Built in 1891 as both a grocery store and saloon, Shotwell’s Bar is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District. It survived the city’s 1906 earthquake and fire as well as years of Prohibition. Shotwell’s now thrives by staying true to its historic roots with a charming and warm saloon-style ambience.
After leaving the world of corporate finance in 2006, co-owner and bartender Tom Madonna embraced running Shotwell’s as a way to transport customers back in time, when people would visit their local watering hole to connect with their community.
The challenge
Until recently, Tom wanted to preserve Shotwell’s old-school vibe that the neighborhood embraced by being a cash-only bar. However, over the years, corporate teams started to come with large groups and ask to pay on a credit card. In addition, locals in the tech-driven city of San Francisco liked to use their phones to pay with digital wallets.
To try and address the issue, Tom hooked up a new point-of-sale (POS) system to the existing WiFi from their internet service provider so they could take credit cards. But that solution led to a new challenge. Staff and customers had to share the same WiFi network, and this resulted in a reduction of bandwidth and an increase in security concerns.
The solution
The slower network impacted the bar’s ability to process transactions and keep their customers happy, so the owner knew it was time to embrace newer technologies. To enable Shotwell’s Bar to have secure credit card transactions and improve customer experiences, Tom installed Meraki Go access points for business grade WiFi. The results have been transformative.
“Meraki Go allows us to split our WiFi into multiple networks so we can operate more efficiently.”
Tom Madonna
Co-owner, Shotwell’s Bar
For one, Meraki Go empowered Tom with the ability to create separate and secure WiFi networks for the different priorities of Shotwell’s business. “We have a network for our POS system to have its own dedicated and fast service; a second one for entertainment, as music is crucial for setting the mood of the bar; and a third one for customers.”
They are also now in control of the bandwidth on each of these networks. Shotwell’s team can now process transactions quickly with a separate “Behind the Bar” network that gives priority to their POS system. And controlling the bandwidth on a dedicated Guest WiFi network means nothing can slow Shotwell’s system down, even if customers are browsing the internet or watching videos.
With customer growth being top-of-mind, Meraki Go has also provided a new way for Shotwell’s to encourage customers to share their experiences at the bar on social media. Tom created a guest WiFi landing page through the Meraki Go app that redirects visitors to Shotwell’s Instagram. “We get a lot of international customers using our WiFi to post pictures on Instagram,” he said. “They can log right into the guest network, then land on our splash page, which is our Instagram account. It’s a really cool feature that gives us word-of-mouth growth from our customers’ posts.”
Boosting engagement through digital channels is yet another way that Meraki Go enabled Shotwell’s to transform their business.
Small business tips
Tom Madonna shares his top three tips for other small businesses:
- As a bar owner, having everything connected and running smoothly behind the scenes is crucial to creating memorable experiences for customers and turning them into regulars. If you’re using old or complex technology, and if your POS systems aren’t talking to the rest of your network, try Meraki Go.
- Take advantage of Guest Insights in Meraki Go. We can see trends about peak guest times and how often guests come back to improve staffing and happy hour offers.
- To increase word of mouth on social media, create a landing page for your WiFi network. We use our Instagram account, and have gotten more user-generated content and reach!
Visit the Meraki Go site to learn more about our intuitive and innovative solutions that support small businesses.
