RAMP Server and Seller Responsibilities 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A customer orders a round of shots for a table of six people. One person at the table appears visibly intoxicated. What should the server do?
- Serve all six shots since most guests appear sober
- Refuse the entire round and offer non-alcoholic alternatives to the table
- Serve only the guests who appear sober and decline to serve the visibly intoxicated person (Correct answer)
- Ask a manager to handle the situation before doing anything
Correct answer: Serve only the guests who appear sober and decline to serve the visibly intoxicated person
A server should refuse service to the visibly intoxicated individual while still being able to serve those who do not show signs of intoxication.
Question 2: Under RAMP guidelines, what is a server's primary legal obligation when a customer presents a driver's license that appears to be altered or tampered with?
- Accept it since a license is a government-issued ID
- Confiscate the ID and call the police immediately
- Refuse service and document the incident (Correct answer)
- Ask a second employee to verify before making a decision
Correct answer: Refuse service and document the incident
Servers must refuse alcohol service when an ID shows signs of tampering, and documenting the refusal protects the establishment legally.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'reasonable care' as it applies to alcohol servers under dram shop liability?
- Ensuring all customers sign a waiver before being served
- Taking steps a prudent person would take to prevent foreseeable harm from intoxication (Correct answer)
- Limiting each customer to a fixed number of drinks per hour regardless of observable signs
- Collecting car keys from any customer who orders more than two drinks
Correct answer: Taking steps a prudent person would take to prevent foreseeable harm from intoxication
Dram shop liability is based on whether the server exercised reasonable care by not serving someone who was visibly intoxicated or a known habitual drunkard.
Question 4: A coworker tells you they already pre-sold a bottle of wine to a customer before they arrived and the bottle is at the table waiting. The customer arrives appearing intoxicated. What should you do?
- Serve the wine since it was already sold and paid for
- Open the bottle but pace the service very slowly
- Refuse to open or serve the wine to the intoxicated customer (Correct answer)
- Have the customer drink water first before deciding
Correct answer: Refuse to open or serve the wine to the intoxicated customer
Pre-sale or advance payment does not override the legal duty to refuse alcohol service to a visibly intoxicated person.
Question 5: In Pennsylvania's RAMP program, which of the following actions most effectively demonstrates that an establishment has an active compliance culture?
- Posting the liquor license in a visible location
- Training all staff annually and documenting refusal-of-service incidents (Correct answer)
- Requiring customers to show ID only when they appear under 30
- Offering a free appetizer to customers who decline alcoholic beverages
Correct answer: Training all staff annually and documenting refusal-of-service incidents
RAMP recognizes establishments that conduct regular documented training and maintain incident logs as evidence of a proactive compliance culture.
Question 6: A server notices a customer switching between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, but the customer's speech is becoming slurred. What does this behavior indicate?
- The customer is pacing themselves responsibly and needs no intervention
- The alcohol content of non-alcoholic drinks may be causing the slurring
- The person's blood alcohol level may still be rising despite the non-alcoholic drinks (Correct answer)
- Slurred speech is not a reliable sign of intoxication in this context
Correct answer: The person's blood alcohol level may still be rising despite the non-alcoholic drinks
Alternating drinks does not necessarily slow intoxication, and observable signs like slurred speech indicate that the customer's BAC may still be increasing.
Question 7: Which practice is specifically prohibited for servers when trying to recover a sale after a customer's ID has been declined?
- Offering the customer a non-alcoholic menu
- Asking the customer to return with proper identification
- Accepting a secondary form of identification such as a student ID alone (Correct answer)
- Recommending food items to the customer
Correct answer: Accepting a secondary form of identification such as a student ID alone
A student ID or non-government-issued card is not an acceptable substitute for a valid government-issued photo ID under RAMP and Pennsylvania law.
RAMP Server and Seller Responsibilities 2
A customer orders a round of shots for a table of six people.
One person at the table appears visibly intoxicated.
What should the server do?