22 Intervention & Refusing Service Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. Why do server-training programs teach intervention while a guest shows only early behavior changes?

   • A.Signs of intoxication fade on their own if the server waits
   • B.Early tools (pacing rounds, food, water) still exist; once the guest is obviously intoxicated, only refusal remains✓ Answer
   • C.Early action lets the server lower the guest's BAC before they drive
   • D.A guest who is not yet obviously intoxicated may be served without limit

   Intervention is a continuum: pacing, food and water work only before obvious intoxication, after which refusal is the only lawful option — and nothing a server does lowers a guest's BAC.

   Source: NHTSA Responsible Beverage Service training: intervention continuum; good-hospitality practicesReport a problem with this question

2. 2. A guest is drinking faster than the rest of the party but shows no obvious impairment yet. Which action best slows service?

   • A.Pour the next cocktail weaker without telling the guest
   • B.Send a runner with the next two rounds so the server avoids the table
   • C.Announce to the whole table that the guest is drinking too fast
   • D.Visit the table less often so fewer orders are taken, and offer water and food with the next round✓ Answer

   Slowing service means fewer opportunities to order and more time between drinks; checking back less often plus water and food is an open, honest tactic, while secretly altering drinks or embarrassing the guest are not accepted techniques.

   Source: NHTSA RBS: slowing service techniques; good-hospitality list (offer water, food, alternative beverages)Report a problem with this question

3. 3. A bartender quietly makes a guest's next cocktail with less alcohol and says nothing. Why is this not an accepted technique?

   • A.It is recommended because it lowers the guest's intake
   • B.It is acceptable only after the guest is obviously intoxicated
   • C.It deceives the guest about what they are buying and drinking, and it does not address the drinking pace that should be managed openly with timing, food and water✓ Answer
   • D.It is acceptable if the guest is charged less

   Responsible service is transparent: the guest must be able to count what they consumed, so measured pours, timing, food and water are the taught tools, while covertly altering a drink is deception and leaves the underlying pace unmanaged.

   Source: NHTSA RBS: prohibited/ineffective 'interventions'; measured pours for accurate drink countsReport a problem with this question

4. 4. A guest is now slurring words, swaying on the stool and turning argumentative. What is correct?

   • A.Keep serving but deliver each drink more slowly
   • B.Switch the guest to a lower-strength beer and keep watching
   • C.Refuse further alcohol service, offer water or food, and tell the manager and coworkers✓ Answer
   • D.Serve one final drink along with a large glass of water

   A cluster of signs means the guest is obviously intoxicated, and at that stage slowing or substituting is no longer an option — service must stop, and staff must be told so the guest cannot simply order from someone else.

   Source: NHTSA RBS: 'obviously intoxicated' cluster of cues; duty to refuse and to notify managementReport a problem with this question

5. 5. Which practice most improves a server's ability to know exactly how many drinks a guest has had?

   • A.Topping off wine glasses whenever they are half empty
   • B.Clearing empties as drinks are finished, serving one drink at a time, and measuring every pour✓ Answer
   • C.Estimating from how long the guest has been seated
   • D.Free-pouring spirits so service stays fast

   You can only count what you can see and measure: topping off destroys the count, while removing empties, one drink at a time and jigger-measured pours give an accurate running total of standard drinks.

   Source: NHTSA RBS: monitoring consumption; one beverage per patron at a time and use of measuring devicesReport a problem with this question

6. 6. Which wording is the best way to tell a guest you will not serve more alcohol?

   • A."I'm sorry — our house policy won't let me serve you another one tonight. Can I bring you a soda or something to eat?"✓ Answer
   • B."You're drunk, so I can't serve you."
   • C."Walk to the door in a straight line and I'll pour you one more."
   • D."You've obviously had way too many already."

   Refusals should be brief, firm and framed around the server's own duty and the house policy plus an alternative offer; personal accusations like "you're drunk" are judgments that predictably provoke argument, and setting a test invites bargaining.

   Source: NHTSA RBS refusal technique: courteous but firm, focus on server's own liability, offer water/foodReport a problem with this question

7. 7. A guest seated with eight coworkers must be cut off. What is the best approach?

   • A.Announce it at the table so the whole group hears the reason
   • B.Say nothing and just stop coming to the table
   • C.Speak to the guest quietly away from the group, then discreetly let the group know no more alcohol will go to that guest✓ Answer
   • D.Have security walk the guest out immediately

   Refusal should be quiet and discreet so the guest is not embarrassed in front of the group, but the group still has to be told so no one orders on the guest's behalf; silence and immediate ejection both create avoidable conflict.

   Source: NHTSA RBS refusal technique: be quiet and discrete; inform other members of the groupReport a problem with this question

8. 8. After being refused, a guest offers a big tip, says they know the owner, and threatens to complain. What should the server do?

   • A.Debate the point until the guest accepts the reason
   • B.Phone the owner and let the owner decide
   • C.Serve one small drink to end the argument
   • D.Restate the refusal once, briefly and politely, decline to negotiate, and bring in the manager✓ Answer

   Bargaining teaches the guest that pressure works and reopens a decision that is not negotiable; the trained response is to state the decision once without arguing and to bring management in early rather than after the confrontation escalates.

   Source: NHTSA RBS refusal technique: do not bargain with the patron; be assertiveReport a problem with this question

9. 9. Why must the server tell the manager and other staff exactly who has been cut off?

   • A.So the guest can be added to a permanent banned list
   • B.So payroll records show who handled the guest
   • C.Otherwise the guest can simply order from another server or the bartender and the refusal is undone✓ Answer
   • D.Because the guest's identification must be re-checked

   A refusal only holds if the whole team knows it: naming the guest and the reason prevents re-ordering elsewhere in the room and lets coworkers back up the server if the guest pushes back.

   Source: NHTSA RBS refusal technique: inform managers and co-workers of the decision, the person and the reasonsReport a problem with this question

10. 10. A cut-off guest is still on the premises when the server's shift ends. What should happen?

    • A.The guest is asked to leave at shift change
    • B.The outgoing server passes the refusal along at the handoff — who the guest is and why — and the manager confirms it with the incoming staff✓ Answer
    • C.The incoming server serves one drink and re-evaluates
    • D.The refusal ends with the shift, since the new server has not observed the guest

    A refusal belongs to the establishment, not to one employee, so it must survive the shift change through an explicit handoff; testing the guest with another drink would restart the over-service the refusal was meant to stop.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: staff communication and shift handoff; inform managers and co-workersReport a problem with this question

11. 11. A refused guest is upset. A friend at the table has been drinking only soda all evening. How is that friend best used?

    • A.Ask the sober friend to help calm the guest and to drive them home or arrange a ride✓ Answer
    • B.Ask the sober friend to buy the next drink and pass it over
    • C.Ask the sober friend to step outside so the guest is not embarrassed
    • D.Ask the sober friend to take the guest's keys by force

    A sober companion is the most effective de-escalation and transportation resource, because the guest is more likely to accept the message from a friend; buying for a cut-off guest is a prohibited second-party sale, and forcing keys away is never the server's role.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: enlisting the party's sober driver; prohibition on second-party sales to a cut-off patronReport a problem with this question

12. 12. A refused guest stands up, pulls out car keys and heads for the door. What is the best first action?

    • A.Calmly offer to call a taxi or rideshare, ask a sober member of the party to drive, and get the manager involved✓ Answer
    • B.Block the exit until the guest agrees to stay
    • C.Serve strong coffee until the guest is safe to drive
    • D.Take the keys out of the guest's hand for safekeeping

    The server's role is persuasion and providing a safe alternative, not physical control: blocking or grabbing keys can expose the server and the business to claims of false imprisonment or theft, and coffee does not restore the ability to drive.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: arranging alternative transportation; do not physically restrain a patron or seize keysReport a problem with this question

13. 13. Despite every offer of a ride, the guest drives away. What should staff do next?

    • A.Follow the vehicle in a staff car until police arrive
    • B.Wait to see whether the guest comes back
    • C.Note the vehicle description, plate and direction of travel, notify local law enforcement, and write it up in the incident log✓ Answer
    • D.Nothing — once the guest is off the property it is no longer the establishment's concern

    Once persuasion fails, the trained response is information, not pursuit: passing a vehicle description to law enforcement addresses the public-safety risk, while chasing the car adds a second hazard, and the log entry preserves what staff actually did.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: preventing impaired driving; incident-log documentation of refusals and related eventsReport a problem with this question

14. 14. A manager suggests giving an intoxicated guest several cups of strong coffee to sober them up before driving. What is wrong with that?

    • A.Coffee lowers BAC only if the guest then waits 30 minutes
    • B.Only time lowers blood alcohol concentration; caffeine may make the guest more alert while leaving them just as impaired✓ Answer
    • C.Coffee works, but only when served with a full meal
    • D.Nothing — coffee is the standard way to sober someone up

    Alcohol leaves the body mainly through liver metabolism at a fixed rate of roughly one standard drink per hour, and caffeine, cold air, showers or food eaten afterward change none of that — they only produce a wide-awake but still-impaired driver.

    Source: NHTSA RBS / CDC: sobering-up myths; alcohol is metabolized at about one standard drink per hour and only time lowers BACReport a problem with this question

15. 15. A guest who is already obviously intoxicated walks in and orders a beer. What is correct?

    • A.Decline all alcohol service, offer food or a nonalcoholic drink and help with a safe ride, and tell the manager and coworkers✓ Answer
    • B.Serve a lower-strength beer and monitor the guest
    • C.Ask the guest to wait an hour, then serve
    • D.Serve it, since the establishment did not cause the intoxication

    The duty attaches to the guest's condition at the moment of service, not to where they got drunk, so an obviously intoxicated arrival must not be served at all; waiting an hour is guesswork since the server cannot know the guest's actual state.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: house policy for patrons who arrive already intoxicated; prohibition on serving an obviously intoxicated personReport a problem with this question

16. 16. A guest says they have had enough, but a friend orders another round "for everybody," including that guest. What should the server do?

    • A.Bring the round, since the friend is paying
    • B.Bring the drink but set it in front of the friend instead
    • C.Encourage the guest to take it because it is already paid for
    • D.Not serve alcohol to the guest who declined, and offer that guest a nonalcoholic drink or food✓ Answer

    Good-hospitality practice forbids serving a beverage to anyone who does not want one and forbids advocating for continued drinking on someone else's behalf; parking the drink in front of the buyer is a transparent workaround that still puts alcohol in front of the guest.

    Source: NHTSA RBS good-hospitality practices: do not serve a beverage to anyone who does not want one; no advocating continued drinkingReport a problem with this question

17. 17. Which set lists servings that each contain about one standard drink (roughly 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol)?

    • A.16 oz of beer, 8 oz of wine, 3 oz of spirits
    • B.Any single bottle of beer, any glass of wine, any cocktail regardless of size
    • C.12 oz of regular beer (~5% ABV), 5 oz of table wine (~12% ABV), 1.5 oz of 80-proof spirits (40% ABV)✓ Answer
    • D.12 oz of beer, 12 oz of wine, 12 oz of spirits

    A standard drink is defined by the amount of pure alcohol (about 0.6 fl oz / 14 g), so serving size scales inversely with strength — which is why 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine and 1.5 oz of 80-proof spirits are equivalent.

    Source: U.S. Dietary Guidelines / NHTSA RBS standard-drink equivalents (0.6 fl oz pure alcohol per drink)Report a problem with this question

18. 18. A cocktail is built with 3 oz of 80-proof rum plus a liqueur. For counting purposes it should be treated as:

    • A.One drink, because the mixers dilute it
    • B.At least two standard drinks, since the pure alcohol is at least double a 1.5 oz pour of 80-proof spirits✓ Answer
    • C.Half a drink, because it is sipped slowly
    • D.One drink, because it is served in a single glass

    Drink counting follows pure alcohol, not glassware: 3 oz of 80-proof spirits is twice the 1.5 oz standard pour, and the added liqueur pushes it higher, which is why doubles and multi-spirit cocktails are the classic over-service trap.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: monitoring consumption — a single mixed drink may contain multiple standard-drink equivalentsReport a problem with this question

19. 19. A regular shows slurred speech, unsteady movement and glassy eyes. The bartender says "he always acts like that." What is the correct analysis?

    • A.Service may continue as long as the guest is not disruptive
    • B.The test is what a reasonable person would observe: a cluster of visible signs means the guest is obviously intoxicated and must not be served, regardless of familiarity or tolerance✓ Answer
    • C.The server must measure the guest's BAC before refusing
    • D.Regulars are an exception because staff know their normal behavior

    "Obviously intoxicated" is an observational standard judged by what an average person could plainly see, not a laboratory number, and high tolerance or a familiar personality does not make an impaired guest safe to serve.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: 'obviously intoxicated' observational standard; clusters of physical, appearance, inhibition and judgment cuesReport a problem with this question

20. 20. Which statement about a guest who seems alert and energetic is correct?

    • A.Only alcohol impairment can justify refusing service
    • B.Rapid speech shows the alcohol has already been metabolized
    • C.Stimulants can mask the outward signs of alcohol impairment, so alertness is not evidence of sobriety — and impairment from drugs or medication is itself a reason to refuse✓ Answer
    • D.Alertness is reliable evidence that the guest is safe to serve

    Stimulants counteract the visible sedation of alcohol without removing the impairment, so a wide-awake guest can still be dangerously impaired, and refusal duties cover impairment from any source including medication and other drugs.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: recognizing impairment from drugs/medication; stimulants mask signs of alcohol impairmentReport a problem with this question

21. 21. After a guest is cut off, a companion orders "a double for myself" and slides it to the cut-off guest. What is correct?

    • A.Politely decline to serve it, explain that no one may provide more alcohol to the cut-off guest, and tell the manager✓ Answer
    • B.Allow it if the cut-off guest already has a ride home
    • C.Allow it, since the companion is sober and paying
    • D.Serve it but ask the companion not to pass it along

    This is a second-party sale: alcohol is being furnished to an obviously intoxicated person through an intermediary, which is treated the same as serving that person directly, and asking the buyer not to pass it merely relies on the buyer.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: second-party/third-party sales — refuse when one patron buys for a person already cut offReport a problem with this question

22. 22. After refusing service and arranging a ride, what should staff do before the end of the shift?

    • A.Write a note calling the guest a drunk so other staff recognize them
    • B.Nothing, unless law enforcement was called
    • C.Wait and describe the event from memory at the next staff meeting
    • D.Write an objective log entry: the time, the signs observed, what was said and offered, who was told, and how the guest left✓ Answer

    An incident log written promptly and in factual, observable terms preserves what staff actually saw and did, supports consistent team decisions, and is far more reliable than memory or a labeling insult that adds no useful facts.

    Source: NHTSA RBS: incident log required for service stopped, transportation arranged and related eventsReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on federal law (the national 21 minimum purchase age), NIAAA and NHTSA responsible-beverage-service guidance, and the principles common to state seller/server training programs. Alcohol law is set by each state: legal hours of sale, the minimum age to serve, which IDs are acceptable, whether dram shop liability exists, and all penalties differ — and many states require one specific approved course. Not affiliated with ServSafe®, TIPS®, or any training provider. Always check your state's alcohol beverage control agency and your employer's house policy. NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System →