Page 8 - Door Supervision Training Booklet

As door supervisors deal with people and situations they have the opportunity to influence the attitude of the public. They should realise that to the person they are dealing with at any particular time they represent the whole profession. One of the most important factors in maintaining the trust and respect of the public, is that all door supervisors are seen to conduct themselves with a high degree of professionalism. Supervisors must be constantly aware of the impression they are creating, and must strive to maintain a professional attitude at all times.
Discretion
When dealing with the many and varied types of incidents that door supervisors are likely to come across in their work, you will be required to make decisions as to what course of action needs to be taken.
Supervisors have fairly wide-ranging powers to help deal with these situations. They have powers of arrest, the rules of trespass and can obviously give words of advice to customers whose behaviour or actions are unacceptable to the house but do not warrant arrest or ejection.
Door supervisors are required to exercise a certain amount of discretion in the actions they choose, as there will be a variety of ways that they can deal successfully with an incident. Using discretion requires the selection of the best course of action, having recognised and considers all of the alternatives.
When using discretion you may, in certain circumstances, make a decision not to act in situations where you would usually be expected to. This failure to act might be seen as favouring or discriminating against certain individuals or groups, which could lead to accusations of not performing your duties correctly, or of harassment or corruption. For this reason door supervisors should ensure that such decisions are based on an objective consideration of all of the factors surrounding the event. You should if called upon be able to fully justify your actions, so that the grounds for the decision are appreciated.
When exercising powers of discretion, door supervisors should consider: -
• Who they are dealing with
• What the possible outcomes are
• How the incident occurred
• When and where the incident took place
• Whether they should act or not
• How they should act
• How those actions will be seen
Discretion involves selecting the best course of action after identifying the considering all of the alternatives. Door supervisors are required to make informed decisions and to be responsible for their actions. They must understand the law, their powers and the extent to which their freedom to use discretion is limited by those laws and the rules of the premises.
The professional use of discretion if an essential part of door work, but the fair and reasonable application of the rule is also necessary to maintain the respect and support of the public.
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