​Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control Wins National Awards

From Montgomery County DLC: The Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control (DLC) has been awarded two national awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for public education campaigns aimed at reducing drunk driving and under 21 alcohol prevention.

The first recognized program collaborated with industry leader Brown-Forman and the “Be My Designated Driver” (Be My DD) service to launch a countywide patron responsibility campaign. This designated driver service offers professional drivers to drive patrons and their cars home safely at a low cost. A patron can hire a personal driver to drive their car for the evening, or call for a pickup service, where two drivers will pick up a patron for a safe ride home and one will drive the patron’s car home. The same is offered for events. DLCpartnerships resulted in media efforts promoting free memberships and gift certificates for rides.
The second effort was a Mystery Shop program which entailed a partnership with the Responsible Retailing Forum. Focusing in Bethesda, mystery shoppers visited a number of Bethesda businesses to attempt to purchase an alcoholic beverage to test identification (ID) carding policies. The shoppers, in their early twenties but always over the age of 21, were young enough that they should have triggered an ID check by the clerk or server. Typically, businesses are trained to card anyone who appears under 35 years old. No penalties or fines were associated with the program. The goal was to identify ID checking trends and improve training. Additionally, a $100 incentive was offered to servers and sellers who checked IDs carefully and recognized the mystery shopper.

The Mystery Shop program was paid for through a grant from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA) awarded to the DLC. All educational efforts and programs are paid for through sponsorships or grant funding awarded to the department.
For additional information on the Montgomery County DLC Mystery Shopper program, visit the Responsible Retailing Forum (RRF), Systems Project Report online at www.RRForum.org or contact the DLC Communication Center at 240-777-1990 or email dlc@montgomerycountymd.gov.

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