Businesses get proactive against over-service
By Jason Jordan
March 8, 2018
HORNELL — In an attempt to keep Steuben County streets safe, local businesses are buying into a program to help their servers and sellers of alcohol to recognize patrons who need to be cut off or denied a sale.
TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) provides on premises training for bars and restaurants, and off-premises training for stores that sell alcohol to be consumed off-site.
So far, seven establishments that serve alcohol have been TIPS trained, including Railhead Brewing Company in Hornell, The Brute in Hornell, Managers at Save-a-Lot locations in Hornell Bath and Dansville, The Village Tavern of Hammondsport; Keuka Brewing Company of Hammondsport; Four Fights Distilling LLC. of Corning; and Carey’s Brew House of Corning.
On Tuesday, Justin Recktenwald, owner of The Brute — A Finger Lakes Focused Wine Bar and Michael McCumiskey and David Woolever, owners of Railhead Brewing Company in Hornell, were awarded certificates for completing TIPS training.
“It helps protect our employees and our businesses as well as others in the community. It empowers our bar tenders so they know what power they have,” said Michael McCumiskey.
“The responsibility is on us to treat the customers and the community in a safe way by being responsible. It’s been a great way to get everyone who works for us on the same page, so we were happy to do it,” Woolever said.
A training video for the TIPS program vividly outlined the responsibility by having a lawyer explain “I will sue you and take everything that you own.”
“It’s an eye opener to how much liability really is involved in the recreational consumption of alcohol. It helps separate us from others and take hospitality to another level,” Recktenwald said.
The course fills a void in local knowledge about state law.
“Most people don’t know what constitutes an illegal sale of alcohol,” Norman McCumiskey said. “In our community there have been several accidents where people have left a place and caused an accident. The responsibility comes back on the establishment.”
Homes, businesses and pensions are all on the line for negligent owners whether they are ignorant of the law or not.
The training covers everything from how to spot a fake I.D. to the people skills needed to deny an intoxicated and aggressive patron service. TIPS certification may also lead to reduced insurance rates and limited exposure to legal liability.
The cost of receiving TIPS training through the Steuben Prevention Coalition is $16 per person. Certification lasts for a three year period.
“It’s a pretty important program,” said Norman McCumiskey.
Solicitations have been sent out to Steuben County Businesses, but anyone interested in scheduling a TIPS training should contact Norman McCumiskey at 607-776-6441 ext. 208, or by email at nmccumiskey@dor.org.