Changing Glass vs. Pouring a Glass

By Mark Graban On May 22, 2008 Last updated Dec 17, 2012

One thing I observed at the Stars/Red Wings playoff game last Wednesday is that the arena crew could pretty much swap out one of the pieces of plexiglass behind the net faster than the concession crew could pour a glass of beer.

Two players crashed into the boards…. something got cracked or dislodged. A crew came out and, with almost-NASCAR pit crew efficiency, they replaced the glass. You could tell it was designed for a quick swap out and the team must have practiced. This isn't required every game, but thankfully they could keep the delay from being no longer than a normal TV timeout.

Now the concession stand… they are particularly bad at the American Airlines Center. They're learning their operational approach from their namesake airline, I'm guessing. Why do concession stands insist on “pouring to order” when customers order beer during an intermission? The typical process:

Customer orders
Employee starts to pour beer
Employee waits for foam to subside
Employee continues pouring
Employee waits again for form to subside
Employee finishes beer
Customer pays

It seems like some simple kaizen could improve the efficiency of the whole operation without adding people — good for the arena (more revenue, since fewer customers would walk away from a slow line) and good for the customers (less waiting).

If you separated the work of pouring beer and taking payment, you could have someone pouring two beers in parallel, taking advantage of the “waiting” time on one beer to pour the other. Have that one beer pourer handing beers to multiple register attendants.

Another idea — when you know things are going to be busy (such as pre-game or intermission), why not have a simple “beer kanban?” You could keep a few beers “in process” between the pouring and the register. The beers would keep moving (as long as you had First-In-First-Out) and you'd have a beer that had been poured pretty freshly. Really, what's the difference in a Miller Lite that's JUST been poured or one that was poured 60 seconds ago. They're still bad beer.

I don't know all of the answers, obviously. It's just frustrating to see the lack of kaizen in a setting as simple as a beer and hot dog stand. The concession stand is just as slow each game and each year. There's no sign of improvement. I wonder if they think they are as good as they can get or if nobody is challenging them to improve? Is nobody allowing them to improve? Dr. Deming would say that everybody is entitled to being able to find joy in their work — even if that work is pouring beer, eh?

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Mark Graban

Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. His most recent book is the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus. His latest book has been released as an "in-progress" book, titled Measures of Success.

5 Comments

Anonymous says 10 years ago

In a bit of synchronicity, I just ran across a post on Coffee cup kanban in my feed reader.

Nathan Pancratz says 10 years ago

My friend: (1) When we make the same amount regardless of how hard, fast or efficient we work, we tend to work not as hard, fast and efficient. (2) People that are perceptive-enough to figure this out aren’t usually pouring beers at a concession stand in the first place.

Jason says 10 years ago

This problem reminds me of an idea I read about a while back: Fill the beer glass from the botttom up! This reduces the foamy head generated from pouring, which reduces the waiting time. Here’s another improvement to consider: the foamy head is beer that is made undrinkable. Reducing the foamy head also reduces wasted beer.Sample article: Advances in the Draft Beer system improve Profits and Keg Yields

Anonymous says 10 years ago

Nathan- You said:

“(2) People that are perceptive-enough to figure this out aren’t usually pouring beers at a concession stand in the first place.”

What a rude, thoughtless comment to make. That’s straight out of Frederick Taylor, who thought people were “stupid” or they would have otherwise found better jobs than shoveling coal or whatever it was.

If someone has a simple job (pouring beer), then they are likely to find a better way of doing that simple thing. There’s a lot of creativity and ability in people, even in the uneducated or those in “bad” jobs.

Don’t be so closed minded to think they couldn’t come up with improvements if asked. Quick and Easy Kaizen wouldn’t work there? Give me a break.

The Masters: Concession Stands | Lean Blitz – Do it better. 6 years ago

[…] side of the line set out cups of beer, pop, lemonade, and sports drink. It’s not exactly a drinks kanban but because the drinks are consumed so quickly and the operators are watching the consumption from […]

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