Damage limitation

Richard Fox offers advice on handling drunk and disorderly customers

We've all experienced that uncomfortable and dramatic lowering of the noise level that immediately follows a drunken incident.

The tension and discomfort lingers like a bad odour, marring an entire evening's entertainment. As the ex-proprietor of a busy town-centre bar, I acquired plenty of experience in dealing with punters who had enjoyed "one too many", observing the effects of their behaviour on the vast majority of customers who just want to enjoy a relaxed time in a civilised, convivial atmosphere. The implications of that behaviour, and ways of managing it before, during and after a disturbing incident, can all be addressed as service issues.

My extremely small bar magnified any challenging behaviour and the lack of physical space presented little opportunity to isolate the source of trouble. By the same token, it was much easier to anticipate problems and deal with them before they actually occurred, to the point where I developed a kind of sixth sense that helped predict impending incidents. This is the key to offering customers the very best customer-oriented service: a sort of Oriental-medicine approach to security, where prevention is far more effective than cure.

While this is easier to put into practice within a confined space, it illustrates the virtue of "management mingling" as an aid to prevention, while offering what is perceived as an unconnected, high level of customer service.

Many licensees are tempted to stay behind the bar on the basis that it gives staff a positive example of the work ethic and provides a platform for the welcoming host. While this view deserves respect, skills required to oversee staff and customers' well-being are not always the same as those required for practical operational procedures. Time behind the bar should be balanced by time in front of it.

Circulating allows you to interact with your clientèle with the grace and swiftness of a Hollywood star at a post-Oscars party. Throw in table-wiping, glass-collecting and chair-straightening, and it allows you to spot potentially difficult, drunken customers before they step out of line.

Here lies the key to peace - in your corner at least. A friendly hand on the shoulder with accompanying quiet, firm, and friendly words can make the difference between a Lennon-style love-in and total Armageddon.

Essentially, the protagonist has not been confronted loudly and publicly, followed by a predictably humiliating show-down and exit. The option of leaving with reputation almost intact is still wide open. Often, the knowledge of having been clocked by management is enough to persuade would-be aggressors that a hasty voluntary exit is by far the most desirable course of action.

If the worst happens and a customer needs to be ejected, it's time for damage limitation, depending on the degree of severity of the incident and amount of drink left in the ejectee's glass. Having a refund ready to offer at the same time as making an immediate request to leave tackles the issue of the paid-for drink, which in the eyes of the accused must be finished first, and is usually the drunk's main gripe. If this can be pre-empted, the protagonist will often leave without delay or protest.

I have often ejected the more severe vertical-drinking casualties by putting a firm, friendly arm round a shoulder and talking quietly to propel them through the door before they, or other customers, realised that anything untoward was afoot. Be aware that any physical contact can lead to more trouble: this course of action should only be considered if you're completely convinced of its success.

Common-sense principles can prove highly effective in dealing with potentially aggressive situations - but behaviour demonstrated by drunken customers is as varied as the drinkers themselves. And when it comes to service, the customer has as much right to protection from an overbearingly happy drunk as an overt thug. We can all recall depressingly real incidents when the most socially-confident individual is reduced to a shrinking violet in the face of an obnoxious inebriate. The fact that such an individual is not being aggressive does not mean their presence should be ignored - any unwelcome invasion of personal space must be dealt with responsibly.

Every situation requires a subtly different approach, but if you consider this issue in terms of customer-comfort for the majority, you will achieve a reputation of running a safe, happy, welcoming house where the occasional inevitable incident is dealt with confidently, safely and with minimum drama.