When talking with restaurants about using InVine, we find many managers and wine directors immediately dislike the idea of having an iPad wine list at the table. Some common objections we’ve heard are that it’s not easy to understand, it’s distracting, it’s too much “tech at the table” etc.
However, InVine is not like other iPad wine lists currently on the market. InVine is NOT about tech, it’s about enhancing the back-of-the-house AND the front-of-the-house experience for restaurant staff and the guests. We focused heavily on design and simply replicated a wine list on an iPad.
Additionally, it brings more information to the wine purchasing experience that customers enjoy. In fact, 90% of customers prefer using InVine verse a traditional wine list.
But we didn’t want you to just take our word for it. We sat down with Saulo Peralta, the General Manager at Chirosocuro in San Francisco to ask him about his experience with InVine. Chiaroscuro is a small intimate Italian restaurant in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District. The typical age group of diners ranges from late 20s to early 70s. Peralta and his team have been using InVine for over a year now.
InVine: How easy is the platform to use?
Saulo: It’s super, super, super easy. Very nice to set up for use. For the guests, it’s very easy to give nice information about the wine, for me it’s very organized. Everybody really likes it. When people get the InVine wine list, it’s a very nice surprise. People think it’s cool, not many restaurants have it and it’s easy to use it.
IV: Do your guests ever have trouble using it?
S: It’s not hard for anyone to use- I think everybody likes it. Now- from 9 years-old to 95 years-old- everybody has an iPad. 99.9% like the iPad and maybe 0.1% don’t like it. In the last year I’ve been with InVine, only 2 people didn’t like it.
IV: Do you think InVine is brining too much “tech to the table”?
S: It’s an iPad wine list, it’s not games, it’s not Facebook. When people see it they find the wine and then they are finished and that’s it. InVine is just like a wine list and it’s easier to use. It’s more flexible for the customer.
IV: Do you think guests spend more time on it than a traditional wine list?
S: Maybe they spend more time, because it’s more interesting. They see the bottle picture, the notes, etc. People like to read what it says about where [the wine] is from, the grape. They spend a little more time, because the paper menu only says the name, where it’s from and the price.
IV: Do you think it interferes with the dining process?
S: No, it doesn’t interfere, not here. It’s fast to me. The paper wine list takes more time. Even 6 of InVine’s wine lists is enough for 50 people, paper you need 10.
IV: Do your servers like using InVine?
S: Yes! If they want to use the paper wine list, they have to know all the wine.
In addition to helping smooth out dining operations, guests genuinely like InVine at Chiaroscuro.
“The use of an ipad as their wine, cocktail, and beer list is really cool!” – Josh S. on Yelp