Someone is deciding what to do on a Thursday. They half remember the pub does live music and they want to know who is playing, what time it starts and whether they need to book a table.
The information exists in a social post from nine days ago that has scrolled away. They go somewhere else.
Step 1: publish a programme, not a feed
A page listing what is on, by date, with times. Social posts vanish and search engines cannot answer someone typing the venue name and a day.
Step 2: include the practical details per event
Start time, door time, whether there is a charge, whether tickets are needed, whether food is served during the event and whether tables can be booked.
Step 3: say what kind of night it is
A loud band, a quiet acoustic set, a quiz, a DJ. Customers choosing between venues want to know whether they can talk to each other.
Step 4: publish the food arrangement
Whether the kitchen is open, until when, whether food is served in the room with the music and whether tables are reserved for diners. This decides whether a group comes early.
Step 5: be clear about seating
Whether it is standing, whether tables can be booked, whether booking guarantees a good view and whether there is a minimum spend.
Step 6: answer the age question
Whether under-eighteens are admitted, until what time and whether it differs for a dining table. Families ask and rarely get an answer.
Step 7: take table bookings around the event
An event night with no bookings taken is a night where people arrive, find nowhere to sit and leave, which is the loss described in large group and table booking enquiries at weekends.
Step 8: publish well ahead
People plan a fortnight out. A programme covering the next two months converts far better than one showing this week.
Step 9: answer the same night
Enquiries arrive at six in the evening asking what is on tonight, and an answer at that moment is a table filled, which is the coverage described in covering lunch and busy hours.
Step 9b: say what happens if an act cancels
Bands drop out and customers who booked specifically for them arrive to something else. Publishing that a replacement is arranged where possible, and how ticket holders are told, turns a disappointing evening into one the venue clearly handled rather than one it hoped nobody would mention.
Step 10: give performers something to share
A page per event, with the act named, that a band can link to. Their audience finds your venue through it and it costs nothing.
Step 11: use quiet nights deliberately
Midweek programming exists to fill capacity that is otherwise idle, which is the argument in event night enquiries that fill a bar on quiet evenings.
Step 12: stop answering it one message at a time
Published information answers the repeated question without anyone typing, which is the approach in how to answer stock and restock questions without an inbox.
Getting started
Publish a dated programme with times, entry, food and booking arrangements, then answer what is on tonight at any hour. SpideyChat for hospitality answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.