It’s no secret that ski areas are perceived as highly risky places. But do you realize one of the riskiest locations of your resort might be its restaurant and bar? Serve an underaged or intoxicated patron and the legal penalties can be swift, severe and potentially devastating. Police departments across the United States are contriving deceptive sting operations, sanctioning even the most experienced bartenders and closing down respected establishments. The message is that ski area managers cannot afford to forget about the additional liability issues that are connected to serving alcohol at the lodge pub.
Of course, you can decide to simply not serve alcohol. But with such a significant percentage of revenues coming from food and beverage sales, making a resort less appealing to the majority of the population that enjoys a beer or cocktail after a day of skiing could have serious bottom line implications. A better solution is to train your food and beverage personnel in the safe and responsible service of alcohol.
You expect your ski instructors to know the risks of skiing and take the appropriate measures to lessen those risks for customers as they perform their duties. You should expect the same from your bar and wait staff. People react differently to alcohol at higher altitudes, so it is important that servers of alcohol at ski areas be properly trained, especially at Rocky Mountain and Sierra resorts.
A server-training program should provide information on both the effects of alcohol and intervention techniques, and use interactive skills training to apply the techniques learned. A quality server training program should also:
1) Offer effective, comprehensive training in compliance with any applicable state or local laws.
2) Be created by experts in the respective fields of alcohol, training, law, hospitality and psychology.
3) Be recognized by insurance companies, potentially entitling you to liquor-liability discounts.
4) Retain certification records for several years and only grant certification after participants have passed an exam based on the course material.
5) Offer training materials in multiple languages.
6) Have staff available specifically to answer training questions as they arise.
“An effective server-training program will not stop at providing participants with basic information,” says Adam Chafetz, president of Health Communications Inc., provider of the TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) program, the leading alcohol-server training program in the U.S. “For example, after providing them with the information, the TIPS program engages participants in role-play so they are able to build on the confidence they’ve gained and use the people skills they’ve learned to intervene effectively in an alcohol-related situation,” Chafetz said.
Establishments that are proactive in training their staffs may be eligible to receive insurance discounts and may be viewed favorably should they become involved with a liquor-liability incident.
Top 10 Tips for Safe Service
1) Check IDs of all guests who look younger than 30.
2) Post bouncers or security people at all entrances and exits.
3) Serve free food to slow down drinking and aid alcohol absorption.
4) Be sure that resort management is notified immediately of any alcohol-related problems.
5) Serve measured drinks, and don’t serve beer or mixed drinks in pitchers or other large containers.
6) Offer soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water and coffee as alternatives to alcoholic beverages.
7) Don’t serve anyone more than one drink at a time.
8) Make “Last Call” at least one hour before closing time.
9) Make free transportation available to intoxicated guests.
10) Do whatever is necessary to keep drunk guests from driving, even if it means taking away their car keys or calling the police.
Copyright © 1999 – Health Communications, Inc.
Proper server training should also recognize the realities of the hospitality industry. A good server-training program should not be anti-alcohol and should recognize the difference between the social use of alcohol and alcohol misuse.
The bottom line is that people drink and, for that matter, ski to have a good time. Properly trained staff will serve alcohol with the confidence that only knowledge and training can bring. That confidence translates into patrons who leave happy, without misusing alcohol, and who are ready to ski another day.
Health Communications, Inc., offers Training for Intervention ProcedureS program (TIPS) for staff at bars and restaurants. Their Website is www.gettips.com; telephone at 800-438-8477 or e-mail at [email protected].
