Guest Post: An Interview with a Door Supervisor

We have all seen figures at the entrances of the club, wrapped up in big jackets and surrounded by a group of drunken girls. But is the night of a door supervisor exactly what you think it is?

Well, surely they don’t mind being groped by girls and pinning people down on the floor – they enjoy it don’t they?! No, in reality door supervisors have much more to contend with and deserve more credit than a lot of them given.

I had the chance to interview a door supervisor who has worked the doors for over 8 years. In this time he has seen plenty of sights but is keen to point out that their job isn’t to spoil your night, they are there to keep you safe.

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Carli : Why do you think people drink so much?

Ian: People have been led to think that the key to a good night out is to get legless or completely wasted. So right from the planning stage of the night out people are in the wrong mindset. For me a good night out is having just enough drinks to have a laugh at bad jokes and relax, but not too many so that you have a hangover the day after and so you can’t remember what you did.

Carli: What’s the worst thing you have ever seen?

Ian: Unfortunately there are a lot of things that I would rather have not seen. One really sticks out for me though. A group of girls were so drunk that they left their friend behind in such a state that she wasn’t aware she was about to leave the club with a large group of males with sexual intentions. However when we tried to guide her to a safer option i.e. a taxi she started having a go at us.

Carli: What does a regular night being on the door involve?

Ian: The job for door staff isn’t as simple as people think. It is more about negotiation and prevention than the physical intervention. We are not there to spoil your night contrary to popular belief. We spend time watching body language and the interaction between people as they are approaching. Being a little drunk is not a problem, but when an individual is so drunk they are falling over then this can cause a multitude of problems in a busy club or pub. If the drunk is part of a group then we will talk to their friends and get them to take responsibility for their friend, for example not to leave them alone or get them a drink of water. We don’t get paid extra for getting involved in a fight or using physical force, we only ever use it as a last resort.

Carli: Is being a bouncer as fun as people think?

Ian: People have to remember that we aren’t a judge, so when there is a confrontation or accusations are made we usually ask both sides to either make up or leave. Many people think that we can sort out every problem they have. The more people drink the more attractive they think they are, but it is in fact the opposite. The door staff are there because when there is a large group of people there will always be a minority who spoil it for the whole. If it was purely because of drink then shopping centres and bus stations wouldn’t need security. It is only drinking to excess which seems to remove common sense. The majority of people drink to relax and de-stress but for some it has the opposite effect and they react to things that wouldn’t normally bother them. 

Carli: Can you see the change in people who have drank too much?

Ian: As you will have found out already, it’s cheaper to get drunk than stay sober. There are some people who instead of admitting they have drunk too much or had stronger drinks than they are used to, tell everyone they have been spiked. Trust me, when you see the personality change on someone who has been spiked it’s scary. We have more problems with violence from females than males, which is something which challenges a lot of the preconceptions people have.

Carli: What’s your favourite part of your job?

Ian: I have a good laugh every night I work. People’s excuses as to why they are so drunk are always guaranteed to make me laugh. Some of the better ones I have heard are: ‘I am not drunk, I am dyslexic’ – I believe he meant he was diabetic. Another personal favourite was ‘I am old enough, it tells you my date of birth on Facebook.’ And ‘Yes I am old enough; you can ring my mum and ask!’ It has got to the point in my career when I find drunk people amusing and know that the majority are harmless.

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I have to admit, it is easy to hold a preconception about these people who throw our friends out of clubs, without really thinking what they are responsible for which is our safety. Their job involves a lot more than people think and by speaking with Ian this is something I have realised. Hopefully you have too....