This
is a problem that can lead to problems for the bar industry. Here in Florida it is only illegal to serve two
groups of people at a bar, customers under the age of 21 and known
alcoholics. I have taken two courses that bartenders are
being urged to take by the liability insurance companies. “Tips” is one course that I took and it provided me with a lot of insight on how to
spot problems in the bar before they become serious issues. Below is an article about how the “Pub”
owners are being urged to train their barmen to spot these problems.
"Bar
managers are being urged to ensure staff complete a new hard-hitting training
course in order to be better equipped to spot alcohol misuse."
The recommendation comes as
Alcohol Action Ireland revealed more than 1,000 people in the country had died
from alcohol-related causes in the last 12 months.
The Responsible Serving of Alcohol Program
on-line training course, designed by private industry training consultant
Alcohol.ie, features a graphic video, was filmed in The Odeon Bar in Dublin and
shows “good” and “bad” bartenders dealing with drunken, unruly and underage
customers.
Its aim is to train bar staff on
appropriate intervention techniques and how to spot problem drinking and drunk
customers.
According to Mary Kennedy, chief executive
of Alcohol.ie the video, endorsed by the State tourist board, Failte Ireland,
the Licensed Vintners Association, the Vintner’s Federation of Ireland and the
Irish Hotels Federation, did “raise industry eyebrows”.
“They were a bit wide-eyed,” Kennedy told
the Independent
Ireland. “A lot of them did go ‘wow’.”
One scene depicts a drunken customer
storming out of a bar and kicking over a bar stool before swearing at the
female bartender, while another shows a “creepy bartender” leering at a group
of women running riot rather than intervening.
The final scene, however, shows a
“menacing” bartender antagonise a group of underage drinkers who have no proof
of age with taunts such as “run home to mummy and daddy” before the teens
retaliate aggressively.
Bar staff are not required to hold
licenses to serve alcohol, but can face civil and criminal prosecution for
breaking the law by serving drinks to those who are underage or someone who is
already drunk.
