The holidays are here and this is the time to embrace the business that we are in.

 

Most of our customers come to our liquor stores because they choose to shop at our stores, not because they have to.

We all have horror stories about rude and nasty customers, but there are far more good customers than bad.

 

We as managers have to set the tone for our employees each and every day, but especially around the busy holidays.

 

This time of year can be very stressful for many people, even our own employees. It is our job to convey a positive attitude and atmosphere when we're at work.

 

If you have a positive attitude and embrace these next 5 to 6 weeks you will get more out of your employees. 

 

Plus, they will be happier, you will be happier, your customers will have a better shopping experience and customers will leave happy and return because of the positive experience they had.

 

In the end  that is what we want, happy customers, happy employees and repeat business.
                                              

Happy Holidays and good luck the rest of the year!!!

 

Steve Grausam
MMBA Director
 

By Kj Lang
La Crosse Tribune

 

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student Adam Bauer has nearly 400 friends on Facebook. He got an offer for a new one about a month ago. "She was a good-looking girl. I usually don't accept friends I don't know, but I randomly accepted this one for some reason," the 19-year-old said.

 
He thinks that led to his invitation to come down to the La Crosse police station, where an officer laid out Facebook photos of Bauer holding a beer - and then ticketed him for underage drinking.

 
The police report said Bauer admitted drinking, which he denies. But he pleaded no contest in municipal court and will pay a $227 fine.

He was among at least eight people who said they had been cited for underage drinking based on photos on social networking sites.
"I just can't believe it. I feel like I'm in a science fiction movie, like they are always watching. When does it end?" Bauer said after court Wednesday.

 
Social networking sites are among many new tools law enforcement has adopted to find underage drinkers, said La Crosse police officer Al Iverson, who works in alcohol compliance and education.

 
"Law enforcement has to evolve with technology," Iverson said. "It has to happen. It is a necessity - not just for underage drinking."
Social networking sites are used to catch sexual predators as well, he noted.

 
But Bauer said, "I think there are a lot worse things (police) could be spending their time on."

The photos officers found were of him, his roommates and a couple of friends hanging out at his house, Bauer said. "We were actually trying to be safe and not go out on the town and get crazy," he said.

 
Bauer's friend, 20-year-old UW-La Crosse sophomore Tyrell Luebker, also was tagged for underage drinking based on Facebook photos. He, too, pleaded no contest Wednesday. "I feel like it is shady police work and a waste of taxpayer money to have him (an officer) sit on the computer on Facebook when he could actually be doing police work," said Luebker.

Iverson pointed out the students still were caught in an illegal act, one they felt comfortable displaying on the Internet. Posting those photos, he added, helps glamorize alcohol consumption and binge drinking.

 
Someone else posted photos on a Facebook site of UW-La Crosse sophomores Brianna Niesen and Cassie Stenholt holding beer, but they still ended up in court Wednesday pleading no contest and getting fined.

 
The practice ultimately could hurt the positive alliance law enforcement wants to build with students so they will report crimes, Niesen said.

 
"I feel like it is a breach of privacy," Stenholt said. "You feel like you should be able to trust cops."
 

 

The "Success" of Sunday Liquor Store Sales in Colorado: More DISCUS Hype Than Fact
Nov 20th

 

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) is the lobbying arm of multinational producers of hard liquor. DISCUS wants liquor stores throughout the country to be open on Sunday, to encourage consumers to drink more spirits.

In this regard, the P-R spin machine at DISCUS continues to promote the myth that Sunday liquor store sales are the cure for ailing state budgets. Most recently, DISCUS crowed that annual alcohol tax revenues in Colorado jumped by $2 million because the state legislature authorized Sunday sales last year.

 

Colorado's alcohol tax collections did increase. But that's where the connection between reality and DISCUS's hype ends--because there is no credible evidence whatsoever that Sunday sales had anything to do with the increase. By trying to link the two, DISCUS is acting like the rooster that crows at dawn, in an attempt to take credit for the sunrise.

In Texas, alcohol tax revenues are somewhat higher than during the previous year. But Texas does not allow Sunday sales, so how could this be? The answer, of course, is that alcohol tax revenues fluctuate for many reasons, including population changes (e.g., Texas's population is increasing by 1,600 per day), price hikes, the mood of consumers and the economy. Only DISCUS singles out Sunday sales as a significant variable.

 

Earlier this year, DISCUS went all-out to pass a Sunday sales bill in Texas. However, the distillers were rebuffed by the Texas legislature, which determined that Sunday sales would generate zero ($-0-) revenue for the state treasury.

In Colorado, however, legislators (perhaps with the encouragement of DISCUS) mistakenly predicted that Sunday sales would boost alcohol tax collections by $6 million the first year. Instead, collections rose by a third of that amount, with no proof that even that meager increase resulted from Sunday sales. (Colorado is enjoying an influx of population as well).

 

A liquor store-owner in Colorado was quoted as saying that DISCUS's Sunday sales numbers were "baloney". As to whether that impolite word is apt, we will let the real numbers speak for themselves.
 

From: The United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

 

Recently, several groups have made statements that contradict The United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's (TTB's) efforts to protect consumers from false and misleading labeling as well as our efforts to uphold international agreements and the laws of the United States as they apply to the labeling of semi-generic wines, in particular, Champagne. 

 
Following years of negotiations, the United States and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement on trade in wine on March 10, 2006. 

 

In the agreement, the U.S. committed to seeking to change the legal status of the semi-generic names to restrict their use solely to wines originating in the applicable EU member state with certain exceptions, in particular, a "grandfather" provision.

 

Under the "grandfather" provision, any person or their successor of interest may continue to use a semi-generic name on a label of wine not originating in the EU provided the semi-generic name appeared on a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) that was issued prior to March 10, 2006. 

 

It should be noted that the requirement to use the name in direct conjunction with an appropriate appellation of origin disclosing the true place of origin must have been satisfied in order to have received the "grandfathered" Certificate of Label Approval. 

 

The legislative proposal to change the legal status of the EU semi-generic names was enacted on December 20, 2006.

The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC) defines each semi-generic name as a name of geographic significance that is also a designation of class and type for wine.

 

The IRC further states that a semi-generic name may be used to designate wine of an origin other than that indicated by its name, only if there appears, in direct conjunction with the designation, an appropriate appellation of origin disclosing the true place of origin and the wine so designated conforms with the standard of identity. 

 

These provisions of law ensure that the consumer will not be misled regarding what the product consists of or where it came from.

One of the recent statements claimed that TTB was considering a change in label rules that would end the use of "Champagne" on any label other than those from Champagne, France. TTB has no intention to undermine the provisions of the agreement reached with the EU or the provisions of the IRC. 
  
 

 

From: London Daily Express