As far as I'm concerned we all have a responsibility to both our fellow crew members - and more importantly the customers which we fly.
At my briefings (I've got 15 yrs experience and I train) I always ask SEP questions before anything else - flight/service details.
I use a mixture of both scenarios and individual questions which may overlap.
Scenarios work best be they fire, evacuation or in flight medical care.
A typical scenario would be a fire in the cabin, who would fight the fire, which extinguisher would be used, location, operating cautions. Who would tell the Captain, how would they contact them i.e if smoke was present in the forward cabin, what information the Captain needs to know. Who would co-ordinate the emergency (ie. preferably purser), who would be responsible for telling the Captain that the fire was out.
One can actually involve quite a bit of detail in such a scenario.
The route you operate should also set a bias as to which questions may be suitable i.e Egypt/West Africa - desert survival, Canaries/Long Haul - emphasis on water survival equipment, Menorca - child seating restrictions, use of car seats, infant lifejackets etc. A knowledge of your airports as cabin crew can also for the base of questions, such as at Corfu if you over-ran the runway what call from the flight deck would tell you if the aircraft was still on land or in the water? - although you'd probably realise before the call came.
It's one of the best ways of getting the team working and thinking together. I always try to inject a little humour to relax people, and if someone is struggling I'll let them think about a possible answer and come back to them for an answer.
I do find that some struggle regularly, and I have to admit that they are usually the ones who seldom shine onboard providing the best possible service.
I get particularly hacked off with predominantly 20-25 year olds who think they can go out and 'club' till all hours and then show up for work in a tired and unfit condition. Don't tell me when you've been out to 3am, when it's 9am and you are in the crew room looking like a bag of rags, unable to answer your SEP questions and then unable to perform to a high standard on the aircraft. I'd rather not know, because believe me you can bet you'll only do it the once with me.
As for drinking on flights, you are leaving yourself wide open, passengers and fellow crew members are not stupid. Just imagine if you are unable to look after a medical situation correctly because you are intoxicated or hungover - have some professionalism and sense of responsibility,
or just leave and let someone more enthusiastic and responsible take your place - it is obviously not the job for you.
Safety has to be paramount, and in our company it is always top of the pre-flight briefing agenda.
[This message has been edited by Next Generation PSR (edited 21 February 2001).]