Responsibility Host Policy

The Hampton Downs MotorSport Park believes that we have a responsibility to provide an
environment that is not only comfortable and welcoming but also where alcohol is served responsibly. Because of this the following Host Responsibility Policy has been implemented.

As the name suggests Host Responsibility is the term given to the strategies we put in place to help you operate our premises in a responsible manner, making it a safe drinking environment. Host responsibility incorporates six key concepts designed to assist in creating a safer drinking environment that reduces the risk of intoxication and its associated problems.

1. PREVENTION OF INTOXICATION

2. NOT SERVING ALCOHOL TO MINORS

3. PROMOTING LOW AND NON- ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

4. PROVIDING AND ACTIVELY PROMOTING SUBSTANTIAL FOOD AT ALL TIMES

5. SERVING ALCOHOL RESPONSIBLY OR NOT AT ALL

6. ARANGING SAFE TRANSPORT

The criteria for our premises licence requires compliance with all of these. All staff need to be fully aware of our Responsible Host policy and should apply these six basic concepts during every shift. “Walk the Talk” Host Responsibility makes good business sense. It is about customer service and a competitive edge in a challenging market environment

 

ASSESSMENT OF INTOXICATION
The police and the DLA have been using a standard definition for intoxication which is as follows:

“A person should be considered intoxicated if at the time the person is observably affected by alcohol or drugs to the extent that their speech, coordination or behavior is clearly impaired”

 The police and the DLA have now introduced three levels of intoxication slight, moderate and extreme. If a person is assessed as being slightly intoxicated, the police will bring them to the attention of the manager A slightly intoxicated person can remain on the premises Patrons that are assessed as moderately or extremely intoxicated must be removed from the premises

 

INDICATORS OF INTOXICATION
Please Note; these are a guide so all of these indicators may not be present and other factors may also need to be considered Slight Intoxication Occasional slurring or stumbling of words, becoming loud, clumsy, slow or delayed reactions, glassy eyes, vacant expression, inappropriate actions or language (e.g. annoying/obnoxious) Moderate intoxication slurred speech, loud/repetitive, difficulty concentrating or forming words, occasional stagger or stumble when walking, sways when standing still, bumping into or knocking over things, loss of eye contact, inability to focus, tired/sleepy looking, decreased concern/awareness of appearance (e.g. drink/food spilt on clothing), strong smell of alcohol, inappropriate actions or language (e.g. sexual advances) Extreme Intoxication very slurred speech, loses train of thought, speech is nonsensical or unintelligible, significant staggering or stumbling, very unsteady on feet (e.g. cant stay still, uses wall for support), falling asleep, very disheveled, very strong smell of alcohol on breath, very aggressive, acting irrationally

 

PREVENTION OF INTOXICATION
Under sections 166, 167 & 168 of the sale of liquor act it is an offence to:

• Sell or supply liquor to intoxicated persons;
• Allow any person to become intoxicated on licensed premises
• Allow drunkenness or disorderly behavior on licensed premises

To protect ourselves from prosecution and to maintain a safe drinking environment for our customers we have to be able to recognize the stages of intoxication. The following chart should be of some assistance.

Green
Ready to be served, attentive,flowing speech, normal eye movement, head up, polite and able to order drinks without drawing attention.

Green = go
Welcome customer and monitor service. Customers may have been drinking before they arrive so are not always in the green.

Blue
Customers are happy, jovial, less attentive, less flowing speech, less normal eye movement, less polite, may draw attention to self when ordering, head still up. Reasonable to suggest slowing down.

Blue = monitor
Closely monitor consumption, count number of drinks, offer water with drinks, offer food options, communicate with your team. Don’t bring drinks to some one who doesn’t ask for one.

Yellow
Becoming loud, fading attention, slower reactions, over friendly, happy or withdrawn, increased rate of consumption, may question strength of drinks, raised voice.

Yellow = slow down and control
Communicate with manager, slow service, give water with drinks, offer food

Red
Loud with slurred speech, glazed expression, slow speech, slow reactions, demanding/rude when ordering, unreasonable if stop service, poor posture, falling off chairs, erratic ordering and counts money often, knocking drinks over

Red = stop
Stop service of alcohol, communicate with team manager and security, remove customer to a place of safety, do not allow them to become a harm to themselves or anyone else If needed, remove them from the premises.

 

DENYING ALCOHOL SERVICE
If you are concerned that a customer is slightly intoxicated and wish to prevent them from becoming moderately intoxicated one method is to stop their drink service until you feel happy serving them again.

• Communicate with management & staff if all staff are aware of your intentions to stop or slow down service they can back up your actions
• Be non-confrontational don’t use inflammatory language be aware of your body language
• Be firm don’t bargain or negotiate explain that you are simply doing your job
• Enlist help if the customer is not taking your request seriously and may be getting others to get their drinks explain to their friends what you have done and if the person is seen with a drink service will stop for the whole group and they will be asked to leave
• Eviction: if a customer is already in the moderate zone you will need to act promptly to ensure your compliance with the SLA. Communicate with DM, Staff and or Security, consider all options then, whilst following the guidelines, inform the customer of the situation and your obligations under the SLA.

1. Ensure your own and others safety first

2. Be professional (treat them with respect)

3. Don’t make it personal (explain the reason)

4. Be very clear about what you are saying

5. Set clear parameters (you have 2 minutes to finish your drink)

6. Be friendly and show empathy

7. Offer hope (welcome back another time)

 

• Trespass: To be used when all else fails and only after the offender has been warned of the consequences. Tact and diplomacy assists greatly in getting around most situations. Please remember it is our aim to provide a fun and safe environment for our customers that means doing every thing possible to stop customers getting into the red zone. But if they do get there, looking after their safety, not just throwing them out onto the street to become someone else’s problem, making sure they get home safely or keeping them in an area until they can get home safely. Please remember that a place of safety is to be used to keep customers away from alcohol until safe transport can be arranged for them a maximum time of 30 minutes is allowed for this by Wellington police. A place or safety must be removed from other tables and be able to be monitored by the staff.

 

DRUGS & ALCOHOL

Drink Spiking

Drinking Spiking is when drugs or strong alcohol like vodka are added to someone’s drink without their knowledge. These additives may be colourless, tasteless and odorless, and the victim may not be aware of any difference in their drink. It is often done to assist a sexual assault.

Effects

As the drug starts to take effect they will become dizzy, sleepy, uninhibited, relaxed and open to suggestion

• The effects of these drugs can start to come on in 10 to 20 minutes
• This is when they are at risk of drug rape or assault
• Later they may become unconscious and not able to defend themselves, or even remember what happened

Customer Awareness

Buy your own drinks - think twice before accepting drinks from strangers or people you don’t know very well, even if they seem really genuine

• Watch your drink being poured or being opened at the bar
• Don’t leave your drink unattended
• If your drink looks cloudy, or changes in colour/consistency, ordoesn’t taste right, don’t drink it

Drink Spiking is a crime, but in a busy, noisy Bar or Club, it can happen quite easily. If you suspect someone of dropping something into a drink that is not their own, alert the owner of the drink and report the incident immediately to the Duty Manager. If someone appears unwell, uncoordinated, confused or faint. Don’t leave them alone, take them to a safe place for monitoring. If someone collapses and is unconscious call an Ambulance immediately. Keep any suspicious drinks for evidence.

Drinking & Drugs

If customers are combining alcohol with other drugs they may become intoxicated much faster than they would otherwise. It can also magnify the effects, making them more unpredictable than if they had just drunk alcohol. Some alcohol-drug combinations can affect the body so severely they can cause permanent damage or even death.

Tips

• WATER create a water station or place water on every table
• FREE FOOD offer free food to tables or groups who you think could be a problem later in the night (DM authorisation first)
• CLEAN & CLEAR TABLES this way you always know how many drinks a customer has
• TWO DRINKS MAX don’t let customers back up drinks or you loose control of slowing drink service. Groups that are doing rounds of shooters should drink them at the bar, if not, you must monitor their consumption and condition at the table
• CUSTOMER EDUCATION make customers aware of our policies and the police expectations with posters and table talkers
• COMMUNICATE talk to customers about why and what you are doing (slowing or stopping service)
• ENLIST HELP if slowing or stopping service to a member of a group get the group leader to help but be aware that they may have their own agenda’s
• USE ALL STAFF floor staff should be encouraged to talk to customers to help assess intoxication and to report anything they are unsure about to the DM OFFER HELP if team policing arrive at your site the DM should make them selves available to assist the police and be present at all interviews with the customers. Explain to them what’s going on. Make sure that a senior staff member is maintaining control of the bar while this is going on
• UNREASIONABLE OR INTOXICATED understand the difference between the two
• SAFE ZONE AREA make sure everyone is aware of the safe zone and that it remains alcohol free
• CHECK SIGNS at least once a week make sure that all the Hampton Downs MotorSport Park required signs are in good order (i.e. u18, taxi, dial a driver, food available, low and non alcohol drinks, no entry/service to intoxicated)
• CONTACT FOR TAXI SERVICES Staff can carry taxi cards with them so if a patron requires their contact number they can give them a card. Or better still and time permits call them yourselves. Always advise the DM of any incident or behavior you are concerned about.

Incident Reports

Incident report books should be available to all staff at all times during their shifts so that they can complete them as soon as possible after an incident

Situations that should go into the incident report:

•  Physical removal
•  Injury to staff or customers
•  Confiscation of a persons ID or keys
•  Suspected drug use or dealing
•  Damage to persons or property
•  Unacceptable behavior
•  Police visits
•  Customers who were refused service
•  Customers who were slowed down

What to write in the incident report:

• Name of person completing the report
• date and time of the incident
• nature of the incident
• location of the incident i.e. where in the bar
• list of witnesses if possible get them to record what they saw
• whether or not the incident was caught on camera
• name and description of people involved
• description of the event
• what action the manager or staff took to control the event
• description of factors leading up to event
• and a signature of the person filling out the report

Incident reports are there for the benefit of the staff and management to make sure that we have a true representation of events that occur on our sites they can help prevent prosecution. As they may be used in a Court of Law please ensure that all details are Factual, Accurate and Detailed. The DM must sign off on ALL incident reports

 

ALCOHOL SERVICE AND MINORS
In New Zealand it is an offence to sell liquor to minors (people under the age of 18) on licensed premises. Although persons under the age of 18 may consume liquor in a supervised or undesignated area provided they are accompanied by a parent or legal guardian though they still can’t purchase it themselves

 

HOW AND WHEN UNDER 18 MAY BE ON LICENSED PREMISES

	Supervised	Restricted	Undesignated
Under 18 accompanied by parent or guardian	YES	NO	YES
Under 18 unaccompanied	NO	NO	YES

 

 

EVIDENCE OF AGE
In New Zealand there are only three types of document approved by the Minister of Justice to prove evidence of age:

1. A NZ or overseas passport (current photo)

2. A NZ drivers license

3. HANZ 18+ card

• It is recommended that all customers that look under the age of 25 are asked for ID. Be thorough but polite.
• Start a conversation with the patron and look for distinguishing features on the patrons face then look at the ID photo.
• We recommend that all ID’s are checked for tampering. Remove from any carrying case and feel the surface of the card with your thumb, checking for blemishes. Bend the card and feel the edges for any abnormalities. If need be shine a torch behind the photo and DOB
• Ask customers questions about the ID they have given you, what’s your star sign etc

 

SAFE TRANSPORT OPTIONS
As of 1 April 2000, a condition of any liquor licence is that the licensee provides assistance with or information about alternative forms of transport from the licensed premises for both Staff and Patrons. The provision and promotion of safe transport options is not designed to allow customers to become intoxicated and then to wheel them home. Once again it is part of the overall service offered to valuable customers to ensure they enjoy a safe and relaxed experience at our Establishment. Particularly it is designed to minimize the risks of our customers drinking and driving. It is our responsibility to make sure that our customers get home safely. We must make sure that we have signs informing our patrons of their safe transport options, taxis, dial-a-driver and courtesy coaches.

• Customers don’t have to wait out side for taxis we can let them know when they arrive. We will call taxis for our customers
• Advertise your courtesy coach and make sure you have the staff to run it without interfering with normal bar service
• Encourage groups to designate a non-drinking driver and give that person Free non-alcoholic drinks

 

SALE OF LIQUOR ACT
There are serious penalties for infringement of the Sale of Liquor Act. Managers and bar staff can be fined so it’s important that all staff keep themselves familiar with the requirements of the Act

 

LICENSEE/MANAGER BAR

Staff

Sale or Supply of liquor to Minors 155 $10,000
Licence may be suspended for up to 7 days

Employment of a Minor in a Restricted area 161 $2,000

Allowing Minors to be in a Restricted/Supervised area 164 $2,000

Unauthorized Sale or Supply of liquor 165 $20,000
Licence may be suspended for up to 7 days

Sale or Supply to an Intoxicated person 166 $10,000
Licence may be suspended for up to 7 days

Allowing a person to become Intoxicated 167 $10,000
Licence may be suspended for up to 7 days

Allowing Drunk and Disordelery behavior 168 $4,000

Sale of Spirits other than in a glass 169 $2,000

Allowing a person on licence premises outside of hours 171 $10,000

Promotion of excessive consumption of alcohol 154A $5,000

 

TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS
Enjoy your time at our Establishment. If you are 25 or younger expect to get asked for ID. It is our policy to ID all customers, do not be offended……..Be flattered! A good standard of dress and good attitude is required at all times. Anyone found to be using a fake ID or anyone underage on the premise will be trespassed from the premise for a maximum of two years. If you are intoxicated you will not be allowed to enter the premise, if you are on the premise you will be required to leave immediately. We have hot food available at all times, and low and non alcoholic drinks. The staff can also call you a taxi if you require transport.

“CHEERS!”

What is Standard Drinks?

Standard Drinks measures the amount of pure alcohol you are drinking. One standard drink equals 10 grams of pure alcohol. It’s not the amount of liquid you’re drinking that’s important – it’s the amount of alcohol. If you drink: a 330ml can of beer or a 100ml glass of table wine or 30ml of straight spirits you are drinking approximately 10 grams of alcohol, depending on the alcohol percentage. Each of these is a standard drink. Standard Drinks measures the amount of alcohol, not the amount of liquid you’re drinking – because it’s the alcohol content that’s most important to track. Because drinks have different amounts of alcohol in them, the number of standard drinks in each bottle, can or cask will be different.

Standard Drinks - know how much alcohol you’re really drinking

The Standard Drinks measure is a simple way to work out how much alcohol you are drinking. All bottles of wine,beer and spirits, and all cans or casks now have a Standard Drinks content on the label - so you can easily tell how many standard drinks there are in what you’re drinking.

For more, visit the Alcohol Advisery Council of New Zealand

Where do I look?

You’ll find the standard drinks content on the label of each bottle, can or cask. If the label shows that your bottle of beer contains 1.5 standard drinks then you are drinking 15 grams of pure alcohol. If a bottle of spirits contains 32 standard drinks and you pour it into 16 glasses, each glass will contain two standard drinks, even if you add a mixer to it. In pubs or bars, the serving sizes are usually consistent – at home, you are probably pouring different amounts every time. But, by checking the Standard Drinks label, you’ll have a good idea of how many drinks you shouldm be serving out of each bottle.

For example, if the Standard Drinks label on a bottle of wine says it contains eight standard drinks, and that bottle has only filled four big glasses, each of those glasses contains approximately two standard drinks or 20 grams of pure alcohol. If you pour six glasses from the same bottle each glass contains approximately 1.3 standard drinks or 13 grams of pure alcohol. Simple! Because wines have different amounts of alcohol in them, not all bottles of wine will contain eight standard drinks. Some will be less, some more. Check the label. How many standard drinks are there in what I’m drinking? Before you drink, check the label for the Standard Drinks content. It will tell you approximately how many standard drinks there are in that bottle, can or cask.

Want to know more?

If you want more information go to www.alac.org.nz