Trivia night should be one of the easiest ways to pack your bar on a slow night. When it’s done right, it’s a midweek money-maker that keeps customers coming back and spending.
But we see too many bars making the same mistakes that leave their seats empty and their staff frustrated.
Here’s our countdown of the top 10 trivia night mistakes bar owners make and how you can fix them fast.
10. Bad Timing
If you start late, drag out the rounds, or skip weeks, customers lose interest and leave.
✅ Fix it: Start on time, keep the game moving, and keep it consistent every week. Need help running the clock? We’ll help you stay on track.
9. Teams That Are Too Big
When one giant team wins every round, the smaller groups stop showing up.
✅ Fix it: Set a team cap. We recommend no more than 6 players per team to keep it competitive and fair.
8. Not Listening to Customers
Your guests will tell you what works and what doesn’t if you bother to ask.
✅ Fix it: Check in at the end of the night. You might hear, “Questions were too hard,” or “We love the music.”
Small tweaks make a big difference.
7. Bad Questions
Too easy and people get bored. Too hard and they tune out.
✅ Fix it: Use a mix of fun, challenging, and unexpected questions. We write balanced question sets for you.
6. No Prizes
Even a small prize gives people a reason to play and brag.
✅ Fix it: Offer something simple like a $10 bar tab, free drink, or a T-shirt.
5. Overloading Your Staff
Your bartenders already have a full rail and a full bar. Making them run trivia too? That hurts service and tips.
✅ Fix it: Let your bartenders pour while a host runs the game. We can send a professional host.
4. Skipping Weeks
If you’re not consistent, people stop planning their night around you.
✅ Fix it: Pick a night, same time every week, and don’t miss it.
3. Boring Host
Your host sets the tone. If they’re boring, awkward, or unclear, people stop caring.
✅ Fix it: Hire someone with energy who knows how to work a room. We train our hosts to do exactly that.
2. Doing Everything Yourself
Between managing your staff, inventory, and customers, you don’t have time to also write trivia, train a host, and run the event.
✅ Fix it: Let the pros handle the details while you run your bar.
1. No One Knows It’s Trivia Night
The number one mistake we see? No promotion.
If nobody hears about it, nobody comes.
✅ Fix it: Flyers, social posts, staff hype — our WOMP™ kit makes it simple to promote your trivia night in under 10 minutes a week.
Make Trivia Night Work for Your Bar
At Last Call Bar Pros, we help bar owners like you avoid these mistakes and turn trivia into one of your most profitable nights without adding to your workload.
Let us handle the hosting, the questions, and the promotion so you can focus on what you do best.
📲 Contact us today to see how we can help fill your bar with happy, paying customers every week.
