Tag: vegas

Wine Tasting with Your Groceries? Whole Foods Invites Customers to Sample the Selection

Published on by TAM of Nevada1 Comment

Alcohol awareness training isn’t just for bartenders and servers in Nevada. Grocery and convenience store clerks and cashiers in Clark and Washoe Counties are also required to obtain their TAM® Cards (Nevada Revised Statutes). Off-premises liquor sales account for a major chunk of sales in Nevada, and employees of these establishments need to be just as familiar with the Techniques of Alcohol Management® as those who are serving drinks to bar patrons. Given this, Nevada off-premises professionals are already in a great position to support a move to bring bars into one of its upscale grocers… if Whole Foods brings this new feature to its Nevada locations! That’s right, the upscale grocer known for organic and locally sourced items is looking to expand its offerings in an effort to entice customers to stay longer, enjoy the selection of goods, and boost sales of beer and wine.

According to an article by Bruce Horovitz in USA Today titled, “Whole Foods Tests Bars Selling Craft Beer and Local Wine in its Stores,” Whole Foods has made the decision to open bars in about a dozen of their locations across the country serving craft beer and local wine. If the response from thirsty shoppers is positive, chances are good that even more locations across the country will start offering this service. While Whole Foods isn’t trying to compete with traditional bars, it’s clear they think this service will appeal to their niche market.

What do you think about this surprising move by Whole Foods? Do you think grocers are inviting trouble by allowing their shoppers to linger in the store over a glass of wine? According to spokeswoman Kate Lowery, Whole Foods certainly isn’t worried about a rowdy crowd. They’ll be checking I.D. when necessary and monitoring guests, just like any other bar. Kudos to Whole Foods for exploring this new bartending market! Read more of Bruce Horovitz’ article here.

Resources

© 2011 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada

Can’t Make It To An Alcohol Awareness Class? TAM® of Nevada Offers Online Training!

Published on by TAM of Nevada1 Comment

Classroom training isn’t for everyone. If you have a busy schedule, or just prefer to learn in the privacy of your own home, you may want to consider the option of taking your alcohol awareness training in an online environment. Let’s be honest, you can’t beat the option of completing your training at home in your pajamas!

Some other alcohol awareness providers have made claims that TAM ® of Nevada only offers classroom training. In reality, TAM ® of Nevada works to make training convenient to all learners, onsite AND online. There are many benefits to online learning that are worth considering:

1. Learn at your own pace. By taking your TAM® course online, you’ll have the option to move through lessons as fast or slow as you like. Additionally, you’ll have the option to pause your training and come back to it at a later date and time.

2. Learn any time, day or night. Not everyone has time in their busy lives to head to a training center and complete 4 hours of training during the day. With our online course, you can work through lessons when it’s convenient for you; morning, noon, or night.

3. You have the option to review information and refresh your memory about what’s covered in the course prior to your exam. Nevada’s Commission on Postsecondary Education requires that all participants in alcohol awareness training take an in-person proctored exam to pick up their TAM® Card. After completing your online course, you’ll need to come to our training center at one of our scheduled exam times to take your test. There’s no need to call and schedule a class, just drop in during one of our sessions when you’re ready for your test.

4. For a limited time, you can obtain your alcohol awareness training online for only $19.95. TAM® of Nevada is offering a discount price on our online course; you’ll save $15 over our classroom training if you choose this option.

Students respond that they find our online course to be engaging, easy to follow and an excellent option for busy service professionals. If you’re curious just how our classroom training works, you can demo the course on our website here. If you’d like to learn more about requirements to obtain your Drink Card in Nevada, you can read more in our blog post, “Call It What You May … But There’s Only One TAM Card!”

What have your experiences with online learning been like? We love to hear feedback from our students!

© 2011 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada

Teen Drinking is a Dangerous Business

Published on by TAM of Nevada3 Comments

Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking; this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). These numbers are alarming, and service professionals should be diligent about ensuring that they are checking IDs and using their alcohol awareness training to avoid contributing to the problem.

Some adults are comfortable allowing their teenagers to drink at home, the thought process often being, “if my teenager is going to imbibe, I’d rather they do it at home under my supervision, and I don’t have to worry about them getting behind the wheel of a car or harming themselves”. Teenage drinking is dangerous, regardless of where it occurs, or who is supervising. Teens can develop dangerous drinking habits, and supervising adults should be diligent about promoting alcohol awareness and age appropriate life choices. Additionally, teens are more likely to binge drink than their adult counterparts. According to the National Society on Drug Use and Health, 72% of 18- to 20-year-old drinkers reported heavy drinking in the past month. (NSDUH).

Also alarming, a new study led by researchers at Indiana University, and summarized by CNN, shows teen problem drinking is not a phase, and could be a predictor of alcohol dependence in adulthood.

It only takes a minute to check an ID and prevent a minor from entering a bar and buying a drink, but what about off-site sales and service? Gas stations, grocery stores and liquor stores are all places that teens turn to in order to purchase liquor, and staffers at those establishments should take steps to ensure they are doing all they can to prevent illegal sales.

Service professionals must be aware of the facts and dangers of teenage drinking. These service professionals are required to obtain alcohol awareness training, and will learn valuable real-world information for dealing with these types of situations in their TAM® training. Off-site premises workers don’t necessarily know that if they sell beer and liquor to a legal adult, the adult won’t provide that liquor to teenagers, but using your best judgment and following store procedures will help to keep things safe and legal.

The national campaign We Don’t Serve Teens makes excellent and common-sense suggestions for helping to curb teenage drinking from off-site sales, “Create and maintain sales and service policies that every staffer should follow.” (We Don’t Serve Teens). Everyone involved in sales should be aware of store policies regarding acceptable forms of ID, when and how to refuse a sale, etc.

Retailers and off-site sales professionals should be diligent about checking IDs as well to make sure teenagers are not trying to purchase liquor with fake or borrowed identification. To learn more about recognizing a fake or borrowed ID, refer to our blog post, “Are Minors Using Fake IDs and Sneaking Past You?” Most establishments also have a guidebook, like the I.D. Checking Guide, for validating various forms of identification. Ask your manager if you have a guide like this in your establishment and refer to it if needed. The I.D. Checking Guide can be purchased from TAM® here.

Taking steps to stop teen drinking is everyone’s job. Parents, teens, workers, communities and others all have to work to make a difference. For more ways to help curb teens’ access to alcohol, refer to We Don’t Serve Teens’ suggestions.

What are some tricks that you’ve seen used by fake ID holders? How else do you think service workers can help curb teen drinking?

Resources

© 2011 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada

Did You Know? TAM® of Nevada Now Offers Alcohol Awareness Training in Spanish

Published on by TAM of NevadaLeave a comment

As you may know, all hardworking hospitality industry professionals in Las Vegas, and much of Nevada, are required to obtain alcohol awareness training and procure an alcohol awareness card prior to the start of work in a setting that deals with the sale and service of alcoholic beverages. Las Vegas is a growing and diverse town, and there are a multitude of Spanish-speaking and bilingual service professionals working in area casinos and clubs who are required to obtain this training.

In response to a growing demand, TAM® of Nevada is now offering alcohol awareness training to Spanish speakers at our Training Center in Las Vegas. If you want to take your training in Spanish, you can join us on Tuesday nights at 6:00pm for a course taught by instructor Roberto Valencia-Vega. Training will follow the same format of our English-language course, and you’ll be able to obtain your TAM® Card on-site immediately after passing your exam. For more information, or to enroll in one of our training sessions, please visit TAM® of Nevada’s website or call us at (702) 545-6664.

© 2011 National Hospitality Institute®, TAM® of Nevada