Server training building momentum
With the Oct. 1 formation of the Coalition to Promote Responsible Alcohol Service, server training sessions have now become more frequent and widespread.
The coalition is working with Jeff Hainline of the Montana Restaurant Association Education Foundation to schedule and conduct the classes which are now available on an almost weekly basis. The Montana Tavern Times sat in on one such session at the Westside Lanes in Missoula Dec. 2
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Jeff Hainline speaks
to a server class.
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Hainline typically uses the ServSafe "Fundamentals of Responsible Alcohol Service" program – which he did Dec. 2 – but is certified as an instructor in other training regimens as well including TIPS. The ServSafe training fee is $40 which includes a workbook students can keep for a periodic refresher.
He said afterward the Missoula training was lightly attended, probably because many businesses are already stretched during the Holidays. However a November session in Kalispell drew 45 students, Hainline said, which is really more than ideal. As a result, he is scheduling another session there for the future.
He also said classes conducted in Billings and Bozeman the week of Dec. 13 enrolled "a few heads shy of 100 students," which may have indicated a certain forward momentum developing for the program. He told the Tavern Times he has now trained about 250 servers since Oct. 1.
Hainline uses a professionally produced DVD with high quality production values including live video and audio and actors who stage various scenarios that confront alcohol servers. A laptop, a projector and a bare wall serve to create a makeshift movie theater.
Hainline's technique involves working through the training manual but is enhanced by his ability to site real world experiences gained from almost four decades in the restaurant and tavern business with his family's 4-Bs chain of establishments. He also mixes in some subtle humor which seemed to go over well with his Missoula students. One-on-one interaction between student and teacher is apparently encouraged and effective.
The course focuses on three primary areas: proper techniques in carding and ID authentication, techniques to avoid over serving patrons and how to deal with a customer who may be nearing intoxication or who arrived intoxicated.
Hainline notes that when it comes to alcohol service, "the customer isn't always right. The decisions you make can be life and death."
Students are first taught about their personal liabilities in these situations as well as the liabilities of the business, including the civil/administrative and criminal penalties, not to mention bad publicity that affects the entire industry.
Servers are given examples and illustrations of how to properly card a customer, but also instruction regarding fake identifications and how to spot bogus IDs. Hainline noted beginning two years ago Montana drivers licenses issued to minors are produced with a vertical format, as opposed to the conventional horizontal one. It will take several more years, though, before all minors have the licenses with the new format, he said.
If in doubt, a server can always ask for a second ID and can refuse service if one is not produced, he told the students. Even if an ID appears to be valid, it doesn't hurt to always ask the customer if they are 21. In the case of compliance checks or "stings," the police decoy may not lie about their actual age.
Servers are taught the elementary biology of alcohol consumption and metabolisms. They learn how to make calculations about the effects of a person's alcohol intake based on gender, body weight, amount consumed, the timeframe involved and other factors, such as if a customer has eaten or is taking medication. In addition, students learn the outward signs of alcohol's effects and impending intoxication.
The obvious upshot, then, is to know when a server needs to slow or end service to a customer that may potentially be heading for intoxication. Further, the course teaches students to observe and evaluate a customer as soon as they walk through the door.
Hainline walks students, with the help of the instruction video, through various techniques in how to end service to a customer who has had enough, including enlisting the help of the customer's companions. He also addresses the actions a server shouldn't – and must not – take in those situations.
He said if a patron is intoxicated, a server should try to find them a safe way home. He warned, even if a patron is with a designated driver, they still may not be over served.
"Once you've made the decision to end service, never ever allow that patron to have another drink," Hainline said.
The course runs two-and-a-half hours, followed by a 30-minute written exam that must be completed successfully to gain certification. Problem scenarios are staged frequently throughout the course, and brief question-and-answer sessions follow each.
It is highly recommended to both licensed business owners and employees.
Hainline points out in conclusion, that following responsible serving techniques protects, first, all the patron in the establishment, but also the server, the business, the industry and the public at large.
The Coalition to Promote Responsible Alcohol Service is comprised of:
Montana Tavern Association: Bob Anderson; 442-5040
Montana Convenience Store Association: Ronna Alexander; 449-4133
Montana Restaurant Association: Jeff Hainline; 203-4121
Gaming Industry Association of Montana: Neil Peterson; 449-2481
Montana Beer and Wine Distributors' Association: Kristi Blazer; 235-4000
Montana Food Distributors Association: McKee Anderson; 800-735-1082
Montana Retail Association: Brad Griffin; 800-388-0236
Montana Innkeepers Association: Stuart Doggett; 449-8408