The Underage-Looking Guest and a Busy Queue
It is a Friday night and your bar is three-deep with customers. A group of five young adults approaches. Four present driving licences that look genuine and show dates of birth confirming they are over 18. The fifth, who looks younger, says she left her ID at home and insists she is 19 and a friend's sister. The four friends vouch for her. The queue behind is growing impatient, and a colleague is busy at the other end of the bar. Your venue operates a 'Challenge 25' policy: anyone who appears under 25 must produce acceptable ID before being served alcohol. The young woman appears clearly under 25 to you. She becomes frustrated and says the others will just buy her drinks anyway.
1. Apply the Challenge 25 policy to this group and decide what you will and will not serve, explaining your reasoning.
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Challenge 25 means that because the fifth customer appears under 25, she must show acceptable ID before any alcohol is served to her. She has none, so you must refuse alcohol to her - her friends' assurances are not acceptable ID, and a verbal claim of age does not satisfy the policy. The four with valid-looking licences can be served, subject to your normal check that the IDs are genuine (photo matches, dates of birth consistent, no tampering). The refusal should be polite, firm and brief: explain it is the venue's policy and offer a soft drink or water. Do not be drawn into an argument or a debate about her age in front of the queue; keep it calm and move the service along. The judgement is applying the rule consistently to the person who cannot meet it, regardless of social pressure and queue pressure.
2. The young woman says her friends will buy drinks for her anyway. Explain how you would manage this proxy-purchase risk and what you would say to the group.
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Proxy purchase - an adult buying alcohol for someone who cannot be served - is a real risk here and must be actively managed, not assumed away. Actions: serve the four individually and watch what they order; if a round includes a fifth alcoholic drink clearly intended for her, refuse that drink. Make the position clear to the whole group once: 'I can serve the four of you, but I can't serve alcohol to your friend, and I can't serve drinks that are clearly for her - that applies to everyone in the group.' Keep tone firm but not accusatory. If they persist or pass drinks to her, you may refuse further service to the group and, if needed, ask them to leave, involving a colleague or door staff. The reasoning: your licence and legal duty attach to preventing supply to someone you cannot verify is of age, and turning a blind eye undermines both the law and the Challenge 25 policy. Document the refusal if your venue requires it.