Category: Alcohol Awareness

Slow Night at Work? Make the Most of Your Downtime

Published on by TAM of Nevada1 Comment

Even in the busy summer months, every service professional knows that once in a while there’s bound to be a slow night at every establishment. What have you done to pass the time in the past when you’ve worked a shift without a rush of patrons to keep staff busy? The next time you find yourself at a loss for how to make the best use of your downtime at work, take a look around and see where your efforts could be best put to use.

A night with few customers makes for an opportunity to catch up on cleaning and organizing the back bar and dining areas. You can pass the time dusting down bottles on display, wiping up counters, and generally tidying up common areas. Look to see if the “Lost and Found” can be cleaned out of any sunglasses, umbrellas and knick knacks that haven’t been claimed for an extended period of time. Your manager and coworkers will appreciate the effort, and a sleek and streamlined bar will be all the more appealing to patrons.

Are you a bartender? Consider experimenting with new a new cocktail recipe if you have guests who are looking to try something new. When you don’t have to rush to take care of and keep an eye on a multitude of customers, you may have extra time to get creative. You’ll get to practice your mixology skills, impress your customers, and maybe find the next signature cocktail for your establishment’s menu. Mixology is becoming increasingly popular, and lots of patrons want to feel like bartending aficionados. Offer guidance, but let customers get involved in their drink selection. While you’re at it, why not suggest an appetizer or entrée that would pair perfectly with your creation? This is a great way to help increase sales and make sure your guests are also eating and not over consuming alcoholic beverages.

Downtime at work is the perfect time to review your Participant Manual from TAM® Class to brush up on the Techniques of Alcohol Management®. TAM® Students receive a participant manual following the completion of their training. This document has a wealth of information on the alcohol awareness topics covered in your TAM® Class. There is a reason TAM® training must be repeated every four years, this information is critical to hospitality professionals and anyone who serves or sells alcoholic beverages.

What tips do you have for other hospitality professionals to maximize their time on a slow night?

© 2012 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada

DUI Arrests in Las Vegas Are Up 18% in 2012

Published on by TAM of Nevada1 Comment

Las Vegas Metro Police worked tirelessly through the Independence Day celebrations on July 3rd and 4th to help keep motorists and pedestrians safe from impaired drivers. After setting up DUI checkpoints at two intersections in Las Vegas, a total of 30 drivers were arrested under suspicion of driving while impaired (Las Vegas Sun). Perhaps even more concerning, the Metro Police force has made 5,356 DUI arrests, that’s an 18% increase compared to last year. That is the equivalent of about 30 DUI arrests each day (Action News 13). Drunk driving is a serious problem that can harm not only the impaired driver, but also for others who share the roads; passengers, pedestrians, and innocent bystanders.

As a service professional, are you doing all you can to help your patrons get home safe? Bartenders, waiters and anyone else who serves alcoholic beverages have a legal and moral responsibility to serve alcohol responsibly, keep a close eye on their patrons, and promote an alternative means of getting home if anyone appears intoxicated. Hospitality workers should apply the techniques they learned in their TAM® course to serve alcoholic beverages safely.

Let’s all work to make the second half of 2012 safer for the Las Vegas metropolitan community.

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© 2012 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada

 

ID Scanners – Another Weapon to Combat Underage Drinking

Published on by TAM of Nevada1 Comment

Routine decoy operations are continuing across the state of Nevada from Reno to Henderson, and establishments and business owners are taking note. As we reported in a recent blog post, “The City of Reno Has Suspended Alcohol Licenses for Several Businesses for Selling Alcohol to Minors,” businesses and hospitality professionals should always remain alert and focused when selling or serving alcoholic beverages. Is your staff prepared to pass with flying colors if they are approached by undercover officers conducting an alcohol compliance check? With continued efforts across the state of Nevada to cut down on teenage drinking, alcohol sales professionals can count on a variety of tactics to ensure they are doing their best to make responsible alcohol sales.

The first defense for sales professionals is a thorough knowledge of local and state laws, and mandatory alcohol awareness training. Alcohol awareness training from TAM of Nevada will teach you how to spot fake, altered and borrowed identification, which is popular with teen drinkers. Also remember that TAM® Cards expire after four years, contact TAM® of Nevada if you need to renew your training. Officials may ask to see your alcohol awareness card during an alcohol compliance check.

Some companies, such as 7-11, are also implementing additional procedures to ensure they are making safe and legal alcoholic beverage sales. As reported by KRNV Reno, 7-11 recently installed ID scanners at all of their store locations across Nevada (KRNV Reno). Hopefully, additional safeguards such as ID scanners will deter teens from attempting to purchase alcoholic beverages altogether. ID scanners can be helpful in determining whether an ID is the real deal, and some can also quickly do the math for determining the age of the person represented by the ID. Remember, anyone selling or serving alcoholic beverages needs to confirm that the person represented by the ID is in fact the person standing in front of them. 7-11 notes that their staff is not relying on scanners alone. Staff members continue to follow company procedure in using the skills garnered during alcohol awareness training to ensure that customers are using legitimate identification that belongs to them. For more information about ID scanners, check out our blog post, “ID Scanners – Friend or Foe?”

What are your experiences regarding the use of ID scanners?

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© 2012 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada

Attempted Robbery Foiled at the Bellagio

Published on by TAM of NevadaLeave a comment

Jackie Valley of the Las Vegas Sun recently wrote an article outlining an attempted robbery at the Bellagio Casino last Saturday night. Two men entered the casino on Saturday evening and proceeded to the table games area. Both men were disguised with wigs and sunglasses, and attempted to use pepper spray to disable a dealer and other gamblers, and make off with over $100,000 in casino chips. Needless to say, the robbery attempt was foiled by Bellagio employees, security guards stepped in, and one alleged robber was arrested, the other is still at large. According to Metro Police, there is an ongoing investigation into the events of the evening and any other suspects involved. To read more about the events of the evening, check out the article, “Police: Bellagio Employees Foil Robbery on Casino Floor.”

As you may remember, the Bellagio was also the site of another infamous attempted robbery back in 2010 which was outlined in our blog post, “Are You Concerned About Recent Rash of Casino Robberies?” These events should serve as a reminder to casino employees and hospitality workers to always remain vigilant on the job and report any suspicious behavior to a manager or supervisor. As a security guard or casino floor employee, one has to be aware of their surroundings at all times. The job at hand is to maintain the safety and security of the staff and patrons of an establishment, and to diffuse any potentially hazardous or disruptive situation before it can happen. However, one should also be aware that it’s not just cheaters and thieves that need to be managed in a casino setting; security professional needs to be on the lookout for disruptive patrons, rowdy drunks, and even dishonest employees. Casino and hospitality professionals should refer to both their TAM® training and any additional company policies as they relate to guest safety and security.

What types of scams or suspicious behavior have you witnessed while working as a security guard? What, if anything, do you think casinos could be doing more to stop this from happening again in the future?

Resources

© 2012 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada