In some cases, the customer isn’t always right.
That’s the stance hospitality professor Steven Barth takes when it comes to the size of alcoholic drinks served in restaurants. Barth said Houston restaurants should serve smaller martinis and change the way bartending staff is trained to prevent intoxicated customers from getting behind the wheel.
Barth said restaurants should train staff to cut customers off after they have ingested a certain amount of alcohol, instead of the typical instructions to cut off customers who have had a specific number of drinks.
He also wants restaurants to serve smaller martinis, stating that one martini typically has nine ounces of alcohol.
‘If you asked reasonable and prudent operators today, I think they would tell you that seven ‘usual cocktails,’ even over a stretch of time, is too many to serve. And here we are serving a customer all seven cocktails at once, then another,’ Barth said on his blog Hospitality Lawyer.
Barth added he saw similar difficulties with bottle service at restaurants. While state law allows diners to take home an uncorked and unfinished wine bottle, bottles of vodka and other spirits must be finished on-site in the restaurant. He says such policies pressure customers to finish drinks they might not be able to handle.
Students had mixed reactions to Barth’s proposal. Some said it is the customer’s responsibility to know their limits.
‘People should know what they’re getting into when they buy a drink,’ Ricky Carter, English freshman, said.
However, others said reducing the amount of alcohol served in a drink would help people limit their consumption.
‘I think it might be a good idea to serve them smaller. That way, people can gauge how much they’ve had,’ Robert Welschhans, math junior, said.
Diana Otto, a hotel and restaurant management senior who has bartended at Pappasito’s Cantina, said customers pressure staff to pour stronger drinks. She does not foresee many restaurants serving smaller martinis.
‘People don’t like it. They’ll be like, ‘Why is my martini small? I’m going somewhere else,” Otto said.
Barth said there is no excuse for potentially dangerous service.
‘Two women who were involved in (my) cases had a lot of similarities in that they both only consumed two martinis, and they both ended up killing people when they left the place. They were both were just amazed that their blood-alcohol contact exceeded 0.20,’ Barth said.
‘(Restaurants) can’t serve a dangerous product. I appreciate the fact that the customer may demand more, but just because the customer demands a dangerous product does not mean we give it to them.’
Barth’s blog, including his post on martinis and restaurant policy, can be accessed at http://www.hospitalitylawyer.com.
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