“The staff are frothing on Mr Yum”: How Mr Yum went big at Wynyard Pavilion

Looking to add Mr Yum to your restaurant or bar? We could sit here all day and tell you why that’s a good idea, but it’s probably best that you hear it from someone impartial. That’s why we’re here to do a deep dive into Wynyard Pavilion, located in Auckland, New Zealand. The venue uses Mr Yum’s order, payment, and marketing features.

Investing time in the setup 

Bringing any new platform into an establishment is an exciting but tense time. You’re never quite sure how well it will go down, whether your team will gel with it or customers take to it. 

One of the first things Wynyard Pavilion’s General Manager, Damien McDowell, did was fine-tune their visual menu. The team matched their wines and beers to all menu items, added dietary filters, and used the popular tags. 

Why do this? The results speak for themselves. “For us, the head spend has gone up significantly,” Damien tells The Hospitality Company. 

Taking the time to set up their menu helped them create a user experience that promoted cross-sells and up-sells without impacting the kitchen (more on that later). 

The best way to show how effective visual menus are for upselling? ”We did 400 cocktails in a day because you can see them. It’s been unbelievable,” says Damien.

Showing customers a new ordering process 

Showing diners a new ordering process is often a perceived pain point for new Mr Yum customers – particularly when older demographics are regularly visiting the venue. 

Damien says that 95% of their customers have no issues with ordering through their smartphone and say they enjoy the experience. 

For the odd user who is hesitant to order through Mr Yum, the Wynyard Pavilion team spends time with them during their first five minutes in the venue to ensure they have the hang of it, which has worked wonders. 

Getting staff onboard 

Removing ordering and payment duties from staff has allowed the Wynyard Pavilion team to focus on hosting. When guests arrive, the team are free to offer a big welcome, and when they leave, there’s no transactional moment – they can see guests out and provide a friendly farewell. 

Another aspect that’s been popular with Wynyard Pavilion’s staff is Mr Yum’s tipping function. “Tips went through the roof, which was an awesome win for me because all the staff are frothing on Mr Yum,” says Damien. 

With cocktails taking off the way they have, Damien says Mr Yum’s order batching and automatic updates are a big help. For days when the bar staff are slammed, Damien says they put the pre-made slushie cocktails to the top of the menu and add a popular tag, which noticeably takes the pressure off the team. 

And in the kitchen, there has been no noticeable difference for the chefs. One concern before signing up to Mr Yum was that users might request too many changes to menu items. So Damien worked with the team to set up their menu and tailor the offered variations to ensure the kitchen was happy. 

Better marketing 

Behind the scenes, Wynyard Pavilion has adopted Mr Yum’s CRM to improve customer relationships and marketing. 

When they introduced Mr Yum, 37 people ordered a kids meal – now, they can seamlessly invite these guests back whenever they are doing a family day. 

In the first week, Wynyard Pavilion received 700 email sign-ups simply by offering customers access to Mr Yum’s loyalty program for a discount.

Using Mr Yum’s CRM, they can send these users automated vouchers for complimentary dessert if they haven't been to the venue for two months. And if the customer ordered a beer, they let them know about the new tap beers whenever the rotation changes. 

Between November 2021 and January 2022, their database grew by 4,000 active users (that’s huge). 

Keen to learn more about Mr Yum and see if it’s right for your venue? Talk to our friendly team and book a demo.