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By Ethan Colchamiro, Digital Content Specialist, AOAÌåÓýƽ̨

A highlight of every summer, Independence Day is a time when your customers will be celebrating our great nation with friends and family at bars and restaurants, or at home with cookouts and pool parties. Americans spend an average of over during 4th of July festivities.

While those numbers are cause for celebration, the potential for over-service is something all purveyors of alcohol need to keep top of mind.

Helping your customers make the best decisions around moderation can create customer loyalty and keep them around for future celebrations! With that in mind, we’ve put together these four tips for a responsible 4th of July.

Staff Training
A variety of and in-person training options are available to help bartenders and servers recognize the signs of an intoxicated customer and how to prevent over-service to optimize their safety—and that of your establishment.

Proper training is also important for off-premise businesses to recognize customers looking to keep the party going on the way home or preventing underaged sales.

Moderation
A great way to avoid overserving is to have healthful, low ABV options, or non-alcoholic cocktails available for purchase. This is an on-trend solution that many of your customers are already seeking out and will help them celebrate freedom and fireworks for years to come.

Having a robust non-alcoholic menu provides meaningful, satisfying options for customers who are serving as designated drivers.

Transportation Trends
A formalized policy to moderate the number of alcoholic beverages customers consume is a great place to start, but even the best laid out plan can’t prevent all instances of overserving, especially with the chaos of Independence Day celebrations.

Many have 4th of July promotions and partnerships in place to provide a safe drive home for customers.

Prioritize Responsibility
The 4th of July is a great time to reinforce the importance of moderation to your staff. While it can be tempting to add that one extra drink or item to the bill or shopping cart, additional profit is not worth contributing to the negative outcomes that can result from over-service.  Make sure it is clear to your staff that the biggest wins are from repeat customers who arrive home safely with only happy memories of your establishment.