Diaries of Door Supervisors: Recent Episodes
Christopher
Diaries of Door Supervisors is a collection of solo content and interviews with active and inactive door supervisors and security operatives who share their experiences and lessons learned on how to work effectively with the general public in different venues and scenarios.The aim is so that, newer door supervisors coming into the industry can have a source of practical knowledge/advice from experieced individuals they can draw from.Also, to share interesting and entertaining stories that otherwise may never be heard and show that door supervisors are not always so serious all the time... We also appreciate a good laugh.
This episode touches on a very important skill (from my perspective) -Listening- that is useful outside of a work enviroment such as door supervision. I get it, I 've been in situations and scenarios where I just don't want to listen or hear what the customers defense is or was.
Sometimes and dependent on the circumstance, there may not be anything needing said or listened to... You just have to get that individual or groups out of that venue ASAP.
Other times, especially when we do have the time to listen we tend to choose other options. Those options potentially lead to a perfectly calm situation then being escalated, when had we carefully listened then it would have helped mitigate or avoid getting to that point in first place.
That is what I aim to explore and the lesson I learned.
There was also a situation I encountered where a colleague of mine had, unknowingly miscommunicated a piece of information to a customer which led to the situation escalating, almost immidiately because now the customer felt they were doing something wrong and started becoming irritated at the door supervisor(DS) as a result and the supervisor becoming impatient with the customer because they thought the information they had given the customer was clear to understand and the customer was simply wanting to disrespect them and didn't want to listen to them.
The situation grew to where there was a clear misunderstanding from both sides and from the DS perspective, they didn't want to hear the customer out and actually listen to what they had to say.
Wow, I made it into double digits... Incredibly.
This will be my 10th episode and I appreciate those regular listeners.
This tenth episode is about the importance of being fair, firm and consistent with the decisions we make when dealing with customers, in-particular once we've made the decision that they have had too much alcohol or were being disruptive and it is time for them to leave or even (in my case) refuse them entry at the very first opportunity for being overly drunk...
We stick to it.
Now we don't always have the good fortune to make a decison like the one I made and it comes out OK.
Usually, something terrible happens as a result of the choice we've made to allow customers in varying states of drunkiness into a venue.
For certain, I have learned a massive lesson from this particular experience in being firm yet also fair and most of all... Consistent.
Once I have made a decision to continue in that direction -though there may have been a sudden change- I saw something or there was a good reason behind me taking that action and making that decision in the first place.
Equally the customers who may witness the interaction can start to understand that no amount of arguing will change our minds and begin to appreciate our consistency and also respect it.
Regular customers mean very little to us Door Supervisors... Or so we thought.
Without such customers (and other uncontrollable factors), venues are finding it very difficult to remain open and although our roles don't involve needing to bother too much with regular customers, at certain point we start to realise that yes we should pay extra attention to such patrons of the establishments where we operate.
By building a solid rapport with valued customers at a particular venue -by remembering their first names at least- who return with almost clock-work precision, the managements appreciation of us and that extra level of care shown to such customers on-top of remaining vigilante and performing our primary role as Door Spupervisor effectively means that at certain point, we find that we can really settle into a venue knowing that we won't be rotated from one venue to the next forever keeping up with the rules and regulations of all those different venues.
This episode is one where I was much more affected by, purely due to my shock of the person I was dealing with and the manner in which they conducted themselves.
As you can guess with this particular episode, it's all about me ranting about how some customers who can become verbally abusive we can dismiss, for example a young kid who is unable to handle their alcohol can easily be dismissed however for a much more senior member of society who has no excuse for acting in such an obscene manner is hard to excuse.
The result of interacting with such customers can be challenging and in the moment unfair to the other customers that arrive soon after them because if we don't take a moment to just let that experience pass and find a way to set-it aside while dealing with customers unconnected to the previous incident, it could negatively impact their night just by the way treat them.
Ultimately it's all a learning experience and must remember to always maintain a level of professionalism for ourselves, the people connected to us and the venues and their customers we represent while on-shift.
Door Supervisor Josh, is a truly professional individual.
He has been in the Security industry working within hospitality for a couple of years and has gained a lot of valueable experiences.
He is an asset to the venue where he's currently stationed and respected by all colleagues he encounters.
Josh is -like most door supervisors- an individual who very much enjoys a quiet incident free night but when that's not the case, he's more than ready to step up and deal with the situation given the environment.
Though he would prefer dealing with challenging customers with another colleague, unfortunately and as he explains in this episode, he's had to deal with a very difficult customer on his own due to not having the support he would ideally have liked.
As a result of that experience, he has grown to learn about the importance of having a team around him that he can truly trust to be there should he need them. Someone dependable.
If not, he alone is capable of handling things.
Though with all that, he still values the idea of not "trying to be a hero".
I have not had the pleasure of working with Josh but I have been present at the venues he's worked at and seen how well he composes himself.
Yet, he remains honest and humble about where he needs to improve to become an exceptional door supervisor for the customers and for himself as an individual.
Starting off with any scenario in the world of Door Supervision, it's adviseable to start it off by being diplomatic and try to talk and walk a customer out of the venue.
Most of the time, this approach works and you're able to get a customer out of the venue without much need to become overly physical.
The reality is that there are individuals and times when being diplomatic does not work and you have to go directly to the alternative approach that is most suited to the scenario as it's being played out.
With some luck, you get reasonably sized groups where you have some members who can keep everyone in-check and not cause too much hassle that the rest of the group would need to sort out later on or basically ruin the rest of the groups night by the actions of 1-or-2 individuals.
Teamwork is the cornerstone to having a venue run as smoothly as it possibly can and everyone (staffs and customers) having a pleasant experience.
Most times, when a situation requires dealing with we must act accordingly using our own initiative but there comes a time when we do need to make use of our team members.
Some team members have the gift to talk some out of a venue while others could single-handedly carry a customer or two out of the venue and not break sweat.
However in 2022, to keep each colleague safe we always try and work in pairs to be able to show a level of professionalism.
For new staffs coming into this line of work, being left to deal with a drunk or abusive customer alone could risk both individuals. With the support of a team, you can be confident that, you'll have someone experienced enough to keep you right.
It's especially important in venues where you do not know if they prefer "talking" a customer out or physically drag them out that we observe the way the regular door supervisors deal with such situations and just simply remember to follow their approach... Providing it's an agreed method.
This epsiode is all about thinking on your feet as a Door Supervisor.
In a fast paced industry, a lot of things are happening all the time that requires us to be ready to act at a moments notice.
Although sometimes it may not seem like much is happening, just being aware that at any moment something could/might happen is important to keep at the front of our minds.
Anything such as observing customers from a distance heading in the direction of your venue and determining whether or not they are what your venue is looking to attract, whether you're are prepared to allow them entry based on how they're dressed (smart/clean/dirty) and how visibly drunk (intoxicated) are they?..
Knowing how to reject a customer entry and have the customer be understanding about it can be intimidating for a person new to this industry.
No one likes to ruin a customer(s) night before it's even started and we as people do not like rejection.
That's why, by finding some way to initially "soften" the blow of a rejection can at least have the customer think "Oh well, I can see their reason".
Justification Not required:We do not have to give a customer a reason for being rejected, espescially if they're overly intoxicated.
For such instances, it's best to simply say "Try another night"
These podcast episodes have no affiliations with any security company or security training providers. It's independent and provides the views and observations of the host and are intended as entertainment.
Music is kindly provided by:
https://www.bensound.com
Episode produced, edited and recorded by Host
Team DDS sat down with a newly retired Door Supervisor by the name of Robin outside the beer garden of the former venue that he was in essence, in-charge of.
Robin was a colossal member of the Door Supervision team the there and of immense importance to the company he represented.
With the years of experienced gained within Door Supervision, he has decided to challenge himself by joining the Police force.
In this sit-down with Robin, I was able to learn some of what made him successful and realise that those same qualities he has won't be easily replaced within the field of Door Supervision.
The sit-down with Robin and Team DDS was had over lunch as Robin was just returning from a session at the gym and was understanbly hungry.
We ordered a meal and soon after finishing our meals, went straight into conversation.
*As the conversation was nearing an end, we were interrupted by a large crowd and an even louder Ambulance siren.
Guess this things happen when you sit out in a beer garden.
This episode touches on a topic that in my view, the younger members of society growing up are losing... Perhaps lacking but it is the topic on how to respect people. In this case, how show a bit of respect to customers and be courteous in a service industry such as Door Supervision and being stationed in bars/clubs and some restaurants.
These podcast episodes have no affiliations with any security company or security training providers. It's independent and provides the views and observations of the host and are intended as entertainment.
Music is kindly provided by:
https://www.bensound.com
Episode produced, edited and recorded by Host
In this episode of Diaries of Door Supervisors I aim to layout the direction and purpose of the podcast episodes to come.
This episode will be an introduction about the host by the host and the motivations for wanting to start a podcast geared towards door supervisors and how much difference simple gestures make when interacting with the general public on a daily basis.
The podcast as a whole is intended to provide some entertainment and real world examples on people relations from experienced operatives towards younger less experienced door supervisors currently active or thinking about getting into the industry.
Music is kindly provided by:
https://www.bensound.com
Episode produced, edited and recorded by Host