Keep The Mood Merry & Encourage Responsible Drinking

The festive season is a busy and exciting time of the year for both bar staff and customers. It's a time when many people head out to bars and restaurants and you get the opportunity to impress a great number of new and old customers.

In order to leave a positive lasting impression it is important to create an enjoyable experience for your customers. This can be done by offering perfectly created serves and providing excellent customer service, but another important part is also ensuring your customers enjoy themselves in a safe way, so always encourage responsible drinking.

Your responsibility

Alcohol is a special product that can, when misused, cause harm to the person overindulging and to others. Each country sets guidelines and legislation around consumption of alcohol, for example, minimum legal age of purchase, and as bar staff you have the duty to implement them.

You need to be able to spot the signs of excessive drinking and assess when someone has had enough. Most commonly, these signs are: slurred speech, impaired coordination, slowed reactions and diminished judgement.

How to refuse a customer

When you decide that someone has had enough to drink and you do not wish to serve them, you should take the following steps:

• Inform your manager or another member of staff that you’re about to refuse to serve a customer—that way you have support
• Explain politely that you’re unable to serve the person any more alcohol
• If necessary, ask your manager to explain the situation to them
• Always be polite and sincere

For more information on responsible drinking, visit www.drinkiq.com

What to do

There will be times when you have to deal with a customer who has consumed too much alcohol. If you can strike up a rapport, you should suggest they alternate their alcohol consumption with soft drinks, eat some food and drink some water. Most importantly, you should not serve them any more alcohol.