Page 14 - Door Supervision Training Booklet

escalates from an argumentative attitude to actual aggressive behaviour, the door supervisor needs to remain alert and be prepared to take control of the situation before it gets out of hand.
Confrontation - The final stage is the confrontation itself, when the person openly expresses his feelings of anger towards the other, either verbally or physically. It is here when door supervisors need to use effective communication skills to try to diffuse the situation, and if necessary to take control of the encounter. If physical violence is directed at the door supervisor, then he should instigate the appropriate defensive techniques, only using direct force against the other person if all other methods of diffusing the situation have failed. Unfortunately, in some situations only the appropriate use of reasonable force will stop the aggressive behaviour towards the door supervisor, other members of staff or customers.
Using Communication
Door supervisors should try to use a set procedure to weigh up a situation, and to alter their actions to fit the level of resistance against them. If you ask a customer to do something and they refuse, it would obviously be totally unreasonable to use force straight away to make them carry out the request.
The pneumonic R E A C T is given to provide door supervisors with a guide as to how to escalate the level of control they use during an encounter or conflict.
R - request
E - explain
A - appeal
C - confirm
T - take action
The first stage is where the door supervisor asks a customer to comply with a request i.e. to leave the premises. Whilst most people will do as they are asked to by a member of the security staff, some will refuse or want to argue the point, or will try to persuade the door supervisor to back down.
If the customer does not understand the request, or does not know why he is being asked to comply with it, then the supervisor should explain. He should be told which law or house policy he has breached, or what behaviour has caused the request.
Should the customer still refuse to comply with the request the supervisor should repeat it, and appeal to the customer to do what he is being asked, explaining what action will be taken if he still fails or refuses to comply. Someone refusing to leave licensed premises when asked, for example, should be told that he may be physically ejected from the premises by the door staff, or that the police will be called.
If the person still refuses to comply with your request, then before resorting to the use of force you should, for your own protection, just confirm that the person totally understands what you are asking him, and that he will not do as he has been asked. Using a phrase such as, "Is there anything I can say to you that will make you co-operate?" gives the person one more chance to change his mind and comply, and is also a good defensible phrase for explaining why and how you have used force against another person.
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