Crystal Stump (owner and CEO of ABC Consulting and former Virginia ABC Special Agent from the Alcohol Beverage Control Authority) reveals the dangers of serving and selling alcohol.
Pour yourself a drink; you’re going to need it!
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So back to the content of this video:
If you are server, bartender, waitress or owner – if you work in this industry, in any capacity – this video will help protect you so that you are knowledgeable of some of the dangers or working in a selling-alcohol location.
First things first: are you aware of the Underage Buyer Program that is part of the Virginia ABC Authority? The enforcement division is tasked with testing every alcohol licensee in the state to see if they are going to sell alcohol to a person who is under the age of 21. I have another video of the Underage Buyer Program, here, and I think you should watch this video, too. It goes into much more detail than we will, in this video, but today, as a server you need to know that more than likely going to be tested (at least once a year) – especially if your location is known for serving to under the age of 21 or if you have been caught before. There may be a chance that you are in a competitive part of town and your competitors are making anonymous tip calls to the VA ABC Authority trying to get your business a violation. Or perhaps a complaint was made by a parent of an underage teen that came home intoxicated after visiting your bar or restaurant. So, now, the VA ABC Authority enforcement division is going to come test you to see if you will sell to an under-21 customer. You, as a server, need to know that you WILL be tested and you need to be very trusting of your gut feelings and comfortable with checking IDs. You always have the right to refuse to sell alcohol to someone. Also, know this: if the underage buyer is part of the enforcement program, they will give you identification card that shows that they are under the age of 21, so it is very difficult to win a case. The customer was indeed under the age of 21, had ID stating they were and you sold it to them, anyway! A very high percentage of servers are given this ID (that shows they were under the age of 21) and still serve the drink! I don’t want this to you!
Well, do realize that it isn’t very often that a Virginia underage ID is going to be presented to you, right? Most people that are under the age of 21 are not going to hand you an underage ID – they’ll have a fake ID! What if you fail that test?
- You can be arrested.
- You will be arrested.
- You’ll have to go to General District Court.
- You’ll have to defend yourself.
- You’ll be spending money on attorney.
- You’ll have a criminal record!
- And lastly: It is very hard to win those cases.
As someone who has been in this industry for years and years and I see very young people that are not trained and not aware of the dangers or serving alcohol and make this mistake. This mistake could cost you a criminal record.
Secondly, you need to understand what it means to have your name listed as an ABC Manager on your location’s license. This means that: your owner trusts you and your title was created by the VA ABC Authority and it means something. What does it mean? It means that you should know enough to guide your agent through an inspection, show them the stamps on mixed-beverage bottles, show them reports that they need, and be aware of what they’ll need to see during an inspection. To learn more about what to learn during an inspection, watch this video, here. ESPECIALLY if your name is on the list, make sure to watch that video (specific to ABC Managers and passing your inspection).
Third, if you are selling to someone that is intoxicated, you could be criminally charged. It is your job, as a seller/server, to make sure that you don’t overserve. So, how do you protect yourself? Short Answer: Look for the signs of intoxication. The way that the enforcement determines intoxication is not with a blood-alcohol test – they do it visually. If they can see if a person is intoxicated, you should be able to see it, too. If someone tells you that they are drunk or use other descriptive words and you continue to serve them, that is an offence and if it is witnessed by the enforcement division? TROUBLE. The enforcement division enters your establishment as a plain-clothes police officer – they love to sit and observe! Someone in the enforcement division can drink and eat and befriend you, while you are doing things you ought not to! This is called building a case against you and the owner of your restaurant. If they observe you serving a drink to someone that just told you that they were drunk? You are going to be charged with that! That would be very unfortunate and WILL go on your criminal record.
A couple more small points about dangers of serving alcohol: 1) If you are convicted felon, you need to get prior permission to work to be able to handle alcohol. 2) You need to be over the age of 21 to be able to mix drinks – if you are operating as a bartender, you must be 21!
Recap:
- Convicted felons cannot sell alcohol without prior permission and approval.
- You must be 21 to bartend.
- Don’t sell to someone under the age of 21
- Don’t sell to someone intoxicated
- Understand your role as ABC Manager
If you are not state certified to sell alcohol (as a seller / server), that can quickly be remedied by taking our on-line seller and server training called TOAST VA. It only costs $29.95. It is very Virginia specific – and many of the things that we have talked about, today, as well as ratios and how to spot fake ID’s and so many other crucial details that you won’t get in our competitor’s training. Further training than this simple training is our suggestion – get this at www.toastalcohol.com. Our training is very comprehensive and covers DUI’s, ID’ing, how to apply for an alcohol license, how to properly manage a license location and how to do your MBAR’s – this seller/server training is appropriate for anyone managing or serving – in fact, we recommend that you re-take it, annually. The cost of our training is only $29.95 and is available, immediately, here.
Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for the most common discussions and mistakes relating to Alcohol Licensing in the state of Virginia. We welcome the call to walk through this with you, over the phone, if you are still confused, but this is the most common hold up in VA ABC applications. Let’s talk: 800-785-0161
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