How Fig Tree found its regulars. Fig Tree is made up — everything it does is real.
The first tap.
Maya is new in the area. She pays for a flat white and taps the sticker by the till. WhatsApp opens with a message ready — she presses send, and her loyalty card arrives with the first stamp already on it.
- No app to install
- No sign-up form
- One message, once
- Her name, from WhatsApp
A tap at the counter each visit — that's it.
After that, just a tap.
Next morning she doesn't open anything. She touches her phone to the sticker and the stamp is on her card before the barista turns round. Each tap makes a code that works once, so stamps can only be collected at the counter.
- No message per stamp
- Can't be copied home
- Card always in the chat
- Your colours, your reward
Sam draws his own cafe.
In ten minutes on his phone, Sam sketches Fig Tree in his panel — the window, the counter, all nine tables — and switches them on for booking. No floor-plan software, no setup call. From that moment his tables are bookable in WhatsApp.
- Drawn on a phone
- Round, square, long tables
- Seats per table
- On and off any time
A table for Saturday.
Next morning Maya books brunch for two: Saturday, eleven o'clock, by the window — without leaving WhatsApp. The booking lands on Sam's floor plan the same second, and she gets the confirmation in the chat.
- Only free times shown
- Confirmation in the chat
- Cancel in two taps
- Live floor plan for staff
A quiet afternoon, filled.
It's pouring and the cafe is empty at two. Sam writes one offer in his panel and sends it to the 120 regulars who've joined. By three o'clock, seven of his nine tables are taken — Maya's among them.
- Lands next to their friends
- Photo and a button
- Only people who joined
- STOP opts out instantly
Total £7.20 · pay when you collect
Ordered on the bus.
Maya's running late — and her colleague wants a flat white too. From the bus she opens Fig Tree, adds a second flat white and a cinnamon bun, and picks 08:20. It's on the counter with her name on it when she walks in, and she still taps for her stamp.
- Menu with photos
- Change the order any time
- Kitchen-paced pickup times
- "It's ready" message
Friday 31 October · 19:30 · 14 places left
Friday stops being a guess.
Sam announces a Friday jazz night with fifty places. Regulars reserve right in the window — Maya brings a friend. He knows who's coming before he orders the milk.
- Places count down live
- Guest list in the panel
- Bring friends along
- Link it from your channel
A regular, three times over.
Her card has filled three times. She sends the menu PDF to her sister, who's visiting on Saturday. And Fig Tree's own WhatsApp Channel has 412 followers — new menu, jazz-night photos, Saturday hours — without a pound spent on ads.
- Reward message when full
- Menu as a PDF to share
- Your own channel
- A community for regulars