Service industry drinks too much (2 strategies to help)

True, Dry January is behind us. But even if you participated (which 15% of Americans did last year), if you've got a drinking problem a single dry month isn't going to solve it.

It's especially tough for bartenders and servers to stay on the straight and narrow because there's always an excuse to have a drink, it's always right in front of you, and it's always cheap.

This is pretty unique to the service industry—to have a sometimes addictive substance be such a prominent part of your job. It's like if spreadsheets were bad for you and you were an accountant.

So, what to do? Shaun McGuire, a bartender of 20+ years says this: "Make space for yourself to not become a raging alcoholic."

Blunt and true. But not effective as far as execution goes—how can you actually make that space?

Here are two strategies he recommends:

1. When you want to go out, don't go local to your work.

Why? If you're not near work, you probably won't run into a colleague or customer, meaning it's way less likely someone will want to buy you a drink or have a drink with you. You're drinking on your schedule, at your rate.

Bonus: this'll also make it easier for you to focus on your companion(s).

2. Get an accountability buddy who can call you on drinking too much.

It doesn't matter how you know this person. What matters is they need to be someone you look up to or respect. Or someone who's doing better than you with drinking.

Why? Because if you don't respect the person who tells you you're drinking too much, then you won't make a change.

It can be awkward to ask someone to be your accountability buddy, but its definitely worth the tough conversation. And hey—you're also getting in a rep at having a tough conversation, which never hurts.

Of course, there are a ton of other strategies out there for reducing alcohol consumption. But I think it's valuable to have some that come from the mind of someone in the service industry, since that's not too often the case.

Check out the interview clip for more:

And if you want to hear more from Shaun, check out this playlist on the Brave New Bar Youtube channel.

❓ Why should I do it?

Imagine this world: your customers order their beers as soon as the server/bartender arrives. No samples, no back-and-forth. Customers just order.

That’s the world you can have if your Print Menus include full beer info. It equips customers with all the info they need to make a decision, leading to much faster order times.

Time savings is always helpful in general, but speeding up order times helps in some key ways:

• Incrementally increase sales (more customers have more time for a 2nd round)
• Turn over tables more quickly
• Make life easier for staff

❓ How can I do it?

You could do this manually. Google the beers you serve, copy what you need, and drop it into your menu document.

• The National Restaurant Association released its 2024 State of the Industry report this week. That link has some good bullet point summaries, but the headline that jumped out most: restaurant sales are expected to top $1 trillion this year.
• Boston Beer, maker of Sam Adams, is facing a couple lawsuits from former sales reps. The lawsuits are challenging the company's non-compete and also allege a hostile work environment.
• The New York Times ran an awesome article and video about menu trends. Check it out if you're thinking about a menu redesign.
• And finally, Russian River Brewing announced that in its 20th year Pliny the Younger will be available in the brewery's Santa Rosa taproom from March 22 to April 4. As always, San Franciscans can snag it early during SF Beer Week. (Here's a little background on the crazily sought after beer.)