Tag: meetings

Fancy New TVs for Everyone

A couple months after we opened the bar, we found out the local hockey team would be replacing all the TVs in all the rinks. We had 5 flat screens in the bar, but many of the rinks still had box TVs. Since McKinney was the newest, nicest rink, we were second on the list for replacement, after HQ of course.

The original set up was our 5 TVs in the bar, plus screens throughout the rink. There were 3 DirecTV boxes behind the bar. This was extremely inconvenient when we were busy because someone always wanted a channel changed but didn’t know what channel they wanted. And it took a while to get to know which TVs were connected to which of the 3 boxes. The one great thing was the local hockey team subscribed to the sports package so we could show their games at the rink. That meant we had all sorts of sports channels and could show almost any game in the bar.

The new setup would put 10 TVs and 1 large projection screen in the bar and 5 (or 6, can’t remember) DirecTV boxes in the arena management offices behind the front desk. We were thrilled. Now we could really market to office meetings, clubs, and parties who wanted to hook a laptop to the projection TV. And the arena employees would be responsible for changing the channels, not us.

In order to install the TVs, Todd demanded that we pay to paint one of the walls in the bar. I told him there was no need as we hadn’t damaged the wall. We never even put up pictures on the wall, so it was in the same condition as when we signed our contract. So, Todd went to Pierre to tell him we had to paint the wall. Which is funny since Pierre was only 1/3 owner and his name wasn’t even on the contract. I told Pierre we really needed that money for payroll and there was no reason for us to pay for painting when we hadn’t damaged the wall. Eventually, Pierre hired some guys to come in and paint the wall. I was so pissed. Pierre never put in his seed money (and we really needed it for payroll) and yet paid to paint a wall that didn’t need to be painted. Pierre was supposed to be my partner, not Todd’s partner. I have to say, the new TVs were wonderful. Did Pierre seize this opportunity to really market the bar and bring in some meetings? He hosted one Super Bowl party with his friends – that was it. He didn’t bring in one party or business meeting after that.

What is Marketing?

The dictionary says marketing involves promoting and selling goods and/or services. Pierre told me over and over that he was Marketing. When we first opened, Pierre spent some time taking free pizza to the businesses around us to let them know we were open for lunch and dinner. Since we were in a relatively undeveloped area, that didn’t take much time. Pierre gave free coffee to coaches and parents to let them know our coffee was good and encourage them to buy from us. That was definitely a good start. After that, we saw little evidence of him doing anything.

Our building was right next to a bunch of baseball diamonds. I took pizza to the owner one day and told him we would like to advertise to their teams. He invited Pierre and me over for a tour and gave us 3 options – give him flyers to put in the tournament packets, pay to put up banners, or take over their food stands. Pierre never did any of these. We did get a little business eventually but not much. I also researched online and found a list of local clubs with their phone numbers. I gave it to Pierre and asked him if he would call one a day to let them know we could do club meetings and parties. He said he would call at least 2 a day, but I don’t think he ever called any. He did bring in 1 private party in 2.5 years and he paid for a bunch of his friends to come watch a football game once.

We finally got our liquor license in October, 2015. Kyle was all gung-ho to get the bar hopping, but not much happened. Kyle got Pierre to spend about $200 on some signs, but Pierre never got the city permits to hang them. It was clear Pierre’s idea of marketing meant to doing nothing. I got the sign permits in less than 2 weeks. Kyle and I partnered with the Allen Americans so our name would be on the banner during their games. Kyle and I started finding places to list our bar online. Kyle and I started contacting groups to let them know we could hold meetings and parties. But it’s hard to do all the day-to-day business and marketing too. Pierre could have done all of this from the comfort of his own home at times convenient for him and yet he did almost nothing.

Every once in a while, Pierre would man the cafe so I could do something else. If I came in that day, I would find him sitting in the bar talking to students and parents. He didn’t set up for business by turning on all the machines and prepping the stations. I guess he made a few sales because people would come to me later and say they needed to pay for some food because the cash register wasn’t working when Pierre was there. Who knows how many people didn’t come back and pay, as Pierre made no list or notes. Nothing was broken, Pierre just didn’t want to remember his training on the equipment.

Pierre told me over and over, that we just didn’t understand his role. He was Marketing. Obviously, that didn’t involve sales. And if you ask me, it didn’t involve promoting either. I partnered with a guy who didn’t put in his seed money, didn’t work in the cafe or bar, and didn’t promote our business. Mistake, mistake, mistake. I’m an idiot.