:: engaging with challenging guests ::

Yesterday, USBG Boston hosted all four of its Education Week 2024 events that included a comparative tasting of tequila production techniques with John Mayer Spressert of Burke Distributing, a class on ice carving history and technique with Iruma Shibuya, and a roundtable on cocktail competitions with a trio of veterans. The one that I took the most notes for was a roundtable entitled "Engaging with Challenging Guests" that discussed how to best handle situations that involve drinking, drug use, and entitled behavior especially when it becomes disruptive if not before that point. The panel moderated by USBG Boston president Justin Silmon consisted of Keith Bennett – the head of security at the Middle East restaurant and rock club, Corrie Masison – AGM of MIDA in East Boston, Nestore Polce – GM of Branchline, and Geoffrey Thompson – currently working on the South Shore but spoke a lot of his time managing the Sinclair rock club, Foundry on Elm gastropub, high volume Riverbar, and other venues around town.

For folks working in the service industry, we have all experienced dilemmas of how to deal with guests who have consumed too much, who are acting in inappropriate ways towards staff or other patrons, or who are beginning to get belligerent or threatening. The roundtable speakers considered these issues from their experiences working at rock venues on one end to fine dining on the other as well as all sorts of establishments in between. Keith, after telling a wild story of his younger days as a bouncer, started off sharing what he learned over time. His advice was de-escalation that included not taking the bait as the person in question calls you every name in the book or wants to fight, and not taking it personally for it is only work. With that also came leaving life's problems at home, and he described how a boring night at security is a sign of a job well done. Nestore reiterated the leaving your day's troubles at the door and continued on with a focus on staying calm as the guest tries to make you upset. Nestore explained that our job is to make the business move forward while keeping an eye on the safety and comfort of the other guests. Corrie learned a lot from watching her friends who have become moms and dads, and she extracted gentle parenting techniques on how to guide people in the desired direction. In a later part of the session, she expounded by declaring that course correction is crucial before things become a problem, and this needs to be direct with the boundary setting. Geoffrey had two major points in this round which were that we have to take care of our guests as we "poison" their systems with alcohol. The second part was that this begins with teaching the hosts, bartenders, and servers how to make the night go smoothly; he continued on with the importance of getting to know your local beat cops who can help to de-escalate situations faster than calling 911. Later, the discussion honed into the public perception of the police. Keith best summed it up by saying that regardless of what you think of the police and the issues in the news, this is what police are really good at which is making the problem dissipate before violence erupts.

Keith later added to his previous points by stressing to make sure that you are not alone in any confrontation. His thought process as a bouncer is not how can you hurt someone but how can you diffuse the situation without getting hurt yourself. In fact, if there is violence of any sort, he feels a great sense of failure, and he alluded to the financial risks of lawsuits as well. Geoffrey also spoke of legal issues but more regarding the finances involving liquor licenses that are rather expensive investments in this state. If something happens to a guest, a manager may have to bring in a lawyer to face city officials include councilmen and police and fire chiefs, and this turns into a pricy affair in the defense alone. Geoffrey condensed this topic with the point that you have to make decisions throughout the night to protect your establishment's livelihood. Keith as part of the security team worked at being welcoming, helpful, and invisible. With the first two, the tone can be set at the door. With the last point, he did not want to be the catalyst for problems to happen; however, he and his staff communicated on who to keep eyes on, so invisible was expanded into observe, report, and invisible until it was time to act. Nestore in the restaurant environment took a more direct style of approaching potential issue tables with an introduction and perhaps a question of what they were celebrating or other to make it known that they were being watched and perhaps acting a step away from the usual demeanor. He makes sure his staff is trained to notice if someone is making others uncomfortable and to alert a manager. Moreover, he focuses on checking in with the guests around the issue and communicating that they are seen, heard, and protected. Finally, Geoffrey brought up the point that guests are always watching and will take notice of what the management and other staff allow to happen and thus what directly or indirectly is deemed acceptable. If those guests see you doing nothing, that is only going to hurt your business even more in the long run.