How To Refuse an Intoxicated Customer

As a bartender, knowing how to make the perfect cocktail is just as important as knowing when to say no. Serving alcohol responsibly means recognizing when a customer has had too much to drink and handling the situation with confidence and professionalism.

Below, we’ll dive into why and when you should deny service, the best bartender tips for refusing intoxicated customers, and how alcohol server training can help.

When and Why Is It Important to Refuse Alcohol Service?

When businesses are granted a liquor license, they are obliged to take certain measures to protect public safety. Bars and bartenders have a legal responsibility to avoid illegal alcohol sales, including any service to underage or intoxicated patrons.

Alcohol servers can and should refuse service:

• If you suspect a customer is under the age of 21
• If the customer cannot produce a valid photo ID
• If you suspect that a customer’s photo ID is fake, borrowed, or altered
• When a customer is exhibiting signs of intoxication
• When a customer is persistently or excessively unruly

In all jurisdictions, failing to refuse service under these circumstances can endanger your establishment’s liquor license, potentially leading to fines, suspensions, and even the permanent loss of permission to serve alcohol. 

But in many cases, the consequences can go far beyond what the liquor board can dole out. In most states, “dram shop laws” allow people to bring civil lawsuits against establishments or alcohol servers who perform an illegal sale that results in harm or damages. For example, if someone is injured or killed by a drunk driver, most states allow them to sue the business and/or bartender who overserved the person who hit them.

In cases of extreme negligence and harm, alcohol servers or business owners can even face criminal charges that may result in jail time.

Recognizing Signs of Intoxication

Step one to avoiding the danger of overserving a patron is paying attention and identifying signs of intoxication.

Many factors influence the number of drinks that will cause intoxication from person to person, so you can’t rely on a strategy of cutting everyone off after a certain quantity. It’s essential that you make these judgments on an individual basis.

There’s a lot to learn about the stages and signs of intoxication, but it’s a good idea to watch patrons when they:

• Become loud or talkative
• Act in disruptive, embarrassing, or dangerous ways
• Stumble, sway, or have trouble with hand-eye coordination
• React to stimuli more slowly than normal
• Display signs of impaired thinking or memory

It’s important to keep in mind that people with a “high tolerance” display fewer signs of intoxication, even when they are legally drunk. Patrons with a high tolerance actually represent the greatest threat to you because they may seem fine even when their BAC puts you all at risk of serious consequences.

How to Refuse Service Politely and Effectively

Even though recognition is an important step, knowing how to refuse service to a drunk customer is really where the rubber hits the road.

Refusing service while keeping the peace will take all the tools in your belt, so below, we’ll lay out some best practices for alcohol servers in handling intoxicated customers.

Best Practice: Practice Slow Service Strategically

One of the first, best steps to handle intoxicated patrons professionally is to avoid handling them at all. While swift and helpful service is always a good way to get bartender tips, there's also a time to be slow and inattentive, which will prevent overserving.

When you first notice signs of intoxication, modify your service to slow things down without being rude. You can bring them water, ask if they’d like to order food or make sure your attention is occupied elsewhere. You don’t need to ignore them entirely. Just delay their next drink long enough for them to metabolize what they’ve consumed.

Becoming a master at the art of strategic slow service can prevent confrontation and keep everyone on an even keel. The trick is judging when to start slow service so that people have fun without getting out of hand.

Best Practice: Stay Professional

Drunk people can feel like they have permission to be loud, rude, and obnoxious. You, on the other hand, are still on the clock.

When refusing intoxicated customers, stay calm and professional. Be unfailingly polite and respectful. Explain why you’re refusing service and the potential consequences to the establishment.

Best Practice: Be Firm

Once you’ve made the decision to cut someone off, be clear that you’re not going to give them any further alcohol and then stick to it. Don’t let intoxicated patrons bargain for “one more drink.”

Best Practice: Ask Them to Leave

Even once you’ve refused service, it’s important to get them off the premises.

It doesn’t matter if they promise to be quiet. It doesn’t matter if their ride home wants to finish their drink. Any actions they take while they remain on the property will be your problem.

If they are there with others, the easiest way to get results may be to appeal to the rest of their party. Let them know that you’ve formally refused service due to public intoxication, and it’s time for them to leave.

Best Practice: Offer a Safe Ride

Even though time is of the essence in getting an intoxicated customer to leave, you shouldn’t just rush them out the door with no questions asked.

In many jurisdictions, proving that you offered a safe alternative to drunk driving can be used to limit or rule out liability in any potential dram shop lawsuit. For example, if you ask an intoxicated patron to let you get them a cab or offer them a ride home, and they choose to drive drunk once they get outside, you have less chance of being held responsible for any damages that come from their decision.

It's important to have a witness in these matters, so grab a coworker for a moment to take note that a safe alternative was offered.

Best Practice: Keep a Logbook

Your first time refusing service to an intoxicated customer may be memorable; your fiftieth, less so. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep a log of incident details when you do have to refuse service. Your employer may have a reporting procedure for these incidents, but even if they don’t, it’s a good idea to keep a record for yourself.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. By the end of the night, note down the time of the incident, why you refused service, what was said and any aggression involved, the names of witnesses, and how you resolved things. This ensures that you’ll have details on hand should anything go wrong.

Importance Of Responsible Alcohol Serving Training

Learning the steps to handle intoxicated patrons professionally will require far more than reading a blog article. You need education in the science and signs of intoxication, as well as skill-based training in how to recognize and refuse illegal sales.

That’s where TIPS comes in. Our online alcohol server training is popular and widely accepted by liquor boards all over the country. You’ll learn the strategies for obeying the law with minimal conflict, and you’ll be able to take the training at your own pace, whenever and wherever it suits you best.

Enroll today to learn how to protect yourself and reduce your liability as a bartender!

Are you a business owner? Our TIPS Passports help you train your entire staff with a high-quality curriculum for less!