TIPS Case Analysis & Practical Application 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A pregnant woman orders a glass of wine at your restaurant. What is the TIPS-recommended response?
- Serve her since it is not illegal to drink while pregnant
- Politely inform her of the risks and suggest a non-alcoholic alternative (Correct answer)
- Refuse service and ask her to leave
- Only serve her if she signs a liability waiver
Correct answer: Politely inform her of the risks and suggest a non-alcoholic alternative
While it may not always be illegal to serve a pregnant woman, TIPS training encourages servers to inform guests of health risks and offer non-alcoholic alternatives.
Question 2: Two customers appear to be on a date. One is drinking heavily while the other remains sober. The sober one says 'just keep them coming.' What should you do?
- Follow the sober customer's instructions since they are responsible for their date
- Continue to individually assess the intoxicated customer and slow service accordingly (Correct answer)
- Only serve the sober customer from this point forward
- Ask the intoxicated customer to leave immediately
Correct answer: Continue to individually assess the intoxicated customer and slow service accordingly
Third-party instructions do not override the server's duty to assess and protect each individual customer from over-service.
Question 3: A customer's behavior suggests they may be on prescription medication combined with alcohol. What behavioral signs would support this concern?
- Ordering multiple rounds quickly
- Extreme drowsiness or confusion disproportionate to the amount consumed (Correct answer)
- Requesting a non-alcoholic drink
- Speaking loudly with friends
Correct answer: Extreme drowsiness or confusion disproportionate to the amount consumed
Drug-alcohol interactions can amplify impairment dramatically, so signs of extreme sedation or confusion relative to consumption warrant immediate action.
Question 4: You suspect a customer's ID is fake. The name is difficult to pronounce and the photo looks slightly off. What should you do?
- Accept it since you are not a law enforcement officer
- Ask the customer questions about the ID details and refuse if answers are inconsistent (Correct answer)
- Confiscate the ID immediately
- Serve them but write a note in the incident log
Correct answer: Ask the customer questions about the ID details and refuse if answers are inconsistent
TIPS-trained servers should ask verification questions about ID details; inconsistent answers justify refusal of service.
Question 5: A server realizes they served alcohol to a minor who used a borrowed ID. What should the server do immediately?
- Do nothing since the minor deceived them
- Stop service, notify management, document the incident, and secure the ID if possible (Correct answer)
- Ask the minor to leave quietly without involving management
- Continue serving since the mistake already occurred
Correct answer: Stop service, notify management, document the incident, and secure the ID if possible
Once an error is discovered, the correct response is to stop service, involve management, and document the event to protect the establishment legally.
Question 6: A customer who ordered food along with drinks shows signs of intoxication after eating. Should food consumption change your assessment?
- Yes, food eliminates alcohol so they cannot be intoxicated
- No, food only slows alcohol absorption but does not prevent intoxication (Correct answer)
- Yes, eating means they can safely have two more drinks
- No, food has no effect on alcohol at all
Correct answer: No, food only slows alcohol absorption but does not prevent intoxication
Food slows the rate of alcohol absorption but does not prevent intoxication; visible impairment signs must still be taken seriously.
Question 7: At closing time, an intoxicated customer refuses to accept a cab voucher and insists on driving home. What is the last-resort option a TIPS-trained server should consider?
- Allow them to leave since you cannot legally detain them
- Notify law enforcement and provide a description of the vehicle and direction of travel (Correct answer)
- Physically block the exit to prevent them from leaving
- Offer them another drink to delay their departure
Correct answer: Notify law enforcement and provide a description of the vehicle and direction of travel
When all safe alternatives are refused, TIPS recommends contacting law enforcement to prevent the impaired individual from endangering themselves and others.
TIPS Case Analysis & Practical Application 3
A pregnant woman orders a glass of wine at your restaurant.
What is the TIPS-recommended response?