Boot Camp and Beyond
A Preview of Three Key Sessions

In this installment, I’d like to focus on the three seminars our company will be presenting at International Hospitality Week this month. We hope this article gives you a good introduction and convinces you to attend one or all of our sessions.

Liquor Liability Boot Camp
We start on Sunday, February 24, with a Liquor Liability Boot Camp. This Pre-Conference Workshop truly will kick butt. Attendees will be able to hear from three distinct discussion panels and then receive valuable training surrounding the legal issues surrounding the use of force. Our first panel will consist of three attorneys who represent the interests of the plaintiffs, defendants and local prosecution. You will get real answers to hard-to-answer questions regarding how they put their cases together, what weaknesses they look for and what situations they hate to see, as well as what they think are the most common and the worst mistakes liquor operators make. Our second panel will present three insurance company representatives to discuss how they set costs, how they make their decisions to settle cases rather than fight and what they hate to see come across their desks as they prepare for a lawsuit. Our final panel will consist of three premise liability expert witnesses. These guys will lay out exactly what they look for when they are called upon to render an opinion regarding ownership duties, employee actions and the industry standards of care. We will wrap up our Liquor Liability Boot Camp by teaching attendees just what is considered legal use of force and how to teach employees what they can legally do. This session will absolutely give attendees the chance to hear real and hard-hitting answers to questions regarding how and why to prepare for the inevitable lawsuit. Don’t miss this session!

Creating an Employee Training Program
On Monday, February 25, we will present one of our most requested seminars, Creating an Employee Training Program. One sure-fire way to limit your liability and keep employees on the right path is to have a real training program and plan. This seminar will provide attendees with training topics, a manageable schedule and information on where to get free training, as well as professional fee based training. Attendees will leave with material they can use now.

The Dark Side
Also on Monday, we present a unique topic: The Dark Side of Intoxication. This session will give attendees a new look at some of the effects of alcohol on the human body and new techniques on how to deal with over intoxicated patrons. This session, taught by Richard Bistline, our chief operations officer, will show attendees how the issues surrounding over-intoxication are directly linked to violence, crime and liability issues. Police officers are trained specifically to deal with intoxicated person, and conversely nightclub security employees receive little or no training and often act without any guidelines or guidance. This session will give best practices and proven techniques on how to diffuse situations involving intoxicated persons. Once again, training is the key to prevention, and soon you will see how the dangers and potential liability that come with mishandling patrons who may have one too many drinks can cost you your license or more.