today at work (valet), a woman (probably high 20’s) came out with her ticket stumbling all over the place. It was obvious that she couldn’t drive and that someone would get killed if she did. I asked her if she was ok, and insisted that i call her a cab. At which point she started being nasty and claiming she was fine, like %95 of over-confident drunks.
I reluctantly went to get her car, but made sure that someone else knew what was happening before I handed anyone her keys. I had the kid i was working with run in and let one of the bouncers know, and to try and convince her to get a cab. the manager got involved and after some serious convincing, finally got her to get in the passenger side and someone drove her home in her car. thank god.
i spent some time thinking about that and have a question for people who work in bars, or restauraunts, or pretty much anywhere that serves alcohol.
where can you possibly draw a line when it comes to involving yourself in a strangers life when they are deciding to drink and drive?
I mean, i’ve seen alot of people i know well and not know at all drive drunk. But when you work in such an establishment, can it really be your duty or responsibility to stop someone from walking out of the bar casually and getting in their car?
i’ve heard bar owners can be held responsible but i’m not sure if its’ true.
I would hate myself if I handed a drunk their keys and let them essentially murder someone.
yeah, then there are those people, that argue and try to make it look like your doing something wrong by keeping their car from them, and make a scene. i hate people like that.
in that case if they refuse to let you call a cab or a dd, id do just what you did… get the manager/bouncer, and if they still insist, then im sure the manager will be in touch with the police (because i remember hearing somewhere as well that a bar could be held responsible.)
As the valet you’re not liable if you give a drunk their car but morally if it bothers you (or in this case it was stupid obvious) you can voice your concern. Personally, I’ve never denied a drunk his/her car unless the client / account has specifically said to deny anyone who looks drunk. It’s their property after all, but I still make sure to ask them once if they’d like someone to call them a cab.
people leave bars and get DWI’s all the time. the bartenders don’t get fired. the bartender’s get questioned, but not in trouble. what can you prove?
officer: “how many drinks did john have here tonight?”
barkeep: “he had one then left. said he was driving tonight.”
officer: “thanks”
as far as your personal and moral responsibility goes, it is like this. there’s times to man up and times to shut your mouth. you work on a corner bar that thrives off daily regulars in the neighborhood who come in sometimes as many as 5 times in one day, you can’t just cut them off when they get a little buzz going without major bar repercussions. most bar settings the general rule of thumb is, would you be comfortable getting in the car with them? if yes, they can have one more. if not, then it’s time for them to go.
josh, i was gonna ask about that actually. if the valet guy can be held responsible.
there were a couple times where i let someone have there keys that had been drinkin. I felt like i was personally doing something wrong. Although they were nowhere near as bad as this girl.
i look at it this way, if you piss them off now, are they going to remember it in the morning ? and does it matter if they do?
if the persons totaly plowed and wont even remember how they got home … fuck it … cut them off, drag their ass out of the drivers seat if need be, call the cops if they roll out in their car… dont let that kind of person on the street
2 things you should be concerned about …
are you going to be able to sleep that night knowing you let someone drive away as a ticking timebomb
are they going to be able to call the cops on YOU for regulating their ass in what ever way u needed to ?
how many cops are going to arrest YOU for having to headlock some drunk to get their keys away from them ? when they blow a .73 BAC (yes i know, lol) that cops not gonna care if you stabbed them in the thigh with a ball point pen
cliffs: its not realy your responsibility, but at the same time it is … if that makes any sense
Sometimes its not what you should do but what you have to do. Going the extra step and taking responsibility for someones negligance is social responsibility, even if you never get rewarded for it. Karma pays you back eventually. You made that drive home safer for everyone.
Responsibility in general is something people don’t like to concern themselves with. It’s easier to say fuck it not my problem, the world needs more people who will stand up for what is right and take the proper action when the time comes. The world does have alot of people like this but they are in the background and rarely get recognition for their deeds. What you did was a small act but well worth it in that it could have averted some major incident.
The way I see it you are the VALET… you are in control of the vehicle to the custsomer relations. If the customer is unfit for the vehicle, then I think it is in your best judgement to intervene and prevent something bad from happening. Or at least notify your superior.
i work in a large corporate restaurant (applebees) and they are extremely careful when it comes to liabilities. that being said, we are told that ultimately the consumer is responsible for knowing their limits and if they wreck their car after they leave, tough shit for them. we are however, encouraged to do our best to prevent that from happening.
cliffs: legally you would not have been responsible or accountable
thats incredibly unlikely that I would even get yelled at for anything of the sort. I would never get in an argument with someone over their keys.
I think what i’m gonna do from now on, is ask the person once if they want me to call them a cab. If they decline and insist they can drive, i have to run by the bouncers on the way to the lot anyway, i’ll just swing in and let them know so that by the time i get back with the persons car, someone is already on their ass.
that way, i don’t have to put anyone in a headlock, or stab them with a ballpoint pen :smash2:. although sometimes i would love to.
EDIT - Also on the legality of my responsibility, thats good to know. but it would be karma at it’s finest if I handed someone their keys, and they killed my best friend on the way home…
I think that you did a great thing by helping prevent somebody from doing something dumb that could have caused the death of an innocent bystander. If she didn’t accept the ride or a cab, next call I would have made would have been to the police. She only has to get into the car and start it before they can haul her off for DWI…
