CUSTOMER SAFETY
May 12, 2022
5 Steps for Ensuring Customer Safety
How fantastic has it been to emerge from COVID and once again enjoy the atmosphere and ambience of the wonderful venues many of the brewers provide. Whilst much of what we do for safety focuses on the brewing area, where most hazards exist, it's important we take stock of our venue spaces and the steps we take to ensure our customers can enjoy these venues comfortably and safely. With this in mind we provide these 5 steps for ensuring the safety of your customers.
- Understand Your Obligations
First and foremost, we must acknowledge that we have a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace for our customers. WHS legislation extends to the safety of not just workers in your business, but anyone involved in your business or undertaking. With that in mind ensure all the safety processes you have in your business are equally applied to your public areas and not just the more hazardous brewing spaces. - Clearly Define Public Spaces
Whilst many of our venues have been designed to provide customers with that unique brewing experience by immersing them in the brewery, it is important to clearly define and physically separate the public spaces with restricted, employee only areas. Signage and physical barriers (gates, doors, fences, glass) are required to make this clear. Tours are fine, as long as the areas where customers stand are well considered, are clearly marked and customers are constantly supervised through the tour. - Managing Spills
We know the fantastic product you deliver is valuable and should be handled with care, but spills will happen from time to time and how we respond to these is key. Have the right equipment readily available to deal with spills, brooms and buckets for glass and mops for liquid and signage to warn people of the hazard. Staff should be trained to not leave a spill unattended. Ask for help from other staff to get the equipment needed whilst you monitor the area. - RSA
Responsible Service of Alcohol is a requirement of your liquor licence but it is also a critical risk management tool to handle intoxicated patrons. Make sure your people are trained and act early to address inappropriate behaviour before it escalates. - Incident Response
We sincerely hope that you don’t have an incident, but it is important to be prepared to deal with one. It is important to collect the right information, including contact details of the injured party and the witness, CCTV images where relevant. Although, GONE are the days that we tell staff to not admit anything and take the legal approach. The most effective way to deal with a customer injury is very simple, care for them! Empower your staff to offer assistance, call a family member, offer them a cab ride home, first aid support. A follow up call from a manager the following day is also a great idea. Tackle an unfortunate accident involving a customer as an opportunity to show them how much you care for your customers. It's amazing how often this proactive approach can result in positive feedback rather than a complaint, or even worse a public liability claim.
Getting the basics right will ensure your customers can all enjoy your venues safely. See you a safe venue soon!
Further Resources
