In order to make your business a success, you should meet the needs of your customers as well as abide by the laws. Restaurant and bar owners are aware that even a minor mistake can hamper the success of their business. Moreover, if your liquor license is revoked, you may not be able to carry out business activities as per usual without an Arizona Food Handler Card. Restaurant and bar owners should know the importance of protecting customers through training staff.
It’s quite easy for you to lose the liquor license if you aren’t cautious. If you make the following mistakes, nothing can save you from facing the legal consequences.
Arizona Food Handler Card and Alcohol Servers
Arizona food handler workers who handle food and drink must have a Arizona Food Handler Card on file with their employer within 30 days of hire. To get your card, you must complete the training and pass the exam with a 75 percent or higher. You can complete the training online with ACE Food Handler. Ace Food Handler training and final exam meets the requirements of Arizona’s food safety law and is ANSI Approved. See the Arizona Department of Public Health for additional requirements pertaining to the Arizona Food Handler Card.
1. Serving Alcohol to Underage Customers
The most common reason for liquor license revocation is underage drinking. If your staff misses checking in on a few entries and serves alcohol to underage customers, then be ready to receive penalties. Train your staff on how to decline an offer from customers without insulting the customer.
If you run a bar, you should make sure that the door supervisors carefully check the ID of each and every customer. Moreover, bartenders should be trained to keep an eye on their customers and refrain from serving drinks to people who look younger than 21 years. Be aware of how customers are dressed and whether a customer seems nervous or anxious when presenting an ID.
2. Letting Customers Hang Around
Whether you own a restaurant or a bar, you should know about laws regarding the operating hours of businesses that serve alcohol.
On weekends, alcohol sale tends to boost, since a myriad of customers visit bars to enjoy a few drinks. If some customers visit you late and order a drink, you may be tempted to increase your profits, but it’s not a good idea to sell alcohol at restaurants after 2 AM and in bars after 3 AM.
Make sure customers don’t hang around for too long to sober up. If you have customers in your restaurant after 2 AM, then your license can end up being suspended. The time limit for bars to serve alcohol is 3:30 AM. If customers are too drunk to drive, call a cab that can drop them at their homes.
3. Over-serving Drinks
If you think that it’s the responsibility of your customers to drink within limits and try not to get into DUI accidents, then you aren’t aware of the laws. If bartenders are found serving customers who are already drunk or if your customer gets into an accident after drinking at your bar, then your license will be revoked.
You can prevent this issue through the proper training of your employees. Guide your staff on how they can identify drunk customers and stop them from having more drinks without offending them.
Here are a few signs that can indicate a patron has consumed more alcohol than they can handle:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Slow reflexes
- Irregular breaths
- Inappropriate or offensive behavior
4. Alcohol Consumption by the Staff
While serving alcohol to customers, your staff may be tempted to have a drink. However, it’s important that they are trained to avoid this kind of unprofessional behavior as it can lead to the revocation of your license.
While it’s not easy to get a liquor license, you can lose it quite easily with your carelessness. So, arrange training sessions for your staff to improve the quality of service and prevent the breaching of laws.