ServItUp ebook on smart alcohol service techniques is free
Since servers must serve guests responsibly, the booklet lays out strategies for measuring and pouring drinks carefully.
Continuing its mission to provide restaurant operators with responsible alcohol sales and service information, the Association’s ServSafe program has issued a new, free online booklet available from the ServItUp resource center.
“Smart Alcohol Service Techniques,” focuses on what servers—bartenders and waitstaff—should know about serving alcohol beverages to customers. The easy-to-follow service guide covers smart service techniques in five areas:
- Measuring and counting drinks
- Serving food with alcohol
- Keeping guests hydrated
- Slow-service techniques
- Serving alcohol to-go
Learn how to estimate limits. With a lively format using graphics and key facts in bite-size portions, the ebook informs readers how to estimate a guest’s BAC (blood alcohol content), and, based on a guest’s weight range, estimate how many standard drinks of wine, beer or liquor will cause a guest’s BAC to rise above 0.08%, the legal limit of intoxication in most states.
Since servers are responsible for making sure their guests don’t become intoxicated, the booklet lays out strategies for measuring and pouring drinks carefully, counting how many drinks a guest has had, and understanding how much alcohol is in each type of drink.
The right food can help. A lot of factors can affect a person’s BAC, the ebook points out, one of which is how much food a guest has eaten, and what kinds of food. High-fat and high-protein foods are better choices for preventing intoxication, while foods high in carbohydrates and salt are likely to increase a guest’s chances of becoming intoxicated.
Keep guests hydrated. Alcohol acts as a diuretic, which can cause dehydration, leading to a higher concentration of BAC. In turn, dehydration causes thirsty guests to drink more. Providing water or soft drinks and encouraging guests to stay hydrated can prevent the spiraling effects dehydration from drinking alcohol.
Slower service slows intoxication. Servers like to be attentive to guests; providing good service is good business and means good tips. When guests are becoming intoxicated, however, responsible service is slow service. The ebook lays out strategies for slowing down service without providing poor service.
To-go sales require special diligence. The COVID-19 pandemic spurred 39 states to change laws to allow alcohol delivery and to-go sales. Servers need to be aware of how those changes affect responsible service.
Download your free copy of “Smart Alcohol Service Techniques” by completing a simple registration form. Ask your staff to download their own copies, too. And look for more safe alcohol service information at ServItUp, the resource center for ServSafe Alcohol.