No insurance company will underwrite an establishment that has had too many Dram Shop judgments, putting chronic offenders out of business, said Colin Minehart, chairman of the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, which opposes any surveillance checks for overservice. Others, however, say the threat of lawsuits alone is not enough. Employees can help pace a customer's drinking, often without the patron even noticing it, said Miles Canning, who trains servers on responsible beverage service at MBC Presentations in Excelsior. A server can delay that next drink by suggesting dessert on one trip to the table, delivering water or extra napkins on another trip, cleaning the table on next trip, then finally bringing the drink on the fourth trip. But, I don't have any illusions they're going to solve alcohol abuse in this country,'' said Canning, suggesting society plays an even bigger role.
People think it's funny or they look the other way.
A recent spot check by the Pioneer Press suggests the problem is far from being under control. At a tavern near the University of Minnesota campus, a young man was permitted to continue to drink despite occasionally falling asleep as a lit cigarette dangled from his hand. Liquor control officials say both are signs that a person is intoxicated. While the man's four companions supplied him with the drinks, the tavern was inadequately staffed with a lone and busy bartender providing beverage service to more than 50 patrons. Stacked in the middle of the table were six beer bottles, three wine glasses, seven shot glasses and four tap beer glasses.