Phone charging at the nightclub: why customers leave early and how to prevent it

Why the phone matters so much at night

Many customers no longer carry cash and pay with their phone. To get home they book a taxi or a ride from an app. If the group splits up, they find each other by message. And before going out, many have spent the evening with their phone in hand.

So when the battery nears the end, the worry isn't missing a few photos: it's being unable to pay or get home. Leaving before that happens is a logical decision.

The problem with charging phones behind the bar

Many venues handle it with a charger behind the bar or in the cloakroom. It works while there are only a few, but it has drawbacks.

• Staff spend time looking after phones instead of serving drinks.
• Phones get mixed up and some end up lost or in someone else's hands.
• If a phone is lost or broken, the venue has a problem.
• The customer is without their phone while it charges, just when they need it.

What options a venue has

There are several ways to offer charging to customers, with different results.

• Cables at the bar: cheap, but they force the customer to stand by the socket.
• Charging lockers: they protect the phone, but the customer doesn't have it while it charges.
• Portable power bank rental: the customer takes a power bank with its own cables, carries on with the night and returns it before leaving.

How power bank rental works

The customer goes to the station, pays by card or phone and takes a power bank. The cables are built in, so it works with iPhone and Android without hunting for anything.

Meanwhile, they stay on the dance floor, on the terrace or at the bar, with the phone charging in their pocket. On the way out, they return the power bank to the station. To make sure it comes back, an amount is held on the card until it's returned.

For the venue, staff stop dealing with phones. And with a revenue-share model, the nightclub keeps a share of every rental.

Where to put it

The station needs to be visible and close to where customers realise they're running low: next to the cloakroom, by the main bar or at the entrance. In a large venue, more than one can make sense.

It needs a socket and a spot where it doesn't block the way. If it has a screen, use it to promote tonight's party or the next one.

A question of safety

Beyond business, a customer leaving in the early hours with enough battery to call a taxi or say they've got home safely is peace of mind for them and for the venue. It's a small service that says a lot about how people are looked after.

In short

If you want your customers to stay until the end:

• Offer a way to charge without being separated from their phone.
• Make it visible, next to the cloakroom, the bar or the entrance.
• Free your staff from charging phones behind the bar.
• Make returning it on the way out simple.