The Off-Sale Clerk and the Visible Impairment
A clerk at a licensed liquor store in Mesa is working the register at 9 p.m. A man in his 40s brings a bottle of vodka to the counter. He smells of alcohol, his eyes are bloodshot, and he sways slightly when he sets the bottle down. He is polite and pays in cash. He says he is 'stocking up for a party.' The store is an off-sale licensee. The clerk's manager is on break. The man's car is parked directly outside, and the clerk saw him get out of the driver's seat. The store's policy says off-sale clerks should refuse sales to visibly intoxicated persons. The man has no other purchases.
1. Should the clerk complete the sale? Explain the off-sale duty.
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No. The clerk should refuse the sale. Off-sale licensees are also prohibited from selling to visibly intoxicated persons, and the man's smell of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and swaying support that conclusion. The fact that he is polite and paying cash does not matter. The clerk should not sell him the vodka, should offer to call a ride, and should notify the manager. The clerk should document the refusal. The 'stocking up for a party' explanation does not change the observable signs. The judgment point is that off-sale clerks sometimes assume the visible-intoxication rule applies only to bars; it does not.
2. The clerk saw the man get out of the driver's seat. How does that affect the decision?
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It raises the stakes and supports refusal. A visibly intoxicated person who is about to drive is a foreseeable risk, and the clerk has direct knowledge that he arrived as the driver. The clerk should refuse the sale and offer to call a taxi or a friend. The clerk should not follow the man to the car or physically block him. If the man insists on driving, the clerk may call police for a welfare check. The clerk should record the time, the observations, and the refusal. The exam point is that the clerk's knowledge of the driving plan is relevant to the responsible-service decision even though the clerk cannot control the man's choices.
3. What if the man says the vodka is for a friend waiting in the car?
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The clerk should still refuse if the man is the one purchasing and appears intoxicated. A claim that the alcohol is for someone else does not cure the visible impairment of the purchaser, and the clerk cannot verify the friend's age or condition. If a different, sober person comes in to buy, the clerk may serve that person after checking ID. The clerk should not hand the bottle to the intoxicated man or let him carry it out. The clerk should document the refusal and the stated reason. The judgment tested is whether the candidate lets a third-party story override direct observations of the purchaser.