Pluckers Club Case Study
Background:
Pluckers Wing Bar is a sports bar with 25 locations across Texas and Louisiana (U.S.). Their stores
do large volume sales, multimillion / year / store. The first store opened in 1995, seven years later
they began expanding, opening new locations in new cities. In 2008 they launched their loyalty
program “Pluckers Club”, in partnership with Loyalty
3
across their then 8 stores. The chain continues
to grow, with the loyalty program being an important part of their success and central to their
operation. Every new store first opens their doors exclusively to members, meals are complimentary
(as a way to say thank you to their most loyal customers and to offset slower serve times). ESPN
named Pluckers one of the “Top 5 Sports Bars in North America” and USA Today named them one
of the “Top 10 Wing Restaurants in America”.
Pluckers Club: Originally the loyalty program was card based; in 2018 it was introduced as a full
Mobile App program. The below details this transition and the obstacles that were overcame.
Where they were:
o Card Based program with two levels
o Points based loyalty
o Not real-time (points were awarded overnight)
o Semi-automated rewards at POS
o Gift Cards purchased only at stores
o Online orders not rewarded
o No social rewarding
Where they wanted to go:
o Full Mobile App based program (discontinue plastic cards)
o Omnichannel (platforms integrated into one single vehicle)
o Fully-automated rewards at POS
o Real-time rewarding of points
o Online Ordering from app
o Online orders rewarded
o New interactive / fun features
o E-Gift Cards purchased from app
o Social rewards
Pluckers Club Case Study
How we got there:
Loyalty
3
(L3) in partnership with Pluckers and IronOne, developed and launched (May 2018) an
upgraded mobile-app based program. Native mobile apps for both Android and iOS serve as the
main vehicle of the program. L3 in partnership with NCR Aloha migrated sales processing to the
Cloud, for real-time rewarding (by simply scanning with the app a unique barcode printed on each
receipt). Additional third-party platforms for online-ordering and credit-card processing were also
integrated to the mobile app. Existing members were able to on-board (migrate their old loyalty card)
by just entering their email or membership number, at which point they were prompted to verify their
profile information. New members were able to sign up for either membership level directly from the
app; with a seamless Facebook join option also available. The paid membership could be paid for
directly on the app via credit card or by entering a code printed on receipt, if membership was
purchased at a store.
The new app is completely real-time, allowing members to earn points by scanning their receipts.
Every time a receipt is scanned, the L3 system reads the full check, collecting date/time, amounts
and specific items/modifiers (even down to the specific wing sauce!). A guest survey is automatically
triggered upon member scanning a receipt. If score given is below X, the manager in charge gets
instantly alerted via SMS with details i.e. member info, table, server, etc. Specials (up-sell / cross-
sell promos) are now fully automated to remove responsibility from servers. Members can now also
redeem points and rewards directly from the app. The app also introduced gamification in the form
of fun challenges, which promote frequency, trial of new menu items, social media interaction and
attendance to store events (e.g. Trivia Nights). Members earn badges and extra points for completing
each challenge and get rewarded for sharing them on social media.
The app now serves as the direct source for everything Pluckers-related:
- My Account: Edit profile and check visit history (transactions / points earned)
- Points: Points balance and ability to redeem points from App
- My Rewards: Ability to view / redeem right from app
- News and Offers: Specific to each member’s home store and controlled in real-time
- Challenges*: Available, progress and completed
- Order Online: Ability to place orders directly from app (and earn rewards)
- In-app payments: For purchasing memberships and e-gift cards.
- E-Gift Cards: Re-loadable on app for personal use, or sent to a recipient as a gift
- Menu & Locations: Access to home store menu and ability to locate stores near you
- Check-In: Automatically links account to check at store (member can also scan receipt)
*Challenges Breakdown:
I. RAF: Geared at promoting program: Refer 1 friend (25 points), Refer 5 (100 points), Refer 10
(150 points) and refer 25 friends (500 points), each awarding points in tier fashion.
II. POS: Geared at exploring menu: Try every Wing Sauce, Try every Burger etc.:
e.g. “Pre-Gamer Challenge”: Try every appetizer listed under Pre-Game Warm Up on
the menu - Earn 100 points
III. Social: Geared at promoting Pluckers on social media e.g. Social Media Savvy: Make a social
media Post about Pluckers (25 points)
IV. Event-Related: Geared at promoting events: e.g. Play trivia on Trivia Night (25 points)
Pluckers Club Case Study
Complexities overcame:
o Integrating multiple platforms with single sign on: Facebook (sign up), OLO (online ordering),
NCR Aloha (POS cloud integration), Payeezy-First Data (credit card processing).
o On-boarding members: This had to be done in a seamless manner while reducing operational
activity. Sales to members were initially impacted during the transition period (card to app)
but quickly returned back to 25% of total sales (4 months post-launch).
o Re-training store teams and re-educating members. Pluckers developed a training video and
dedicated training workshops with GM’s, store managers and servers. In store promotional
material and campaigns were used to push the mobile app.
Where they are today:
The mobile app was launched on April 28, 2018 with multiple campaigns for adoption purposes /
onboarding of current members. Four months later the program was back to their 25% sales to
members (matching 2017 performance). New locations have opened since the launch of the mobile
app and the adoption of the program continues to be strong, maintaining an average of 25% sales
to members across all stores. The App holds a rating of 4.9 on the App Store.
