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December 6, 2021

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Christmas security

Christmas security tips for pubs, bars and restaurants

Christmas-pubsTips-19For many companies – and with government advice to continue as planned following the cancellation of last year’s festivities due to the COVID pandemic – it’s time for the yearly Christmas party and with New Year’s Eve celebrations around the corner too, there is a huge increase in business for the events and hospitality industry.

While Christmas is generally good news for the industry, particularly after a challenging couple of years, a sharp rise in both customers and average per-customer alcohol consumption is a potentially dangerous cocktail for security at bars, clubs and restaurants.

Here are some top tips for avoiding security slip-ups, courtesy of Zycomm, experts in two-way radio and business communications.

Customer care at Christmas

Your door security, staff communication and health and safety practices are in place to look after your most prized asset: your customers. How you look after security isn’t just important for keeping people safe; it’s also imperative for your business.

Bars, clubs and pubs that neglect security, risk police investigation and can even lose their licence.

Security starts at the front door

Your door staff are the first point of call for any customers, so it’s important to make sure they are fully briefed before a busy evening. Is there a private function taking place? What sort of customers are you expecting that evening? Is there any real potential for crowd disturbances? The more your security staff know, the more informed decisions they can make.

It’s also important to ensure security maintain a reassuring but non-intimidating presence – customer service skills are important. Customers will feel safer knowing you have a good security team at your bar or pub but heavy-handed and unfriendly security staff is a sure way to keep customers away.

Health and safety: make a list… check it twice!

Planning for health, safety and security during the busy period, is a great way to get all your staff on the same page. You will obviously already have your emergency plans and security measures in place but reminding all your staff what their responsibilities are is necessary before Christmas.

Ensure everyone knows the rules regarding alcohol service, where the emergency exits are, who the qualified first aider is and what you expect of each member of staff in case of an emergency. It’s also worth keeping an eye on all the latest COVID-related advice to ensure door staff know whether they are required to check for vaccination status or proof of negative tests.

Communication is key this Christmas

How your staff communicate with each other and with customers is imperative when it comes to managing a busy bar or pub. Keep everyone on the same channel by investing in two way- radios. Discreet, lightweight and durable, two way radios offer an instant communication line for your door staff, bartenders and management team.

Communicating with customers in a positive way, comes down to hiring the right staff and using basic common sense. Ensure all staff are clear with their communication if things go wrong – customers need to feel assured they are being looked after.  Also, if your business has a customer service “identity” and a particular way of talking to the public, ensure everyone is following it.

Security: not just for Christmas

While these are good guidelines for managing the bigger crowds this festive season, they are also great ways of working in 2022, too.

Keeping your security policy professional, reactive but still subtle will ensure staff and customers feel safe, looked after and relaxed at your venue.

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