Loyalty cards built for bars
Reward the people who fill your bar on a Tuesday. A stamp card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, stamped from the bartender's phone, with rules that stop one big round from filling a card in a night.
What a bar regular looks like
A bar regular comes once or twice a week, mostly in the evening, often with the same friends, and orders more than once a night. They come back for the place and the people behind the bar more than for a price. A stamp card rewards that habit without cutting the price of every drink.
A short card fits that rhythm. The example card has 6 stamps with a first reward at 3, so a guest who comes every Friday has something on the house within a month and a free pint within six weeks.
Decide what earns a stamp
Per visit is the simplest rule: one stamp a night, whatever the bill. To hold everyone to it, set the minimum minutes between stamps. At 720 minutes a card takes one stamp and the next one waits twelve hours, so a guest cannot collect three stamps by paying three times.
Per round rewards spend, but a group of six can fill a card in one evening. If you stamp per round, keep the minimum at zero and set the maximum stamps per visit, between 1 and 10, so a single scan cannot add more than you intend. Write the rule in the card's terms, so guests and staff read the same thing.
Stamping behind a busy bar
Bartenders have a queue and wet hands. They open the scanner on the bar phone, scan the QR on the guest's card and tap. The card in the guest's wallet updates by itself; on an iPhone the new count appears as a notification on the lock screen. If the camera cannot read the screen in low light, they type the code under the QR or the guest's phone number.
Every stamp is logged with the bartender who gave it, so the manager can see who stamped which card and when. A stamp that went to the wrong card can be undone within 30 minutes, and the undo is logged too: nothing is erased.
Rewards that suit a bar
Keep rewards to things that cost you little and bring the guest back on another night: a plate of snacks for the table, a pint, a glass of house wine. A reward does not have to be a drink. A reserved table on a Friday is worth a lot to a regular and costs you nothing but a sign on the table.
Rewards that work here
- A plate of snacks for the table at 3 stamps
- A free pint or a glass of house wine at 6 stamps
- A reserved table on a Friday night
- Half price on the cocktail of the month
- One welcome stamp on the first night
Questions
How do I stop one big group from filling a card in one night?
Use the two rules on the card. The minimum minutes between stamps blocks a second stamp on the same card until the time you set has passed; the maximum stamps per visit caps how many stamps one scan can add. Set them once in the card studio and every bartender works to them.
Do bartenders need special hardware?
No. The scanner runs in the browser on any phone with a camera. Each bartender signs in with their own account, which you invite from the dashboard.
Can I see which bartender gave a stamp?
Yes. Each stamp in the activity feed shows who gave it, on which card and when, and stamps that were undone stay in the log as an undo.
Does the reward have to be a drink?
No. A reward is any line of text you write, with up to five rewards on one card. You can mix drinks with food or a reserved table.
Other trades
The free plan has no time limit and includes Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
Create your card