A report of an incident at an establishment could be only short, perhaps a couple of paragraphs. It describes the guest as the source of the incident, describes the incident, names the responding employees and details the time the management was informed.
The report can raise multiple questions for an attorney. Who was the person who was supervising employees who were involved? Was surveillance footage preserved? The facility had its own procedure. There were earlier interactions that were not recorded in the report?
These questions demonstrate why it is often necessary to study business records before a witness testifies in a lawsuit involving hospitality.
Start by reviewing the documents that were produced during normal operation
The hospitality industry produces records for training, scheduling guests, guest service, security, and management. Although they weren’t created for litigation, they could help identify how a place operated in the event of a specific incident.
A Hospitality expert witness may examine staffing schedules, operating procedures, employee training files, security logs, and surveillance recordings to understand the responsibilities assigned to different personnel. For instance the written policy may require a manager to respond to an employee who reports an drunken guest.
In the course of investigating the incident, it is important to determine if the manager worked or if the report was issued, and based on the evidence, what was the response. Instead of concluding that the procedures were adhered to or not it is important to find out what were actually carried out.
Restaurant Records Need Their Own Interpretation
The employees are split into the catering, beverage prep customer demands and dining-room management. This is a major challenge for restaurant investigations. A Restaurant expert witness can provide an explanation of how these responsibilities influence the choices employees make when they serve.
Take a look at an incident that occurred in the dining room involving a patron who purchased drinks at the bar prior to taking the table. The bar receipt may record the order at first, while the dining room records will document the subsequent orders.
However, these documents may not prove the information that the tableserver had about the prior service. Reviewing all the data, such as the server’s assignments and times of transactions and management notes and employee declarations, can help to clarify the sequence. A distinction needs to be made when it comes to alcohol: the fact that it was sold doesn’t automatically indicate that employees have been able to detect the presence of alcohol.
Casino Investigations can require different forms of documentation
Casinos have beverage programs that are different from those that are offered by restaurants. The availability of complimentary drinks cocktails, servers serving drinks on the gaming floor, and security personnel are all sources of additional information.
A casino expert witness can look into beverage staffing, security footage and surveillance. They can also go over processes for employee communication. The traditional sales receipt may not be true in the event of complimentary beverages.
In these circumstances an investigation can rely heavily on the surveillance available, employee observations and service records as well as the documented procedures of the property. The expert should be able to spot any shortcomings in the evidence, and not simply accept a faulty record.
You should keep the evidence up to the point that it’s no more available
The preservation of documents that are time sensitive is a significant concern when it comes to lawsuits which involves hospitality. Recordings from surveillance systems can be saved for a specific period of time. Different systems or departments may keep employee schedules, internal communications as well as incidental documentation. Attorneys need to identify relevant records earlier and take the appropriate steps to secure the records.
It is contingent on the nature of the claim. A restaurant case may require the bar’s and dining room’s records for instance, while a resort event could need documentation for the event along with transportation arrangements, and security communications. A specific review can help determine what records are important without presuming that every department had some part.
Understanding the paperwork is easier with experience from the operational side.
Preston Rideout is a hospitality veteran with more than 20 years of experience. He has held positions in management, bartending, and beverage operations for several businesses. Rideout Hospitality Consulting was established in the year 2010 and has offered advice to restaurant, hotel and resort operators across the United States.
His expert witness work includes matters involving restaurants, hotels resorts, casinos, and restaurants for plaintiff and defense counsel. The operational background can be useful in interpreting documents that might appear straightforward to someone unfamiliar with hospitality management.
A schedule of staffing will, for instance, identify the people who were designated to work. The service model and the operational environment of a building is necessary to determine whether these assignments offer adequate supervision.
Clarity in the questions is the first step towards stronger arguments
An early expert review will assist attorneys in separating the facts that are documented and those that remain unanswered. It will help identify documents that are worthy of requesting and help define the operational terms that is used in depositions.
Not all discrepancies are indicative of an operational failure. Neither is every procedure that proves that the right procedures were observed.
It is the significance of an expert’s report that illustrates these distinctions using accepted practice in the field and supporting evidence. Understanding the procedure prior to questioning employees in a hospitality case can help attorneys prepare an argument that is more precise and credible investigation.