Your Cocktail is Served: Ordering Drinks is Hassle-Free With Coaster App

Good news San Franciscans — we have (another) reason to go to happy hour — an app called Coaster makes the mob scene at the bar a thing of the past.
The app is currently available in 14 bars and clubs in the city by the bay — but the founders are looking to expand its reach.

With Coaster, when you and your crew go out for cocktails, you will calmly find a place to sit, peruse the drink menu and order beverages from the app. The bartender, using his or her iPad will see your order, make the drinks and let you know (through the app) when they’re ready. You pay for the drinks through the app (even tip).

What will make the bartender turn their attention to the iPad when they have a mob of people in front of them at the bar?

“While there are people in front of them, the second they turn around they can see the order pop-up on the screen,” said co-founder Inderpal Singh, “Bartenders are very good at multitasking and can mix many drinks at once.”

When your drink is ready the bartender presses the “notify user” button on the iPad and you receive a push notification telling you to pick up your drinks at the bar. That notification also contains an order code on a virtual coaster, which you then show to the bartender. That way no one can claim your drinks except you. Your beverages are kept safely behind the counter until you pick them up. Each round gets a new order code.

In a test at two San Francisco nightclubs, Singh said it took about five minutes to demonstrate how the app works to the bartenders. That night, 10-20% of the nightclub’s volume was through the app.

“We’re not looking to replace bartenders, but to enhance their mobility,” he said. For bartenders, “it fits in really seamlessly with their workflow and it lets them focus more on customer than transactions.”

For convenience, you add your credit card information in the app and it’s stored for every order. When you place an order, your account is charged, but you can change the tip every time, or set it up so it automatically tips a percentage or dollar amount for every drink. The one thing you can’t do in the app is not leave a tip.

You can view all the specialty cocktails at that particular bar or club, plus hi-res pics. A virtual shelf lets you choose your spirit — the selection contains all the alcohols at that location.

Singh said he also likes to use the app before he enters the bar.

“When I’m approaching the bar, right before I walk in, I order and when I get there my drink’s sitting right in front of me,” he said. Singh, who is also a DJ, said he’s seen bar and club patrons struggle to place a drink order when they could just be having a good time with their friends.

The app is available on iOS and Android.

Right now the app is available at 14 venues in San Francisco:

Jones
Temple
Eve Lounge
Showdown
1015 Folsom
Public Works
Reed & Greenough
Harlot
WISH
Manor West
MatrixFilmore
Qi Ultra Lounge
StrEat Brew
111 Minna

You can use the promo code COASTER to get $5 off your first order. Then, you’ll be able to access your own promo code through your account and invite friends. When a friend signs in with your promo code, they’ll get $5 off their order and you’ll get $5 in kickbacks.