Castro, Lenin, Marx, Che Guevara all inspired revolutions and they were all learned individuals. Would they think that a 67 strong chain of bar-restaurants was representative of their much more aggressive activities? Or would they use them to plot, drink and smoke cigars (outside though)!
Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba might be going through the financial mill with takeover talk and activity, but the service and experience is still worthy of famous guests and is some of the best in the U.K. according to Commercial Director Myles Doran.
Myles DoranStaff at Revolution look like they are having a great time, and they most probably are. But beneath the apparent good humour is a triumph of learning, training, service led initiatives and a machine that knows its customers probably better than they do.
Coming from humble but lively beginnings in Manchester’s mid 1990’s throbbing club and beat scene ‘D.J.’ Revolution was mixing flavoured vodkas beneath the desk almost since its inception. If like me you were in the throes of family in the mid 90’s then the ‘Revs’ scene passed you by, but not entirely. Heard of mixing cola bottles, mentoes, and all sorts of other stuff with Vodka? Well that’s where it started and now is the centre of their ‘handcrafted’ range, which has just passed sales of 3 million bottles.
If you thought that drinking bars were done for and food is where it’s at, then there’s a real change management business lesson in visiting Revolution and Revolution de Cuba.
Many a bar and chain has gone by the wayside relying on its ‘drinking’ culture, and whilst Revs is still dominated by its drinks experience, the subtle change of mix is no accident. It ‘Revolutionised’ itself in with a programme, maybe ironically called ‘Evolution’ back in 2012. Re-positioning an iconic high street brand to trade all day and all night appealing to post-graduates and re-engage with lapsed former student customers, whilst engage with millenials & embrace the new emerging casual dining trends was an ambitious programme.
They revamped every single site spending £10M over the next couple of years and trimming the tail, selling off 12 sites leaving them with 53 fit-for-purpose Revolution sites and 14 Revolucion de Cuba. These are, according to Myles, the thoroughbred core of the chain. As a result, today, food is now is 15% of the mix for Revs, much improved from almost zero, and their premium drinks mix is a leader on the high street.
Cocktails form approximately one-third of their sales, with Premium spirits another third and wine, beer and soft drinks the remainder.
It is not news that hospitality businesses like this are filled with a million working parts or more, but recognising it, designing the challenge about what progress means, describing it and implementing it is a huge task. The vast majority of the Revs & de Cuba success lies in the service and experience, which is trained in detail.
Their own on-line and real-time training programme, A.C.E. Amazing Customer Experience, takes 12 weeks to complete and staff members are not allowed on to the bar until they have completed it. Staff have to know 3 key things about each of the 53 vodkas in Revolution, or 70 Rums in Cuba.
The cantineiros in Revolucion de Cuba deliver Latin American hospitality, where 50% of the food sales are tapas. The guests here are typically a good 8 years older than in its older Revolution sibling.
Everything is measured by a well cleaned and oiled CRM system that knows, when you visited last, what you consumed, how you paid and when and what about you should be mailed or not again.
Their customer service is measured with an independent mystery shopper experience, with weekly Monday meetings describing the performance on many measures the week before.
Nothing is perhaps more interesting or indicative of the Revolution experience by examining the wine range. Although it forms just 7% of the drinks sales mix, over 50% of that is Prosecco. It indicates the popularity of Prosecco, and tells Myles much about the reasons that customers visit – celebration. And growth in Prosecco, as much as it has been dramatic and swift, growing at 20-30% per year doesn’t show any signs of stopping.
As a result they took the opportunity to examine Champagne. There was no doubt that there had been a knock on effect and the Revs answer was to up the ante. Off went the supermarket led Champagne brand, and in came the premium Veuve Clicquot. Delivered with panache, glasses chilled or not, branded bucket, it has increased their champagne sales.
Corporate is a significant area of business for Revs, where some companies choose to take the whole branch over. Conferencing service Powowow do annually in Cambridge and Revs learn much from it, bringing back key points into the mainstream.
Recently they have launched their corporate masterclass, which follows the rough format of the consumer one, but introduces time measurement with a Stig like board and competition. As the team member steps up to the bar to make their cocktail, their ‘shake-face’ describes their cocktail making story, almost de-robing them. With their 1 millionth consumer masterclass completed just recently in a programme going for 9 years, it represents a fun part of what Revs is about.
he biggest current trend is ‘blended ‘ cocktails, which the management team brought back from one of their many visits in the U.S.A. – one of the countries they go to learn. They invested a serious six-figure sum in blenders imported from Italy and they now makeup 13% of the cocktail sales. The
Myles’ favourite tipple is craft beer, specifically at the minute Cona Longboard, and although not be the biggest drinker, he will think nothing of selecting 4 or 5 from a list and leaving the ones that don’t stand out. And when pushed his ‘go big or go home’ food and drink match would be a serious pasta dish and Laurent Perrier Rose Champagne.
What stands out is the incredible journey that Revolution Group is going on and the intense learning experience that shapes and moulds every management and staff action. Learning in business used to be for those that couldn’t keep up, to get enough so that they could catch up, now it is a pre-requisite for having a long-term business especially in hospitality. I am not sure that Marx et al could add much apart from some revenue to this Revolution.
Viva La Revolucion!
Alistair Morrell, Hospitality & Catering News, Wine & Drinks Editor