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Building, Enhancing, and Expanding Partnerships of Community Coalitions and Alcohol Merchants

Building, Enhancing, and Expanding Partnerships of Community Coalitions and Alcohol Merchants. Ronald D. Williams, Jr., PhD, CHES James Maginel, LCSW Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Regional Support Center Lori Meyer Director of Human Resources, Pajco, Inc.

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Building, Enhancing, and Expanding Partnerships of Community Coalitions and Alcohol Merchants

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  1. Building, Enhancing, and Expanding Partnerships of Community Coalitions and Alcohol Merchants Ronald D. Williams, Jr., PhD, CHES James Maginel, LCSW Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Regional Support Center Lori Meyer Director of Human Resources, Pajco, Inc.

  2. Underage Alcohol Use • Related consequences: • Automobile crashes • Homicide • Suicide • Sexual assaults • Unprotected sex • Etc. • Is saying “no” the only strategy?

  3. Environmental Strategies • Alcohol education, social norms, policy change, parental education/training, school-based prevention, limit access, etc. • Limiting access to alcohol is an effective strategy to reduce underage alcohol use • However, engaging alcohol merchants can be difficult

  4. Coalitions and Alcohol Merchants – The Partnership • Coalition success relies heavily on the active participation from a broad membership base • Alcohol merchants have historically been reluctant to participate in coalitions • Identifying common ground may result in more participation from merchants

  5. Current Role of Merchants • First and foremost, it is a business. • Alcohol law compliance can directly affect the bottom line, therefore merchants should be interested. • Many merchants have a vested interest in community well-being.

  6. Common Ground How can we help each other?

  7. Merchant Benefits of Coalition Participation • Increased community visibility regarding alcohol law compliance • Partnering/sponsoring substance abuse prevention activities • Active voice within the community addressing underage drinking

  8. Coalition Benefits from Merchant Participation • Understand issue from perspective of merchant • Merchants are first line of defense in limiting access • Use of merchant knowledge on underage purchasing practices within specific community

  9. Getting Merchants Involved • What’s in it for them? (Merchants) • We cannot assume that they are even interested in helping reduce underage alcohol access. • May feel that they are doing the best that they can. • What’s in it for us? (Coalition) • What can they bring to the table? • What role will they play in the coalition’s goals?

  10. Compliance Checks • A legally controlled attempt to purchase alcohol by an minor or person resembling a minor • Designed to limit underage access to alcohol by catching and penalizing the merchants who sell to minors

  11. From the Merchant’s Viewpoint • Compliance Checks = Financial Problems • Consequences range from: • Citations • Employee fines • Store fines • Termination of employee • Loss of liquor license (temporary or permanent)

  12. From the Merchant’s Viewpoint • “Each time you print an article about one of our employees selling alcohol to minors, you send a rash of kids to my store.” • “We are demonized when an employee makes a mistake, yet nothing ever happens to the kids who attempt to buy alcohol every weekend.” --Business Owner Comments

  13. From the Merchant’s Viewpoint • Compliance checks seem designed to harm the merchant • This is evident by negative media coverage

  14. Media Coverage of Compliance Checks When was the last time you read about compliance checks that resulted in zero sales to minors?

  15. Southeast Missourian, 7/12/06, Cape Girardeau, MO

  16. The Journal Times, 5/13/05, Racine, WI

  17. KGO-TV San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, 8/19/06 http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4477634

  18. Media Strategies • Emphasize those merchants who do not sell to minors • Rely on media representative on coalition • Emphasize normative marketing through positive feedback

  19. Media Strategies • How many refusals were seen during compliance checks? • What outlet refused to sale to minors? • What employees refused to sale?

  20. Media Strategies • If merchants experience an increase in underage purchase attempts after negative press, then would they see a reduction after positive press?

  21. Using Coalition Evaluation to Benefit Merchants • What can the coalition learn from merchants? • Employees are a valuable resource • Front-line preventionists • Informed stakeholders • Parents, grandparents, community members, etc. • Data source

  22. From the Merchant’s Viewpoint • We would prefer “Cops in Shops” or “Badges in Business” to compliance checks • This strategy was used in the past through the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control • The Division’s staff has since been cut, and they no longer have the resources to resume • Research has not demonstrated that these interventions are as effective as compliance checks • Discussion led to questions regarding underage attempts to purchase alcohol in local stores

  23. Using Coalition Evaluation to Benefit Merchants Campus & Community Coalition for Change Cashier Survey 2007

  24. Campus & Community Coalition for Change Cashier Survey 2007 Phase 1 • 23 item questionnaire designed to gather information from merchant employees about: • Underage alcohol purchase attempt practices • Frequency of attempts and refusals • Methods used to deny sales

  25. Campus & Community Coalition for Change Cashier Survey 2007 Phase 2 • Four item qualitative questionnaire • In-depth information gathered from employees who work the peak times for underage alcohol purchase attempts • Effective strategies of refusal • Minor strategies used during attempt

  26. Using the Survey to Benefit Merchants Pilot Test Summer 2007 • 218 respondents from one merchant chain (≈400 total employees) Shifts Represented • Morning 5am – 10am • Midday 10am – 5pm • Evening 5pm – 9pm • Night 9pm-12am • Late night 12am-5am

  27. Campus & Community Coalition for Change Cashier Survey 2007 Pilot Test

  28. Campus & Community Coalition for Change Cashier Survey 2007 Pilot Test

  29. Using the Survey to Benefit Merchants • 67.4% of respondents report at least one underage attempt to buy alcohol is made on one typical weekend shift. • 26.6% report over three attempts are made on one typical shift. • Employees who worked in retail stores that sell alcohol products for less than one year reported fewer underage alcohol purchase attempts. • Employees under the age of 26 reported fewer underage alcohol purchase attempts.

  30. Using the Survey to Benefit Merchants • Merchant management must see benefit • Results used to generate positive press for businesses involved • Results used in merchant education program

  31. Positive Press Coverage • Press Releases • High & Middle School print • College print • Local community print • Radio and television press • Use this positive coverage to attract new merchants for coalition membership

  32. Fostering the Partnership • Empowerment and capacity-building • What do merchants think will work? • Cops in Shops • Respect 21

  33. Respect 21: Preventing Underage Access • Goal: • To help retailers develop and enhance their existing retail practices to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors • Developed through Brandeis University & Responsible Retailing Forum • Evaluated measureable outcomes

  34. Respect 21: Preventing Underage Access • Bluff City Beer, Co. & Miller Brewing Company • Cape Girardeau, MO region • 27 participants (17 convenience stores; 10 restaurants/bar)

  35. Respect 21: Preventing Underage Access Training and Educational Materials • POS signage • H.E.L.P. Guide • Self-assessment tool • TIPS Brochure • Mystery shopper handout for employees

  36. Respect 21 Mystery Shopper • Mystery shoppers are from an independent 3rd party group • Legal age (21-23 years old) • No external penalties for failed inspection by Mystery Shopper • For failed compliance check, penalties range from fines to termination of employment • Confidential results provided only to retailer and Brandeis University researchers • Educational process

  37. Respect 21 Contact Information • Miller Brewing • Diane Wagner, Alcohol Responsibility Manager, dwagner@mbco.com • Kathleen Neuwirth, Administrative Assistant, Neuwirth.kathleen@mbco.com • Brandeis University • Dr. Brad Krevor, Krevor@brandeis.edu

  38. Benefits to Community • Merchant Success = Coalition Success • Reduce underage access to alcohol • Increase community awareness of alcohol merchants’ role in prevention • Build capacity of merchants to effectively train and educate employees on alcohol compliance issues • Generate positive press for both merchants and coalition

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