With several incidents of drunken brawls breaking out at nightclubs in the city, not just between customers but with bouncers as well, the hospitality sector is now providing training to their security staff on how to strike a balance between hospitality and providing effective security.
Earlier, muscular, well-built men would be hired to stand guard at an establishment’s entrance. They were not trained on how to tackle a situation which often led to a tense situation. However, now, bars have taken it upon themselves to provide hospitality training to bouncers so that they can be courteous or intimidating, as and when a situation arises.
Disha Sukhija, cultural manager at Impresario, the parent company of Social and Smoke House Deli, says they provide in-house training to bouncers where they are specially trained not to interact with the artistes or customers directly but always channel it via the management.
Women’s safety
Reacting to a recent incident where an artiste was allegedly manhandled by bouncers at a live-gig venue in the city, she said, “Artistes are handled by a programming team, whereas security issues are handled by a separate team. On the contrary, bouncers are there for providing safety to the artistes during events and not take matters into their own hands.”
To ensure that their pubs are a place where women can feel safe, Ms. Sukhija added that Impresario provides special female bouncers so that women always feel secure. Very often customers are denied entry at the gate to ensure that the space is safe for women and therefore, we do not allow stag entry unless the group of men are known to the management, she said.
Take precautions
Ms. Sukhija added, “We can only take precautions for such situations. Staff/bouncers are there to assist people and not create chaos. It is always the management who handles the situation, and if the crowd goes violent, only then the bouncers come into the picture.”
Teaching skills
The management at Agni, a nightclub that has been in the business for over 14 years, says they provide five sessions of three hours each to their bouncers on improvising soft skills, special skills like handling guests and disputes. “In case of any ethical issue, the staff is directed to never answer back and contact the club manager,” said Ashutosh Chugh, manager of Agni.
He said they encounter such cases very rarely, but to avoid taking chances they take couple entries only, no stag entry (until known). Of the 12 bouncers on duty, a couple of bouncers are always on rounds and politely check on people. Mr. Chugh added, “Staff, bouncer or even the guests should be vigilant and respectful towards each other to avoid chaos.”
Naz Elbasha, an Australian who moved to Delhi 10 months ago, talks of how a few things in Delhi clubbing make her feel unsafe. Ms. Elbasha says, “Back in Sydney, we are used to bouncers checking our IDs many times whenever we go — in or out of the club. No one has even asked for it here in Delhi, let alone check them.”
She added that clubs in Sydney are specific about dress code and overall presentation of guests and that such crowd profiling avoids chaos.
