A ladder your regulars actually climb.

Points start counting on their own the moment an account orders. What makes loyalty work is everything you decide around that: what the rungs are, what they're worth, and whether the person at the counter knows.

Before you switch it on

Weigh it first.

What you gain

  • A reason to sign in, which is how a customer becomes a name.
  • A visible next step that brings a regular back a visit sooner.
  • A way to thank the people who keep you open, in your own words.

What it costs

  • Every perk is something you give away. Price each rung as if every regular will reach it — some will.
  • Perks are honoured by you at the counter, not applied automatically, so your team has to know them.
  • A ladder is hard to take back. Generosity you later withdraw is remembered longer than generosity you never offered.

Keep it small enough to explain in one breath. A ladder the team has to look up becomes a moment of embarrassment at the counter, and they will stop mentioning it to spare themselves.

  1. 01

    Give everyone the first rung.

    Set a rung at zero: something a customer has from their first visit, simply for being one of yours. It turns loyalty from a distant target into a standing they already hold, and gives the rest of the ladder somewhere to start from.

    What it costs
    Whatever you attach to it, for every account. Make it a courtesy rather than a discount.
    Where it lives
    Rungs, their points and their perks are set under Loyalty in Admin.
    How you’ll know
    New accounts opening their standing and seeing something there already.
  2. 02

    Put the next rung within reach.

    The first earned rung should be a few ordinary visits away, close enough to feel while they are still deciding whether you are their place. Space the later ones further apart.

    What it costs
    An early perk given to people who might have come back anyway. That is the price of making the habit.
    Where it lives
    Each rung is a points total you choose. A customer's account shows exactly how far the next one is.
    How you’ll know
    Regulars reaching the first earned rung within their first weeks.
  3. 03

    Write perks you would say out loud.

    A perk is a promise your shop makes and keeps at the counter. Write each one the way you would say it to a regular: your tenth coffee is ours, first refusal on the Saturday loaf. If it reads like a coupon, rewrite it.

    Then tell the team, and put the ladder where they can see it. The moment a customer reaches a rung happens at the counter, and somebody has to recognise it.

    What it costs
    Training, and the occasional judgement call when a customer and the ladder disagree.
    Where it lives
    Perks are written in your own words on each rung. A customer's history shows which order earned what, so a question can be answered from the record.
    How you’ll know
    Staff mentioning a customer's standing before the customer does.
  4. 04

    Decide what earns.

    Points can come from a whole order, a category or a single item. Use that deliberately: reward the visit if you want frequency, or reward the thing you'd like more people to try.

    What it costs
    Rules that are too clever are rules nobody can explain. One rule, said simply, beats three.
    Where it lives
    What counts toward points is set under Loyalty in Admin.
    How you’ll know
    The item or the habit you chose showing up more often in the orders of signed-in regulars.
  5. 05

    Say it when it happens.

    Points land the instant an order is paid. That is the moment to mention them — you're two away from the next one — and the moment to invite a guest who isn't signed in: make an account and this one counts.

    What it costs
    A sentence on a busy shift.
    Where it lives
    Points are awarded on every paid order for a signed-in customer, at the counter sign, online or at a table.
    How you’ll know
    Guests who ordered without an account coming back signed in.

Where to start

In this order.

  1. Write three rungs: one at zero, one a few visits away, one worth working toward.

  2. Read the perks aloud to your team. Change any they wouldn't say.

  3. Mention standing at the counter for a month.

  4. Only then add rungs or change what earns.

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Get started

Start small,
and watch what happens.

Start free — no card needed. Print your counter sign, put it beside the till, and see what happens.

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