BC Serving It Right Course Re-Imagined

Back in September 2019, Serving It Right (SIR)- the online responsible service training program required of most bc liquor licensees, their managers and staff – relaunched with a new design and modern interface. While it looks like the course material and other content is much the same, finding and using the content is more intuitive.

The old Serving It Right website wasn’t mobile-friendly, which meant that you had to view it on desktop, laptop or large tablet. The new SIR website and course modules are “responsive”, meaning they scale to fit whatever device you’re using. If you want to take the course on your smartphone, you can!

Serving It Right certification is required by BC liquor licensees, managers and servers who sell or serve liquor in businesses with the following types of licenses:

• Food Primary (restaurants that serve alcohol)
• Liquor Primary (bars, pubs, nightclubs, sports venues, casinos)
• Catering License
• Licensee Retail Store (a.k.a. “private liquor store”)
• Wine Stores
• Special Wine Stores (grocery stores that sell BC wine)
• Duty Free Stores
• BC Liquor Stores
• Manufacturers (if they have a sampling area, on-premises store, or lounge
• Rural Agency Stores (liquor service typically provided within rural grocery stores)
• Agents (a marketing agent of a liquor manufacturer that is outside BC)
• Care Facilities
• Special Event Permit holders

BC liquor license application approval isn’t dependent on having Serving It Right certification, although the SIR certification exam must be passed prior to working (as licensee, manager, sales or serving staff) in a business that has a British Columbia liquor license. SIR online training is free, while the SIR final exam costs $35 at the time of this writing. The price includes 3 exam attempts. The student must score at least 80% to receive certification.

SIR teaches students about responsible alcohol service. The course also teaches effective solutions to prevent over-service

SIR students learn about:

• Alcohol’s effects on the body
• How cannabis and other drugs used with alcohol effect the body
• The signs of intoxication
• Legal responsibilities of responsible service under the law
• How to ID minors
• Developing alcohol service policies
• Appropriate intervention for illegal and/or unsafe behaviour by an intoxicated person

Course length: 4 hours
Language: English

Course materials: PDF, reading, multiple-choice practice questions, video, links to resources

The Serving It Right course is comprised of 4 learning modules that help students prepare to take the SIR certification exam:

• Alcohol and Your Legal Responsibility
• Intoxication and Impairment
• Responsible Beverage Service
• Scenarios

Each module contains reading material followed by interactive multiple-choice questions. At the end of each module there are multiple-choice review questions and a scenario video with interactive questions.

You can take the SIR course as many times as you like prior to taking the online certification exam.

The Serving It Right course redesign is great, but it should be just the beginning of a liquor licensee’s education. Rebecca Hardin, lead consultant at Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors, helps retail liquor business owners maximize profit through optimal store setups, operational and inventory audits, policy and procedures creation, and staff training. Rebecca and her team crunch the numbers and guide licensees through easy-to-implement strategies that give businesses staying power. If you have questions about BC liquor license applications or would like retail operations strategy consulting from one of BC’s most experienced and trusted advisors, give us a shout!