5 Must Haves for Training Employees to Check IDs and Spot Fakes
When selling age-restricted products like alcohol and tobacco, employees must avoid selling to minors at all cost. If employees are not trained adequately to ask for ID and spot a fake ID, it can put both the employee and the owner of the business at risk. The repercussions could include fines, legal charges, and even jail time in extreme cases.
Municipal stings are actively used by law enforcement agencies to confirm that local restaurants, bars, and shops are checking for identification before selling age-restricted products. The costs associated with a failed municipal sting can be high and potentially put a business at risk of closure. To guard against these risks, business owners must equip their staff members with sufficient training and the resources to validate the authenticity of identification in the moment.
In addition to the many risks to business continuity, the risks to the health of minors in possession of these age-restricted products are extremely high. From lung injury to alcohol poisoning to drunk driving accidents, communities are safer when alcohol and tobacco compliance is top of mind for local business owners and their staff.
In this post, we’ll share the major resources that employers should utilize to prepare their employees for checking identification and identifying fake IDs.
Create Identification Check Training
Training employees to check identification can be as simple as making sure employees are asking for identification, but going a step further can bring great benefits to the team. For example, in a situation where regular customers are purchasing alcohol, an employee may feel uncomfortable asking for identification. Equipping the employee with a light, yet serious rebuttal ensures staff members are prepared and regular customers are understanding. Alcohol compliance should always be top of mind, even when serving regular customers.
Another example may be a customer who claims to have forgotten their ID in their car. Instead of giving the customer a pass and serving alcoholic beverages to avoid the loss of sales, prepare staff members with a line such as “Sorry, but it’s our policy. I'll tell you what, I’ll make sure the beer is extra cold when you get back to make it worth the walk.”
Inserting humility and transparency into responses toward argumentative or frustrated customers can make all the difference when businesses rely on repeat clientele. Having staff members walk through these various scenarios and being prepared with responses can help them feel empowered to maintain a high level of alcohol compliance.
Also, ensure that staff members are trained to verify the authenticity of digital IDs (if the business is in a state that utilizes digital IDs). Business owners can check out this blog to see if they should accept digital IDs at their place of business and the many ways that employees can be prepared to validate a digital IDs legitimacy.
Purchase ID Checking Guides
An ID checking guide is a manual filled with details about the drivers licenses from any given country. There are guides specific to the United States and Canada, as well as international ID checking guides. These guides share images of authentic IDs and the aspects of each ID to look for when authenticating that an ID is legitimate.
Courtesy of https://www.driverslicenseguide.com/index.html
These guides are essential if a business operates in a location known to serve tourists from across the world. Business owners can purchase ID checking guides at driverslicenseguide.com!
Put Up We Check IDs Signage
Owners with businesses in university towns may experience an influx of customers using fake identification. In these cases, having signage around the establishment that is explicitly stating the fact that all staff members are required to check identification can be a huge deterrent to this kind of illegal activity.
They not only remind customers that identification must be shown when purchasing age-restricted products, but they can also act as a reminder to staff members. Business can make their own signage to fit the character of their business, or signage can be purchased ready-made like the designs linked below.
Courtesy of Shop City Direct on Etsy
Download This Fake ID Cheat Sheet
Placing cheat sheets on how to spot a fake ID in break rooms or behind the bar is a quick and easy way to equip staff members with accessible information on checking identification. There are many cheat sheets available for purchase on the internet, but all cover the same essential information. The Stinger Compliance team has put together a cheat sheet for easy download – and completely free!
This cheat sheet covers the many ways employees can spot a fake ID by visual inspection and tactics to verify the customer’s details.
Download your free Fake ID Cheat Sheet here today!
Follow it Up with a Private Sting
Now that employees are trained to spot fake IDs, it’s essential that they are remembering to ask for identification before every sale. Businesses can verify their employees are checking identification by scheduling private Stings with Stinger Compliance!
Private Stings are quick check-ins by secret shoppers at a scheduled location and time frame. The secret shoppers purchase age-restricted products and confirm via the Stinger Compliance platform that the employee did ask for identification and adhered to local laws for the sale of alcohol or tobacco.
These private Stings notify employers to the staff members putting their livelihoods at risk by failing to check identification. If a private Sting is failed, the employer can put together a training plan for that employee or take alternative actions. With Stinger Compliance, employers are equipped to make the best decisions for their business.
Stings can be scheduled via the Stinger Compliance platform and are 100% risk-free. Want to become a client today? Book your first Sting today!
