“It wasn't surprising” — Alexandra Maierhofer from Wirtshaus Donisl in an interview

1,328 reviews generated by the Socialwave system, 36,615 emails sent and 45,663 logins — all since Wirtshaus Donisl started using Socialwave in autumn 2018.

And now?

Now the doors are closed, the kitchen is empty and the staff is on short-time work. Time enough to talk to Alexandra Maierhofer, head of marketing at Rubenbauer Holding, which owns the tavern, about the current situation.

(remark: This is the first part of the interview with Alexandra Maierhofer. Here, we are particularly addressing the corona pandemic. The second part deals with online reviews, marketing for restaurateurs and the successful measures with which Donisl works. You can find it in the form of a case study at the end of the article.)

Donisl interview with Alexandra Maierhofer

Social wave: Ms. Maierhofer, when did you realize that the Corona crisis would have serious consequences for the catering industry?

Alexandra Maierhofer: It started in mid-February, i.e. relatively early. Back then, an acquaintance from Milan sent me pictures of supermarkets that had been bought empty except for a few salt shakers. Over time, the news about northern Italy and Austria also came to us.
We were joking at first that it would be best to lock everything up for four weeks, but we already knew that the situation was serious.

SW: Have you been following the news situation in other countries?

ON: Yes Germany, and Bavaria in particular, has focused heavily on Austria. When the restaurants there were only allowed to open for a few hours and then went completely into lockdown, we knew it was only a matter of time here.

From this point on, the situation was no longer surprising.

SW: How did you experience Friday, March 13, when Germany collectively moved into a state of emergency?

ON: We've had a lot of discussion, of course. What can we do now? Like most people, we had no emergency plans. Especially not for a situation like this. If you had thought of the worst scenario for the catering industry — the situation as it is now is even better than the whole thing.

SW: What action did you take then?

ON: We have restricted deliveries whenever possible. Although we were able to open for a few more days, there was great uncertainty among the population. There weren't many more guests. We then registered short-time work retroactively. Fortunately, it was very quick and easy.

SW: What does the situation look like now? How are you working right now?

ON: Plant management is still on site three days a week. There is still work to be done. For example, we are considering how budgets can be redistributed. We are also carrying out renovation work and optimising everything in terms of increased hygiene standards. Personally, I still have some good things to do because I am responsible for marketing several companies as part of Rubenbauer Holding.

However, service staff and kitchen staff are on short-time work.

SW: Have you considered starting a delivery service or offering pickup?

ON: Yes, that was definitely a consideration for us. In purely mathematical terms, however, it made no sense given the size of our company and the associated operating costs. The costs would simply have been too high to justify the minimal operation.

Nevertheless, this can be worthwhile for small restaurants when you can simply fire up the stove as a couple.

SW: Was the Socialwave system able to help you in the current situation?

ON: We're very happy with Socialwave. We've generated a lot of reviews. The previous WLAN provider was more expensive. At Socialwave, we are well looked after all. But in the current situation, we were unable to use Socialwave. However, if we were to offer delivery service or collection, we would of course draw the attention of our customers to this through Socialwave.

(Socialwave note: With the Socialwave system, email campaigns can be easily sent to customers who have logged into the WLAN. Depending on the location, this could easily be over 10,000.)

SW: How are you currently planning for the near future?

ON: The year 2020 was a mental one for us. Oktoberfest is canceled, and so are the trade fairs. However, tourism makes up a very large part of our clientele.

SW: What would happen if restrictions were relaxed and Munich residents went out to eat again?

ON: Without tourism, all Munich restaurants are fighting for the locals. For many people, however, the money is not exactly loose due to the crisis. Many are on short-time work, at 100% in the worst case, or have even lost their jobs. I also don't exactly imagine it cozy with a face mask and a minimum distance.

SW: When do you expect the situation to normalize?

ON: We expect around two years until the industry as a whole is back to pre-Corona levels.

SW:

But perhaps people will feel even more eager to go out to eat after the restrictions and there could be a small boom in the foreseeable future.

ON: A lot of people are becoming master chefs right now. I myself recently cooked roast pork with dumplings. Otherwise, it was one of my favorite foods.

SW: Thank you Mrs. Maierhofer for your time and trust in Socialwave. We wish you all the best in the current situation.

ON: Thank you too and stay healthy.

The interview was conducted by Moritz Meister and Ben Menges.

Case study: How is Donisl doing before the crisis with ratings in Google number 1 on Marienplatz, Munich?

Content from the second part of the interview can be found in our”Donisl case study”.

There, Alexandra Maierhofer reports in detail how she uses Socialwave to advertise effectively and cost-effectively. In addition, you will find real figures and concrete information on how the Donisl tavern managed to get to number 1 in the local search results at one of the most competitive places in Germany (Marienplatz, Munich).

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