Topics Ethics

Question A barman is asked by a more senior member of staff who is currently off duty, but noticeably intoxicated, for a drink. The law states the illegality of serving to someone who is intoxicated, but the managers not only insist upon the bartender serving the member of staff but also state that they will serve him if the bartender refuses. Given this situation, how might one attempt to address the problem of 'the right thing to do'?

Accepted:
January 17, 2006

Comments

The morally right thing for the barman to do is to refuse to serve the clearly intoxicated senior member of the staff. He should also try to persuade the managers not to serve him. This answer assumes that it is true that the more senior member of the staff is clearly intoxicated. Given the truth of this assumption, the barman should point out to the managers that they are not acting in the best interest of the company that owns the bar. Most obvious, if the senior member of the staff has an accident, there will be serious problems for the bar and for anyone who served the alcohol to an intoxicated person.

The barman could point out that his refusal should be taken as a confirmation of his good performance as a barman. By refusing to serve the intoxicated senior member of the staff, even under pressure, the managers can be sure that he will not get the bar into trouble by serving alcohol to clearly intoxicated drinkers. He can present all of this in prudential rather than moral terms, as moralizing usually does not elicit favorable responses.

However, it is not the responsibility of the barman to prevent the managers from serving alcohol to the intoxicated senior member of the staff. Unless he has another job lined up, it would be going way beyond what is morally required to threaten to report the managers for serving alcohol to a clearly intoxicated person.