New Service Keeps Spontaneous Pub Trips Alive While Supporting Track and Trace

Stampede launches automatic, contactless data collection services for hospitality sector

EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --  Stampede, the Scottish hospitality software startup, today announced the launch of a new secure, contactless service to help pubs, bars and restaurants collect customer data – as required to support track and trace measures. Having described the Government's guidance on data collection as 'woeful', Stampede's founder says the service is designed to make the process easy for venue owners when they reopen in July, while also making spontaneous walk-ins possible again via its automatic registration process.

The Stampede service allows customers to share their details securely with their smartphone, as well as allowing venues to track and timestamp new visitors – the venue can then choose to delete the data after 21 days as per the new government guidelines. For regular or returning customers, the service will automatically register their smartphone on arrival and reset the 21-day counter. This means that they do not need to provide their details each time they arrive at the venue, thereby retaining the spontaneity of a pre-pandemic pub visit. The service is fully managed by Stampede but can be customised by the venue owner, meaning venues don't have to maintain complicated records if they don't want to.

Customers are given two options for providing their data. Firstly, they can provide their details while registering to connect to the venue's guest Wi-Fi. The benefit of Wi-Fi is that smartphones will automatically join the network each time they enter the venue, thereby registering them as a visitor. It is designed to be a seamless experience for the customer, is less time consuming for venue staff, and mitigates data protection or health and safety issues created by physical ledgers or digital spreadsheets. For pubs and bars that want customers to order drinks at the table via their dedicated app or website, being connected to the Wi-Fi is also a good way to encourage people to do so, rather than ordering at the bar.

For anyone who does not want to join the guest Wi-Fi, Stampede also allows customers to scan a QR code displayed at the venue, or have their details manually entered into the Stampede app by a staff member.

"The Government guidance on how pubs, bars and restaurants should support track & trace measures and implement data collection policies was frankly woeful," said Stampede founder, Patrick Clover. "It lacked clarity and eschewed responsibility, putting the onus on venues to act responsibly and find their own solutions."

"Pub owners care about the health and safety of their customers, but most won't know where to get started with data collection, security and privacy, nor will they want to risk spoiling the experience by making customers jump through hoops. Our data collection service means spontaneous pub trips and walk-ins can still happen under the right circumstances. It's a better, more secure and more private option than digital ledgers, and more hygienic than using pen and paper. The outlook for British pubs and bars was extremely bright before the outbreak, pub numbers were up for the first time in a decade, and I expect the industry to get back to its feet asap."

About Stampede

Stampede was founded by software developer and tech entrepreneur, Patrick Clover, to enable physical venues to engage with their customers more easily and effectively, and understand them better. From the independent coffee shop to global brands with thousands of sites - Stampede provides a level of customer insight previously only available to large corporations. It offers business owners better information on their customers through improved engagement and insights into consumer habits.

The company has grown rapidly and has served more than four million users from over 800 locations across the UK, Europe, US, Asia and South America.