What the second-cheapest wine can teach us about upselling

A good concept sparks curiosity. A simple story gives a team member something to say and a guest a reason to choose. That is where upselling can begin.

Imagine sitting in a restaurant with the wine list in front of you. A few names are familiar. Others you are not quite sure how to pronounce. You want to choose something good, stay within a reasonable budget and feel that you have made a good choice.

Your eyes move to the prices.

Perhaps the second-cheapest?

In CollegeHumor’s sketch Second Cheapest Wine, that becomes a fictional wine brand. The sketch pokes fun at the uncertainty of choosing wine and the desire to avoid looking cheap. The whole idea is captured in the name.

It is the kind of idea that makes you think: someone should actually do that.

And someone has. American retailer Grocery Outlet has a wine brand called Second Cheapest Wine.

A concept that is easy to talk about

For me, its strength lies in how familiar the situation feels. The name captures a moment, raises a smile and makes the idea easy to retell.

It also gives the team a natural way to start a conversation.

There is something here for anyone developing a restaurant concept, a menu or an offer: how easy is it for a team member to talk about it?

Can a new colleague understand the idea? Remember it? Say something about it in their own words?

When the answer is yes, the concept has gained a practical strength. It can travel all the way to the table.

The story needs to work during a busy service

Friday evening. The restaurant is full. A team member has three tables needing attention and a guest asking which wine would go well with the food.

In that moment, knowledge needs to be usable.

A short story about why you chose a product can give the team member a clear starting point. What appealed to you? How did it come about? Why does it suit this particular guest?

Imagine, for example, a restaurant where the kitchen and front-of-house teams have tasted wines to find a pairing for a mushroom dish. After asking what style of wine the guest likes, the recommendation might sound like this:

“When we tasted wines for the mushroom dish, this was the one both the kitchen and service teams liked best. It has the smooth style you enjoy and goes well with the mushrooms. It is SEK 30 more per glass. Would you like that with your meal?”

In about twenty seconds, the guest gets a little story, a relevant recommendation and a clear price difference.

The team member has something concrete to say. The guest gets an explanation of why the choice might be worth a little more.

Giving upselling a reason

A story can make the value easier to understand.

In this example, the guest learns that the team has tried the pairing and chosen the wine because it complements the dish. The recommendation also becomes personal through its connection to the taste the guest has described.

That gives the guest a reason to consider the more expensive option.

The same idea can work with a dessert, an alcohol-free drink or a hotel package. The story might be about how a product came about, why you introduced it or which need it was designed to meet.

A small dessert may have been developed for guests who would love something sweet to finish but are already feeling quite full. If that is how it came about, the team already has the beginning of a story that could make an extra course relevant.

The story should, of course, be true. The work you have put into a thoughtful choice can be quite enough.

What makes the story useful is the connection between the product and the guest’s situation.

Taste, budget and occasion determine what is suitable. The guest should feel comfortable saying either yes or no.

Make it easy for the team to use

This gives the leader something practical to work on.

At your next pre-shift briefing, choose one product and talk about why you offer it. Let the team try it when possible. Find one true detail worth sharing and connect it to a situation in which the guest might appreciate the product.

Then let everyone put a short recommendation into their own words and try it out with a colleague.

That gives even the newest team member a chance to get a feel for the words before using them at the table.

After the shift, you can follow up: When was the recommendation relevant? What did guests ask? What felt natural to say?

Consider tracking both how often the recommendation is made and how sales of the chosen product develop. That gives you something concrete to learn from as you adjust the story and the way you use it.

From concept to guest interaction

Concept development gives the offer a clear idea and personality. Service design helps us shape the guest interaction in which that idea will be used. Leadership gives the team the knowledge, practice and support to make it happen every day.

When those elements connect, the concept becomes easier to bring to life.

The second-cheapest wine is an entertaining starting point. The greater opportunity lies in everything you have already selected, created and put care into.

There may be stories there that help team members feel more confident in their recommendations and make guests more curious about what you offer.

Which of those stories could your team tell in twenty seconds tonight?