Responsible Beverage Service and Sales

Responsible Beverage Service (RBSS) is a community-based approach to reducing risks associated with retail alcohol environments. RBSS has three essential elements: policy development, merchant education, and partnerships with law enforcement. The purpose is to reduce alcohol-related problems by holding merchants accountable if they violate state and local laws, such as sales to minors and intoxicated patrons. Research shows that merely training servers and sellers is not enough to create long-term change; a successful RBSS program must be rooted in the community. This means conducting an assessment to find out which outlets are problematic.

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RBSS has two main goals:

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• To establish policies and procedures in retail alcohol outlets for preventing alcohol sales and service to minors and intoxicated persons; and

 

• To train managers and servers and clerks to implement those policies and procedures effectively. Server and clerk training focuses on serving and selling procedures, signs of intoxication, methods for checking age identification, and intervention techniques. Manager training includes server and clerk training as well as policy and procedures development and staff supervision. 

 

To learn more about RBSS Training or schedule a training, please visit our Responsible Beverage Service and Sales Training page. 

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Watch the video to learn how merchants have benefited from RBSS.

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