Hospitality expert warns more training is needed to make licensed premises safer for all
- Written by: Tess Sanders Lazarus
According to Matthew Brereton, an experienced hospitality expert and business consultant, more training is needed across licensed premises to increase safety levels for all patrons.
“Drink spiking, underage drinking, intoxication and other issues are still occurring at concerning levels in licensed premises across Australia,” Matthew said today.
“While premises do operate in accordance with their requirements, it often comes down to the staff on duty to identify potential issues. If they do, they then need to determine how to respond.
“Well trained staff can mean the difference between people having their drinks spiked or not, or customers with special needs being provided with relevant and thoughtful services.”
Matthew is a hotel and restaurant facilities manager who also consultants to industry as a hospitality advisor. His experience in the industry has been developed over a number of years and includes working within the industry at all levels. He first started his career in the hospitality industry as a server, where he developed an in-depth understanding of customer service. He then went on to undertake formal education programs to further his experience and credentials in the industry. He has utilised his combination of practical experience, management roles, qualifications and passion for the industry to develop a solid reputation for advisory in the industry.
“I am very committed to helping businesses in the hospitality sector to excel and succeed,” Matthew added.
“It is a tough industry and one that faces many challenges, however I believe there is certainly more that can be done to ensure venues do provide a safe, welcoming and accepting environment for all customers.”
Matthew has worked with many venues and businesses to assist them to implement programs to grow their business, enhance their levels of customer service and increase staff knowledge and awareness of risks and issue management.
“The Australian hospitality industry is a diverse and cosmopolitan sector. I have worked with a broad range of people – of different ethnicities, ages, religions and capabilities, and I have always made sure they felt welcome to the industry and venue that I have worked with,” Matthew said.
“My work has included working with organisations and employees in areas of alcohol and other drugs, behavioural health treatments, criminal and juvenile justice, mental and substance use disorders and recovery, and sexual assaults.
“Through my work I have helped many organisations cut down dangerous and problematic behaviour in the industry by training staff in ensuring that drinks are not being spiked, customers are not being forced to consume drugs, prohibiting underage drinking, having the knowledge of dealing with intoxicated customers and customers with special needs, including people with pregnancies and mental health conditions.
“There is definitely a link between increased training and a reduction in the incidence of issues in licensed premises.
“For this reason, I encourage premises to undertake specialised training for staff to ensure they are as skilled as possible in identifying and managing issues to ensure the safety and wellbeing of patrons.”
With his gaming badge and licence, Matthew is also actively working to educate members of the industry to recognise both the benefits and dangers of gaming and gambling.
“Over my course of gaming/non gaming work I have helped gaming clients, guests, and customers have fun and enjoy their gaming experience,” Matthew added.
“However, I have also seen the dark side of it as well. With the appropriate training in customer service and hotel management, staff are able to recognise important customer details such as overdue bills, different clothing, change in appearance, loss of loved ones, and escalate these observations to enable the delivery of assistance to help people turn their life back around and feel back in control.
“Training is key. The more training we provide to venues and their staff, the safer and more successful the venues will be.”
Daily Bulletin
