Integrated Service Scenarios and Self-Critique

Rehearse a whole decision

The official TIPS outline includes practice/rehearsal as well as evaluating cues and responses. Use these original exercises to connect those skills. Read a scene, state your first action aloud, and explain what you would do next. Then compare your reasoning with the discussion.

For each scene, identify what you know, what you do not know, the most urgent risk, the boundary to communicate, the support needed, and the outcome you can actually observe. A response is incomplete if it names a good action but leaves a route to more alcohol or delays urgent help.

Scene 1: the birthday tomorrow

It is October 16, 2026. A guest presents a genuine-looking license with a birth date of October 17, 2005. The guest confidently says, “I am basically 21.” A companion who is 24 offers to purchase both drinks instead.

Pause and decide: Has the guest reached the birthday cutoff? Does changing the purchaser change the recipient's eligibility? What should other service stations know?

Discussion: Under the ordinary birthday calculation stated here, the guest is still 20. Decline the alcohol transaction for that recipient. A companion's payment does not change age. Explain the boundary respectfully and notify relevant coworkers if the group attempts another route. You do not need to accuse the guest of carrying a counterfeit; the printed date itself establishes the problem.

Self-critique: An answer that says “ask for ID” stops too early, because ID was already provided. An answer that serves the adult buyer without considering the intended recipient misses the handoff. A complete response reads the date, calculates age, and maintains the recipient-based boundary.

Scene 2: strong beer and a new server

An outgoing server tells you a guest had “two beers.” The product was a 16-ounce beer at 8.5% ABV. You hear slurred speech when the guest orders a cocktail. The guest says they ate dinner and can walk steadily.

Pause and decide: How much ethanol did each beer contain? Does that establish the guest's exact BAC? Do food and a steady walk cancel the observed concern?

Discussion: Each beer contains about 2.27 standard drinks: 16 × 0.085 ÷ 0.6. Two contain about 4.53 standard drinks. That improves your understanding of the service history but does not yield an exact BAC. Slurred speech warrants assessment and a protective response; food and a steady walk do not prove sobriety. Stop further alcohol when refusal is warranted, notify the team, and assess assistance needs.

Self-critique: An answer predicting a precise BAC or clock time for sobriety adds unsupported information. An answer that switches the guest to light beer still supplies alcohol after refusal. A better response combines the relevant observation, accurate drink accounting, and follow-through.

Scene 3: taxi or emergency care

A guest has been refused service. Their friend orders a car, but the guest becomes difficult to wake and breathes irregularly. The friend says the guest does this often and wants to avoid a scene.

Pause and decide: Is an ordinary pickup enough? What must happen before documentation? What information can you give responders?

Discussion: Call 911 immediately for a suspected medical emergency. Follow dispatcher instructions, stay with the guest, and arrange for another employee to meet responders. Share known symptoms and substance information without guessing. Do not force coffee, water, or food, and do not wait for every overdose symptom. A familiar history or an ordered car does not remove the current medical danger.

Self-critique: A response focused only on getting the guest out of the building misses the person's condition. A response that completes a detailed form before calling delays care. Appropriate urgency is part of the skill being rehearsed.

Scene 4: a promotion and a missing handoff

A manager proposes an Illinois happy hour lasting four hours on each of five days. During the event, a refused guest moves from the patio to a new indoor bartender who has not received the refusal message.

Pause and decide: Is the schedule within the cited weekly limit? What is the immediate service failure? Does the legality of the promotion decide whether this guest receives another drink?

Discussion: Four times five is 20 hours, exceeding the 15-hour weekly limit in the cited Illinois guidance. Independently, the guest's refusal must be communicated to the indoor station. The promotion's price and remaining time do not authorize another sale. Review the schedule and full applicable rules before publication, and repair the communication gap immediately.

Evaluate your performance

Repeat a scene with one changed fact, such as a sober companion becoming impaired or a guest accepting a ride that is later canceled. Explain how the response changes. This is more useful than memorizing a refusal script without understanding when it applies.

Sources checked October 16, 2026: TIPS outline and rehearsal objective, NIAAA emergency guidance, and Illinois promotion guidance. Scenarios and calculations are original practice.