Alcohol Retailers Can Help Reduce Teen Drinking
Retailers play an essential role in reducing teen access
They can take steps to make sure that teens can't buy alcohol from their stores, and they can serve as a source of information to reduce the possibility that alcohol legally sold to an adult will end up in a teenager's hands. On this page are tools for retailers to meet these goals.
Responsible retailing practices are key to preventing illegal alcohol sales. But it takes more than just telling your staff not to sell to minors. Responsible retailers need specific policies, backed up by training and accountability, that enable staff to say, "If I sell to you, I'll lose my job."
Best Practices for Responsible Retailing, prepared by Brandeis University for the U.S. Government's Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention, describes best practices for retailers of alcohol and other age-restricted products. The report recommends that retailers take the following action.
Create an alcohol sales policy
Establish steps staff must take for every alcohol transaction, including
- When to ask for ID (From everyone? Everyone who appears 35 or below?)
- How to ask for ID—phrases to use
- What ID is acceptable, what features to check, and how to tell if ID has been altered
- How to verify age (comparison to a calendar or use of electronic device)
- When to call a supervisor
- How to decline a sale—what to say and how to say it
Provide sales personnel with tools to verify ID at each register
- If possible, program registers to recognize alcohol sales and use electronic ID verification.
- Otherwise, provide a guidebook showing currently valid IDs and a calendar indicating birth dates eligible for alcohol sales ("alcohol sales permitted only if you were born on or after this date in [year]). Some wholesalers or distributors provide ID guides, or you can buy them from:
Drivers License Guide Co
1492 Oddstad Drive
Redwood City, CA 94063
1-800-227-8827
Conduct compliance checks
- Retailers should conduct these at least every six months; reinspect within 14 days following noncompliance. Use "mystery shoppers" (young-looking adults who should trigger an ID check) to determine whether your salespeople ask for ID and whether sales are made despite underage or inauthentic ID.
- Businesses with security cameras should videotape alcohol sales. Supervisors should review them periodically to evaluate compliance. If possible, use technology that "time stamps" transactions and displays date of birth information gathered from the customer. Be sure to display signs letting customers know your store uses cameras.
Adopt personnel policies regarding results of compliance checks, such as
- Prompt consequences for employees who fail compliance checks and their supervisors with a caution that additional surprise checks will occur soon, and the details of the consequences of additional failures. Consequences may include counseling, training, suspension without pay, or termination.
- Prompt and public rewards for employees who pass compliance checks and their supervisors, including a tangible gift or recognition.
- Notes about compliance checks in the personnel records of the employee and supervisor that are taken into account in making compensation, promotion, and retention decisions.
Establish record keeping requirements, including
- Written records of employee training, compliance checks, and disciplinary actions taken regarding alcohol sales to underage customers.
- Require prominent signs about your policies for ID verification at the entrance to the alcohol sales area and at alcohol sales registers.
Train sales personnel
A store culture of compliance begins at the hiring and training process. Some states have requirements about training for alcohol sales personnel. Contact your state to see what laws or regulations they have and whether they recommend a specific type of training. In the absence of state requirements, the Best Practices report suggests these steps:
During the application process
- Tell applicants that you require employees to comply with alcohol sales laws and company policies. Let them know the consequences of illegal sales for them, the company, and the community.
- Screen applicants for alcohol sales violations. Ask the applicant and previous employers about violations; check available public records.
Before staff begin selling alcohol
- Train them on all aspects of your company's alcohol policies. This training should include role playing, and teaching how to check ID in a non-confrontational manner.
- Let staff know that:
- you monitor compliance in a variety of ways, including though management oversight, use of mystery shoppers, and review of security tapes, if applicable; and
- failure to comply with alcohol laws and policies constitutes grounds for disciplinary action up to—and including—termination.
- Require them to sign a document stating they received this information.
At least every 6 months
- Provide refresher training , including written testing and role playing on how to handle difficult situations.
- Ask them to share situations they have dealt with.
Make management accountable for alcohol sales compliance
Every aspect of responsible alcohol sales imposes a responsibility on management to oversee and respond.
- Require newly hired or promoted supervisors to be trained on all aspects of company alcohol sales policy, including hiring and training the sales force.
- Train supervisors to monitor staff compliance with alcohol sales policies, including regular reminders on the necessity of proper ID verification.
- Require compliance with alcohol sales policy to be a factor in decisions on compensation, promotion, and retention of managers and sales staff.
Become a community resource for alcohol information
The package store or other alcohol retailer is an important source of information about alcohol. Consumers who come in to buy alcohol are primed to receive product-related information. You serve your community when you display and distribute information about the legal drinking age and the importance of preventing teen access to alcohol.
We encourage alcohol retailers to display and give out information about the We Don't Serve Teens program.
- Download and print posters, fliers, and brochures.
- Order program materials from The Century Council.
- Use the artwork on this website to create shopping bag or cash register art.
Don't serve alcohol to teens.
It's unsafe. It's illegal. It's irresponsible.