The Money Jar

Last week, while I was in Berlin, my friend suggested I try this new and hip wine bar. He strongly recommended this place because it indeed challenges the conventional practices of the dining industry.

Image from http://robs-blog.com/2012/07/10/weinerei-forum

Weinerei Forum is self-service. Once you pay the initial 2 Euro entrance fee you can help yourself to a variety of red and white wine.  Also, in the adjoining room there is a spread of homemade food. So far it sounds like a normal wine bar; however, the fascinating aspect about this particular one is that there are no cashiers. And there are no cash registers or bills. At this wine bar, the client is simply entrusted to keep a tally of the amount of wine glasses consumed by referring to a list on the wall with the recommended prices. But it is the client who ultimately decides upon a fair price and leaves the money in a glass bowl. The people working at the counter seem more occupied with refilling wine bottles and taking the 2 Euro entrance fee than monitoring clients. Clients leave the amount of money that they deem appropriate in a glass jar on the main counter. As I sat outside sipping my Norton wine, I noticed that the place was filling up rather quickly and the people who left before me all left the money in the glass jar.  Clients could easily have walked out of the place undisturbed yet they chose not to.

The famous money jar. 

This is indeed an unorthodox approach in the dining industry. But, the owner of this wine bar knows too well that he is competing with a myriad of other wine bars and restaurants in the area, so he has found an innovative way to stand out from the rest.

One must point out that Germany is renowned for its diligence and reliability so this model is more likely to find its niche in this kind of environment. However, having said that, I believe that this idea would be successful elsewhere.  By empowering the client, this new concept redefines the relationship between the client and the owner, which is now based on mutual trust.  Like in every other system there will be people who will take advantage of this newfound autonomy. However, I believe that the majority will take ownership of their new role and make the right call.

Even though this example does not link directly to education, it is inspiring, nevertheless. In a time where many are calling for educational reform, this is a relevant example of how one can bring innovation by looking for creative outcomes. As I sat outside enjoying the German summer breeze, I couldn’t help but think of how better our educational systems could be if we gave more ownership to our students. I believe that like these clients, they would rise to the occasion.

In the meantime, this is the address of the bar should you ever be in Berlin and decide that you want to check it out:

Weinerei Forum

Veteranenstraße 14 10119 Berlin, Germany