will make it to anything other than corporate chain bars. It'll be just one more strike against the TGI-Freitags of the world (and evidently Treasure Islands).

[pupkick @ Jun 25th 2006 7:41PM]

uhm, while the "RFID" part is new, liquor dispensing systems are not. Most larger bars, if they are smart, have them.

What most of you may not know is how the average shot price is calculated by restaurants/bars with or without this system. Take a bottle, divide the cost by -3- and that's the shot price. So a $15 bottle of X is $5/shot. Now you KNOW that you get WAY more than 3 shots out of a bottle.. so the margins on liquor are GOOD. But, sadly, thats why systems like this are needed. Food margins are low, beverages have always been the way to keep up and profit. Bartenders are also more often the culprits of "lost profits".

[Joe @ Jun 25th 2006 8:03PM]

Corporate chains will have the money to set up this system, more reason to support the independents. It really will hurt the staff.

[Richard @ Jun 25th 2006 8:22PM]

I really think that most people who have commented don't know what they are talking about. I have been to several bars that have similar systems, and I never have a problem getting a free drink (in Canada!). What it boils down to is, who is giving out the free drinks and to whom. A lot of bartenders just load up their friends who are not generating the company a dime. Most bars have a policy in place for buy backs, whether the customer is aware of it or not.

[Hunter @ Jun 25th 2006 8:23PM]

Oh, sure, the month before I turn 21.

I knew that technology would backfire on me one of these days.

[gman @ Jun 25th 2006 8:33PM]

Only the RFID is new.

I knew a guy in Orange County that drove around to bars and weighed bottles. His system used the wieght to estimate the numbre of drinks poured vs. the number sold.

There are also beverage guns; one click and you have the exact pour, no extra.

What I hate are bottle minimums for tables. My friend was charged a 2 bottles at $500 a piece in NY.

[giveaphuk @ Jun 25th 2006 9:40PM]

if my local bar installed one of these devices i know, i & many others would choose to drink elsewhere (hell i'll buy off a wino with a plasic cup, as long as i'm privvy to a decent shot once in a while!)

[risingsunofnihon @ Jun 25th 2006 9:50PM]

I think what Richard said in his comment makes sense. The intent here is probably not to eliminate all freebies but to track the flow and curb it to a certain extent. I don't know... this idea just doesn't bother me that much.

[shitforbrains @ Jun 25th 2006 9:54PM]

they have been using something like this in Utah for years......Its perfect for a bassackwards place like that...

[Motoxo @ Jun 25th 2006 10:02PM]

It's all silly. It is just more software/hardware to support for not much of an outcome. If you can't find the right RFID pourer I'll bet it'll be a hassle. Do you do watch all the bottles or just the expensive ones? And what's to stop employee theft of the good stuff in bottles? (Which is the REAL issue.) If they are this stingy about their alcohol, I'll bet they are even more stingy on other things, like cleaning the glasses with hot water and quality soap just to save a few cents.

[Russell @ Jun 25th 2006 10:21PM]

well, theres definately an easy way around this. everytime the bartender has to switch to a new bottle (the previous one gets emptied), they have a quarter bottle give away before they put the 'special' spout on.

of course, i guess lights would go off, along with sirens and other indicators when a bottle with the spout was emptied before the full volume flowed through the spout.

then theres always water? give away an either or a quarter of the bottle, top it off with water, and slap on the spout. of course, if i get a watery drink sometime in the future, i'm not about to be pleased. unless i get half the free drinks coming out of the pre-spouted, just opened bottle...

[NeoteriX @ Jun 25th 2006 11:06PM]

In reality, the biggest group of people these new devices would affect would be women...

All the women who use their evil skills of seduction to get free drinks from hapless male bartenders everywhere.

[Wry Cooter @ Jun 26th 2006 1:59AM]

You know, you can still water down the booze and the RFID robocop still thinks you are overpouring.

[Cameron @ Jun 26th 2006 7:34AM]

"Perfectly measured drinks are the reason I don't drink in Canada. Canada, people! I've eliminated an entire country, just because they make weak drinks." Every bar in Canada pours weak drinks? Your poor liver. Because it must be shot to hell what with all the drinking that you had to do to arrive at this (obviously) scientific statement.

Anyway, as someone else pointed out, schemes like this have existed for years in some variation or another. Every barkeep I know that's worth knowing knows (ooh.. lots of knowing going on) how to subvert the damn things.

[Ben Hobbs @ Jun 26th 2006 8:01AM]

there's already a company thats been selling these for years called Nuvo I believe.

[Chris L. @ Jun 26th 2006 8:20AM]

For yearshard liquor in the UK has been poured from dispensers that automatically measure a single shot. These types of dispensers are available here already but places don't buy them - and they don't use RFID or any real technology. Just check out this site: http://www.shotsteward.com/Wall%20bar%20main.html the device dispenses a single measured shot - no risk of overpouring and the cost is minimal. So what makes anyone think any bar other than a national chain would be willing to shell out for an RFID based system like this if they aren't willing to pay for a simple one today?

[Galley @ Jun 26th 2006 8:21AM]

They had a similar system in place here in SC for decades. It was called "mini bottles". The government loved the mini bottles because they taxed every single one of them. Since there was no free-pouring, each drink had a fixed amount of alcohol. The big problem was, and the main reason why they were recently abolished is that mini bottles were 1.7 oz. versus 1-1.5 oz. for the average free-our drink. Too many folks were getting sloshed and then getting behind the wheel, and we all know bad things were almost always the result.

[LD @ Jun 26th 2006 9:18AM]

The Minneapolis airport has these and the bartenders hate them. I sat down for a drink one day, the only one at the bar, and it took forever for the guy to pour the drink because of all the gadget hoops he had to jump through. It would be next to impossible to use this at a bar that is even a little busy.

And forget about getting a beer. Normally, when you tap a keg there is a bit of foam you overpour for the first glass or so. Can't do it there though. The first unlucky bastard gets a glass of foam.

[Tracy L @ Jun 26th 2006 9:58AM]

Okay here's some extra detail: (1) The article is in RFID Journal. (2) The "7 billion a year nightmare" is a quote from the Capton CEO. I think this is another example of what we call "a solution looking for a problem".

[autolex @ Jun 26th 2006 10:18AM]

isnt RFID like seriously insecure (ie hackable?) im sure some lush programmer will make a virus to make it so that he can get free drinks again!

[alex @ Jun 26th 2006 10:38AM]

I remember seeing a very similar system at a restaurant show about 3 years ago. I know they've been around for a long time. Do all these critics have a problem with the theft prevention systems at their local retail clothing store? Why is it acceptable to steal liquor in a bar? As a bar manager/owner, I've been criticized by my partners for giving away too many drinks, but it's my right to do so. A bartender does not have a right to give away drinks or overpour unless authorized. It's actually against the law for a bartender to pour more than one alcoholic drink at a time here in IL. It's just one of those things that's accepted in our society, like driving over the speed limit.
Also, the system that I saw had a percentage allowance that accounted for some overpouring or mistakes. I don't know if these systems are effective because I've never dealt with them directly, but there is definitely nothing wrong with them.

[adz @ Jun 26th 2006 12:25PM]

I used to own/ run a bar in SF until very recently and we looked at this system when we opened 5 years ago.
Back then it was owned by a different company (a startup in SF of course) that eventually went out of business.
The problem being that for a small business $20,000 is a lot to pay up front (+ monthly "maintenance fees" to acccess your data).
It's a very cool system and it doesn't prevent the bartender from pouring whatever he/she wants to (there's a simple flowmeter in the bottle-top). Just the owner would know when the bartender is consistantly over-pouring or giving away drinks.
The system is smart enough to know when the top is removed from the bottle and for how long (no pulling the top, pouring a few and putting it back on).
It also makes allowances for different liqour viscosity (think Baileys vs. Vodka).
It is true that almost every bar has a policy on free or comped drinks. A good customer in SF will almost always get one or two at some point during the night.
This is not a new system, been around for at least 5 years and failed once already.
Technology is nice tho', if they could bring the price point down to $5k it would make a lot more headway.

[Ben Kernan @ Jun 26th 2006 1:00PM]

Having been a barmanager and a bartender for a number of years I think this system is flawed. Most restaurants and bars have a budget laid out for overpour and missing booze. Currently I'm working at a high volume restaurant in a tourist town in Canada and in the off season we lose around $300 a week (busy season is closer to $600 - we run two bars instead of one during the busy).

Are these systems accounting for the fact that some bottles are broken - or that some bottles need to be strained due to fruit flies finding their way into the booze? The list goes on.

On a side note, they call it "minimum wage" for a reason. If any bartender is making less than minimum wage, then they should look elsewhere for a job and the company should be audited.

And finally, judging from the number of bars I've worked at, this is a system that won't fly. Most places (most, not all) won't foot the bill to retrofit their bar with one of these systems unless they have a serious problem. I'd bet that 90% of the customers are would-be bar owners that are starting out.

[Niraj Sanghvi @ Jun 26th 2006 1:21PM]

I had posted on this device in November ( http://www.nirajsanghvi.com/stories.php?sid=147&tid=21 ) calling it the worst invention ever, and a bartender responded to it claiming "Overpouring and giveaways cost me $25,388.00 two years ago in my bar. Last year with these I got back that money PLUS a 40% rise in business which is 18% ABOVE the average."

[junyo @ Jun 26th 2006 4:12PM]

Me and some buddies were looking into opening a bar, and I can see why a bar owner would consider a setup like this. Bars project an 800% markup on regular spirits and more on the premiums. So the bartender going heavy with the Captain Morgan on my double rum and coke is literally taking a couple of bucks out of the owners pocket. And sure, I'm tipping good to get that, but the owner's never going to see that, that's in the bartender's pocket. It probably makes sense to let them pour loose (at a loss of some direct profit) if your establishment is running on volume; you'll make it back in repeat business. But a lower traffic bar does need to be concerned about portion control.

[Joe @ Jun 26th 2006 6:02PM]

I can see owners wanted to eliminate pilferage, but they should lower the price of drinks. Instead they'll likely raise them to pay for this device.

[paul @ Jun 27th 2006 2:01PM]

i've seen this in action at a local bar at our airport. i don't know if it's the same brand specified here, or if it actually uses rfid or not.