It’s against the law to sell alcohol to minors, but that won’t stop them from trying to purchase it at your store. If they succeed, and your store is caught selling to minors, you and your employees could face fines and potentially a loss of your liquor license, or worse. When you train your staff to be vigilant about preventing sales to minors, you’re protecting your store, your employees, and your community.
Be On the Lookout
Check IDs Carefully- Checking the IDs of people buying alcohol is the first step to preventing sales to minors. A good guideline is to check the IDs of everyone who appears to be under the age of 35, though your organization may require your employees to be more strict and have a different baseline age, or just card everyone buying alcohol. Train your employees on where to look for dates of birth on licenses and other forms of ID, and make sure they know to check the “UNDER 21 UNTIL:” label on some licenses. Keep in mind, some people may use their passport or a military ID to prove their age instead, so your employees should know what to do when presented with those as well.
Spotting Fake IDs- The next step up in preventing alcohol sales to minors is making sure that the ID they show your cashier isn’t fake. Each state has specific details on their driver’s licenses to help you and your team differentiate a real ID from a fake. Training your employees on those signs for your state is a good start but having them also know the signs for nearby states use is even better.
Watch Out for Theft- If your team is doing their jobs well and catching the minors who try to buy alcohol, some may think that the next best way to get their alcohol is by stealing it. While it’s always a good idea to have your employees trained in robbery deterrence, it’s even more important when alcohol is involved.
Be Careful with Accomplices- Some underage individuals will try to ask someone who is older than 21 to buy alcohol for them. Look out for this type of interaction. In some states, you could be held liable if you or your employees knowingly sell to someone who’s buying alcohol for a minor.
Prepare Your Employees
Not all employees will know how to check IDs or how to watch out for theft when they’re hired, so training them on these topics is vital. An efficient way to train all your employees and make sure that they’re all on the same page is to use a learning management system (LMS). Using an LMS that is built for blended learning is even better – you can use role playing to help your employees get practice checking IDs and watching for alcohol theft in a more laid-back setting, so they’re prepared when doing so on the job.
Alcohol Training for Your State
If your store is at risk of selling alcohol to minors, save yourself and your store a lot of trouble by training your employees on how to avoid selling alcohol to minors. Take advantage of the flexibility and intuitive design of the trainingGrid® LMS to train your employees on responsible alcohol sales in convenience stores. State-specific training for certain states is also available, so you and your employees always stay in compliance.
