Host Responsibility is the term given to the strategies that ensure you operate your premise in a responsible manner making it a comfortable, inviting and safe drinking environment. Obviously it relates more to those premises with consumption on the premise, but Off licences are also required to provide low and non-alcohol alternatives and to prevent sales to prohibited people and to have all choices as obviously available as alcohol.
Previously in New Zealand, Host Responsibility was a subject that may or may not have been required to be included in consideration of Liquor Licences and Manager’s Certificates, depending on the DLA. Now, with amendments to the SOLA in 2000, Host Responsibility is a national requirement with consistent application around the country and it affects all Licensees and Duty Managers.
Aim
The aim of Host Responsibility is to assist servers to accept and demonstrate responsible practices when serving alcohol, as well as improving business performance.
Objectives
These objectives are for you as the server:
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To establish a responsible drinking environment.
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To develop competence in estimating how much a customer can consume without becoming intoxicated.
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To develop competence in preventing a customer from becoming intoxicated.
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To develop competence at intervening by refusing to serve alcohol when appropriate.
The decision about whether to sell or supply alcohol to a customer should consider the effects of that sale or supply on the server, the licensee, the customer and the community as a whole.
Reasons for Host Responsibility
There are three main reasons why you should adopt Host Responsibility practices whole heartedly, other than just because you are legally obliged to:
Risk Management
By employing Host Responsibility strategies to prevent liquor abuse you can also protect yourself from conviction. This can in turn protect your business, livelihood, current and future job opportunities and bank balance by ensuring you can keep your Licence or Manager’s Certificate, have them renewed without trouble and have no trouble getting Special Licences. You can get value out of the large set up costs and high overheads of running a business and protect financial and your own health vulnerability.
You also avoid:
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hassles of having to deal with minors and intoxicated people,
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having to constantly retrain new staff because others have left for more enjoyable work,
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losing customers due to an unenjoyable environment
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feeing harassed by the Authorities because you have a bad reputation
Customer Focus
You need to keep existing customers coming back for more and spending as much as possible, and you need to constantly attract new customers – stealing them from your competition preferably.
To do this you must offer more or different attractions than your competitors. People don’t go out just to drink. They can do that more cheaply at home. They go out for the other services you provide. But they will only go to you if you offer the best of what they want.
Small extras may not pull in much money by themselves, but they can encourage more people to spend more money on other things.
You must establish:
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Who your customers are and what do they want?
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Who are your desired new customers and how can you attract them to your premise?
But don’t assume that these answers will stay the same, your approach will need to be constantly changing to match customer desire and trends of the industry.
Profit
Yes, you’re in the business to make money – fair enough. But you have to ensure that you can stay in business and can compete successfully in the market. Your priorities may vary depending on whether you are a Licensee or Duty Manager, but you are still relying on your professional reputation to ensure your job and/or your livelihood is protected and prosperous.
You can still cater to the people who just want to drink, but you will make more money if you get them to spend money on your other choices as well as alcohol than if you are forced to close down – even if only temporarily.
Remember the veto vote: if, of a group of people out drinking, one wants something else, the whole group will go where that person can get that something else. If you offer more, you will get more people, even if they don't all take up the offer of your points of difference.
If you can offer more or different than your competitors, you will get their profits as well as their customers.
