Retail counters, events, and special roles

By the end of this lesson you can say who needs a certificate, which program covers your job, and how long that certificate lasts. It covers the store counter, the roles the AGCO names one by one, and the renewal clock on every certificate.

The store counter has its own rulebook

Licensed grocery stores and convenience stores follow the Registrar's Standards for Grocery and Convenience Stores. The AGCO moved the retail store rules there from the Interim Standards.

Standard 4.1 sets the training rule. The licensee must make sure that employees and persons involved in the sale, sampling, delivery, and taking orders for the sale of liquor for delivery hold a valid certificate from a Board-approved training course. Taking the order counts, so the certificate applies on a shift where you never touch a bottle.

Two standards deal with minors:

• 5.3: the licensee must have measures in place to effectively ensure that minors do not possess liquor in the retail store.
• 5.4: for online sales, the licensee must take reasonable measures to effectively ensure that people buying liquor on the website or app are at least 19 years of age.

Neither standard names a method. The AGCO writes standards as outcomes, so each licensee decides what works for its business.

The delivery order record

Before the liquor leaves the store, the order record has to exist. For an order placed with the retailer for delivery and filled by the retailer, the licensee records the following, with the licensee's name and address:

• the name and address of the customer
• the date the liquor is purchased, and the date it is to be delivered
• the kinds and quantities of liquor to be delivered
• the address where the liquor is to be delivered
• the location of the distribution centre or warehouse it is delivered from, if that applies
• the name of the employee making the delivery, if that applies

The licensee keeps those records for at least one year from the date the liquor is removed from the store. The same one-year rule covers the copy of the order when a General Delivery Licensee or Affiliate Delivery Licensee takes it and the store fills it.

The roles the AGCO names

The general rule reaches everyone involved in the sale, service, sampling or delivery of liquor, or in taking orders. The AGCO then names four more roles:

• Security staff employed by the licensee or used by stadiums. They sell and serve nothing, and the certificate is still required.
• Employees selling or serving liquor from motorized vending carts, for Golf Course Endorsement holders. Selling from a cart is still selling liquor.
• Course marshals, for Golf Course Endorsement holders.
• Every large quadricycle chauffeur, with no exception.

Events reach this lesson through the first bullet, because stadium security is named there. Knowing which training program applies to your role and your workplace is your own responsibility.

Which program covers you

Retail workers can take either Smart Serve program. Both the Full Online Training Program and the Retail Online Training Program are valid for that type of environment.

The AGCO also approves retail-only and delivery-only programs from other providers, each valid for five years. Someone holding only a liquor retail training certification cannot sell, serve, deliver or take liquor orders outside a retail store.

The full Smart Serve program carries no such edge. The AGCO calls it the only Board-approved training program for the broader liquor sector, and lists the full course as covering bars, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores and delivery licensees. Take the full program if you also work bar shifts.

The five-year clock

Your certificate is valid for 5 years from the date of issue. Ontario requires renewal every five years.

Recertify before your certificate expires. Someone with a current, not-expired Smart Serve certificate can recertify online for a reduced fee of $29.95. Once the certificate expires, the full cost of $44.95 applies.

The legacy certificates are gone. Recertification opened July 1, 2022. Certificates issued before September 1, 2018 stayed valid until August 31, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Check your own expiry date in your Smart Serve account.

Proof, on the day an inspector asks

AGCO Inspectors may ask a licensee for proof of a staff member's certification at any time. The AGCO recommends that licensees keep copies of their own and their employees' certifications.

The request lands on your employer, so keep your paperwork easy to reach:

• Give your manager a copy when you are hired, and again each time you recertify.
• Keep your own copy and know your expiry date. Smart Serve issues a digital eCertificate in the "My Results" tab of your account.

Certification comes before the work. Anyone who sells, serves, delivers or offers samples of alcohol, including part-time staff, contract staff and volunteers, must complete the training prior to their first day.

The trap to expect on the test

Order taking is the favourite. A question may put you at a store phone taking a liquor order that someone else packs and delivers, then suggest you need no certificate. Taking orders sits inside the training standard.

Watch the program swap too. A retail-only certificate does not travel to a bar or restaurant shift.

Expiry questions look easy. Certificates run five years from issue, and letting one lapse costs you the reduced price.

Recap

• Grocery and convenience stores follow their own Registrar's Standards. Standard 4.1 requires a valid Board-approved certificate for anyone selling, sampling, delivering or taking liquor orders for delivery.
• The store needs measures that keep minors from possessing liquor in store, and that keep online liquor buyers at 19 or older.
• A delivery order record carries the customer, the dates, the kinds and quantities, the delivery address, and the warehouse and delivering employee where they apply. The licensee keeps it at least one year.
• Certification also covers security staff, including stadium security, vending cart staff and course marshals at golf courses, and every large quadricycle chauffeur.
• Retail workers can use either the full or the retail Smart Serve program. A retail-only certificate does not work outside a retail store.
• Certificates are valid 5 years. Recertify before expiry for $29.95. After expiry the full $44.95 course applies.
• Inspectors may ask your employer for proof of your certification at any time.