After attending a course on responsible serving in the spring of 2004 in Helena, Chris Caldwell will do two things she has never done before in her 18 years as a bartender.
"I plan to keep an incident log and have witnesses sign it and I'll confiscate ID's that I think are fake," she said.
Those were two main points made by presenters during the seminar, which are being conducted on an ongoing basis around the state and are sponsored by the Montana Tavern Association for tavern owners and their employees. The first session, which drew about 50 participants, was conducted in Helena in the spring of 2004.
Caldwell, a bartender at Dapper D's, said she found the seminar educational in that it reinforced what she already knew while presenting new information.
"It was good to hear (law enforcement officials) say they want to work with us," Caldwell said.
Two of the presenters were Helena Police Lt. Dave Jeseritz and Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle, who advised servers to keep a record of incidents and not to hesitate in calling the authorities.
"A nuisance is someone who calls us after the fact," Jeseritz said during the seminar. "Calling us before the fact is not a nuisance. That's working with us to try to solve a problem."
Both law officers and Lonie Hutchison, coordinator of the Missoula County DUI Task Force, said keeping a record is one of the most important things a server can do when faced with an intoxicated customer or a minor trying to purchase beverage alcohol.
Caldwell said she doesn't normally call police, but it's good to know they will respond.
"We're not real big on calling police for every little thing," she said. But she added that, after attending the seminar, she better understands the issue of liquor liability.
"The liability issue is important," she said. "You have to have a record of what happened to cover your behind."
Dapper D's draws a regular clientele of primarily older people, so fake ID's and intoxicated patrons are not a frequent problem, according to Caldwell.
She said she usually can spot inebriated people when they walk through the door "by the way they carry themselves.
"It doesn't happen very often and it's usually not one of our regulars."
Dapper D's, she said, belongs to Home Free, so Caldwell usually offers them a cab ride home.
"They'll usually take it," she said. If not, she pointed out that a friend will usually offer to take them home. "I'll be a lot more careful about serving that one more drink," she vowed.
Confiscating fake ID's is also a record of a server's refusal to serve a minor.
"I'll confiscate them now," she said. "I didn't know we were supposed to do that."
Caldwell said she can usually spot a fake ID because "it doesn't feel right."
"It's usually too thick and the print just isn't right," she said, also noting that the photograph looks as if it had been scanned. "Some of them are pretty obvious."
She said she also looks for cards that have expired.
"I won't take it," she said. "I eyeball them up and down."
Tia Stroup attended the class with her bosses, Kim and Joe Kondelik, owners of the Commercial Bar in Townsend.
"That's not the clientele we want," Stroup said of intoxicated customers.
She said her employers back her up whenever she refuses to serve an intoxicated person.
"They're right there ready to back me up," she said. "It's nice to know they will support you."
While most effort is being made to curb under-age alcohol
sales at taverns and groceries, the real problem lies
elsewhere as this chart illustrates.Source: June 2004 Inside Gaming Montana
quarterly magazine for workers in the hospitality business, published by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.