Guide
What Your Staff Need to Know About the Machine
The correct amount of staff training is small, but it is not zero.
Staff do not operate the machine: they do not sell from it, stock it, take payment for it or make the age decision, because verification happens at the unit and the operator is the retailer. What they should know is what to say when a guest asks, who to contact if something is wrong, and what not to do — which is a five-minute briefing rather than a training course.
What staff are not doing
- Not selling. The machine is self-service and the operator is the retailer.
- Not checking ID for it. Verification happens at the machine on every transaction.
- Not handling stock. The operator owns and replenishes it.
- Not handling cash. Payment is by card or phone at the unit.
- Not troubleshooting hardware.
That list is the point of the arrangement, and it is why the honest answer to “how much work is this for my team” is almost none.
The five-minute briefing
Where it is and what it sells
So a guest asking gets an answer rather than a shrug.
It checks ID itself
Staff should know the machine verifies age, so they neither duplicate it nor assume it is absent.
Who to contact if something is wrong
One name and number, on the staff noticeboard rather than in someone's phone.
Do not move it, cover it, or obstruct it
Including with seasonal decoration, a coat rack or a sandwich board.
Do not remove or obscure the signage
The required sign has to stay prominent.
The one thing worth emphasising
What to do if a guest complains about a transaction
Take the detail and pass it to the operator; the operator is the retailer and the sale is theirs. Staff should not be refunding from the till for a machine transaction, and the agreement should say how refunds are handled so nobody has to improvise at 1am.
How Afterwrk handles it
We provide the contact and the briefing points, and we would rather put them on a card by the machine than assume a shift handover carried them. Your team is never asked to run the machine.
Last reviewed . A person rechecks the sources before this date changes.
Common questions
Do bartenders have to check ID for the machine?
No. Verification happens at the machine. The door policy remains the venue's first control.
What if a guest asks staff for help with it?
Staff should know where it is, that it takes card, and who to contact if it is faulty. That is the extent of it.
Who handles a refund?
The operator, as the retailer. Agree the mechanism before installation.
See whether your venue qualifies
The assessment applies everything on this page to your actual address.