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How to Run a Hot Soda Apparatus Profitably
BY MR. CHARLES L. BERRY, JOHNSTOWN, PA.
Prize article contributed to James W. Tufts' contest. The almighty dollar, which is the goal of every business man, is not merely a fair-seeming mirage, but becomes a cash reality to the possessor of a hot soda fountain from which good drinks are served. The dispenser of such beverages, who faithfully supervises or personally attends to the proper care and management of his fountain, finds that tempting hot drinks laugh failure in the face and coax the hoarded coins out of the tightest purse. Many dealers have attempted to sell hot soda, and failed to make it pay. Others have reversed this order of things, and found the hot soda fountain very profitable. Why is this? Simply because the one class of dealers give the hot soda business that thought and constant attention which it requires and deserves, and the other overlooks some important detail or details. The first important step in the hot soda business is to procure a fountain that makes a good show and is of modern construction. A fine apparatus attracts trade, and you want all the new customers you can by this means get into your store. A stylish hot soda apparatus attracts trade like a magnet. Persons of refinement and those accustomed to the luxuries of modern life patronize that which appeals to their love of the beautiful as well as to their sense of taste. You must tickle the fancy as well as the palate. All, even those from the poorer walks of life, enjoy luxury and elegance. For this reason, it pays to have accessories about the fountain corresponding with it in attractiveness. Let your china cups be dainty and shining. Keep your spoons, spoon holders, cream pitchers, trays, etc., which should all be of silver, scrupulously clean and highly polished. See that your marble slab is dry and clean. Use clean, dry towels and plenty of them. Don't use a wet sponge, unless you use a dry towel afterwards. A sponge leaves the marble damp, and the resulting spots on your customers' clothes dampen their enthusiasm for your store. Do not make a failure of your hot soda business by allowing soiled cups and spoons to stand on your soda counter. It is of the greatest importance that such articles should be instantly removed and placed out of sight of customers. Do not fill the cup to overflowing, and if a saucer is used be sure not to allow the beverage to slop over into it. With the modern automatic heat regulator you can adjust the temperature of the beverage served to a nicety, and feel perfectly sure that whether many or few drinks are dispensed, all are served at the exact degree of heat required. Tastes differ, and you must learn to cater to them. Serve all the popular drinks,-beef tea, clam bouillon, tomato soup bouillon, etc. Besides these, serve the old "stand-bys,"-chocolate, coffee and lemonade. Unless you dispense a finished beverage, serve chocolate both from the syrup, as used in cold soda, and to order from powdered chocolate or cocoa sweetened with loaf sugar. Ask customers which they prefer. Another important thing is to let people know you have hot soda to sell. If you run a newspaper "ad" occasionally, call attention to your hot drinks. Make use of your window, displaying therein signs printed from stencils, or, if you are handy with a brush, paint them on cardboard. Make your sign short and to the point. The following suggestions may help you, "Hot Soda: - Hot as it ought to be; sweet as you like it." "Hot Soda: -Clam Bouillon, strengthens weak stomachs." "Hot Soda: - Makes you forget this cold weather." "Hot Soda:- Hot Lemonade will cure your cold." "Hot Soda: - Beef Tea will make you strong." "Hot Soda: - Hot Ginger for the stomach's sake," "Hot Soda: - Served as it ought to be." "Hot Soda: -Clam Bouillon makes good red blood." "Hot Soda: - Beef Tea makes real muscle." When an idea suggests itself to you, write it down, and you will find that in a short time you will have a collection of good trade-catching phrases that can be used to good advantage in arresting the attention of passers-by. Hot soda, like cold, is mostly "catch trade." People, as a rule, do not start out with the intention of getting a soda"; and you must have something to "put them in the notion." When you get them to your fountain once, take advantage of the opportunity. Serve a rich, palatable beverage. Be courteous and genial; give them that "at home" feeling; serve your drinks so as to please the most fastidious, and, as a reward for your efforts, they will become regular customers. Don't be stingy with your syrups and cream. This mistake is made by a good many dispensers of hot soda. It is false economy-" Penny wise and pound foolish." By saving a half cent on your beverage, you will lose dollars by driving people away from your fountain. Comfortable chairs are useful adjuncts to the hot soda business. Even though in a hurry, many people like to sit while partaking of your daintily served hot drinks, and will appreciate your efforts for their comfort. Serve crackers or dainty little biscuits on a neat dish or tray-not one, but several. Clam bouillon, beef tea, or chocolate, served with crackers, makes quite a tempting little lunch, and people thus tempted soon find that their day is not complete without a "hot soda" on their way home from business or from an evening's pleasure. Finally, if you would have your hot soda fountain pay- "Act well your part; there the almighty dollar lies." HINTS.
As large a sale can be had for hot drinks as for cold, if the same methods are adopted. There is never a demand for anything until the demand is made. Whoever first makes the demand receives the greatest profit, 4. The passer-by, who would not think of going out of his way for a hot drink, can be attracted by a showy fountain and a white-coated attendant standing ready to promptly serve him. Elegant and luxurious appointments are attractive to every one. Cups washed in the customers' sight are an assurance of cleanliness. Prompt service is of more importance in dispensing drinks than in any other branch of business. A customer will not wait with patience for a drink. It is of prime necessity that the beverages be good; that is, rich and palatable. If washy drinks are dispensed, the business will be a failure. To obtain body and richness of flavor in the salty drinks, such as bouillons, be sure that you use the very best quality of the flavors and do not consider the cost. There is splendid profit in hot soda any way, and a little additional cost will not affect the profits, but insure your success. There are many cheap brands of hot soda flavors on the market which look all right, but do not have the necessary condensation. So if you use I ounce to the cup, which is the usual quantity, they are not sufficiently strong and rich, the higher priced flavors will have this quality and more than pay for themselves. Be sure that the water added is heated to nearly the boiling point, and that the cups are heated by rinsing with hot water, for there is no greater damper to enthusiasm than a lukewarm drink. Serve your hot soda hot. A drink should not only be nice, but it should be attractive in appearance. One new and delicious drink, well advertised, and placed attractively before the public, has in several instances made a fortune. Cold soda water, as well as hot, can be sold in winter. Mineral waters are in demand the year round.
OF THE GREATEST IMPORTANCE.
The most important thing of all is to use hot milk, or better still, a mixture of half rich milk and half water, kept extremely hot in a water-bath urn, in making your bouillon drinks. The serving of chocolate as a finished beverage, we all know, is a prime necessity in building up your hot soda trade, and the next most important thing is to use hot milk instead of hot water in making your bouillons. Tomato bouillon, clam bouillon, oyster bouillon, chicken bouillon, beef tea or consomme, drawn with this hot milk instead of hot water is just as different as ice cream made out of cream and ice cream made out of milk. This is not experimental. It has been proved and it is absolutely necessary to successfully cater to the best trade. The use of hot milk in order to build up the trade to the greatest possible extent is recognized by all successful soda dispensers as being just as necessary as it is to serve chocolate as a finished drink.