ID Please!

It seems to happen at least once every shift... so often that it is featured as one of my favorite Ways to Show Employees in a Convenience Store That You Are an Idiot.

Walk into the store through a door bearing a label that says, "We I.D." Go through the store past employees whose uniforms also bear the words, "We I.D." Open a cooler door bearing another label that says, "We I.D." Carry your beer purchase to the counter, which also bears a label that says, "We I.D." and then throw a fit when the cashier asks for your I.D. Extra points off if you make a scene.

Folks, we do work hard to give you good service. Most of us aren't "surly, pimple-faced teens" as I've seen described in people's blogs that all too often could easily be titled "that stupid kid at the corner store carded me for beer! What a bad attitude he/she has!" If we ask for your ID, please just show it to us. Don't act like we're asking you for the blood of your first born child. We're not. We're also not asking because we're jerks; but because we're required, and we're not just asking you.

Here is the lowdown on why you got IDed:

Federal law doesn't say we have to ID for alcohol. State law doesn't necessarily say so, either. It just holds us responsible if you're underage and we don't. The state does hire people who are 3 days shy of 21 to buy alcohol from us so they can bust us for selling to underage drinkers, because they want us to ID, and because (in some cases) they get federal money for that program). So no, in most cases it's not the law... but they enforce it like it is.

With that in mind, stores play it safe, err on the side of caution. If we don't, we could be entrapped into losing our license to sell alcohol, and the commerce that goes with it.

The law doesn't say we have to ID for all ages if we do ID. It just allows you to sue us for singling you out because of one of the multitude of reasons used in discrimination suits today, including things we couldn't possibly be expected to know about you unless you tell us, like your religion. This is not a far-fetched scenario; I've seen it happen in person, and it worked.

With that in mind, many stores are going to an "ID everyone" policy for alcohol, in order to avoid facing frivolous lawsuits.

The law does say we have to ID for cigarettes. If you look under 30 years old, we are legally required to check your ID for cigarettes. (If you are under 30 and you are not getting carded for cigarettes, either you should be offended by the slight, or they've all ready taken their toll on your looks with damage to your skin, hair, and teeth, making you look older.) 

The State does hire people who are within a few years' radius of 30 to come into our store and buy cigarettes. If we don't ID that person, we are in violation of the state laws (and penalties apply) on the basis that the State thinks that person looks under 30, even if he or she is not and does not.
 
It does not matter that this is entrapment. It is the way things are.

Therefore, if we think you look under 35, we're going to card you... maybe even if you look under 40. Some areas are now going to a system of just carding everyone for anything that has age restrictions for purchase. I have even seen cashiers IDing for energy drinks.

A few other things to keep in mind:
It is NOT the cashier's decision whether or not the store has a policy that requires ID for all alcohol and/or cigarette purchases. That kind of policy is set by an owner or corporate board. The cashier is simply required to adhere to that policy at all times. Therefore, getting mad or impatient and taking out your frustration on the cashier is futile and stupid, even if you interpret his or her act of checking your ID as "getting an attitude."

In stores which are chain outlets for a large corporation, the cashiers may actually be watched during transactions by individuals in corporate offices to see if they are adhering to the policy. This is the case where I work, and they have caught and disciplined violators.

Some businesses also have internal versions of the State's method of entrapment. They send employees around to make sure IDs are being checked during alcohol and tobacco sales in their stores. If we've never seen you before, or don't see you often, we don't know that you are not one of them.

Please also note, in instances of consumer ID related temper-tantrums, the manager may be authorized to make a judgment call on whether or not to sell you alcohol without an ID just to get your drama show out of the store. If we know one thing, it is that the authorities from the state and our corporate headquarters do not behave like this, so in doing so the manager is not at risk for getting busted. This does not mean that the cashier was lying.

When the manager does this, it means that your behavior was so atrocious that he or she just wanted to be rid of you. You may have gotten what you wanted, but you made an ass of yourself to get it. That said, throwing a temper tantrum also doesn't guarantee you a non-ID sale. It may just get you thrown out of the store. Battery charges have even been filed over adult tantrums at the location where I currently work, following an incident in which a consumer injured other shoppers in a fit of temper over a minor dispute with the cashier.

In some states (mine included), it is also illegal for us to sell you alcohol if you are intoxicated.
Did you know that belligerence can be a symptom of intoxication?
If you are belligerent, many retail cashiers and managers are encouraged by store policy to refuse the sale on the basis that you might be drunk, and selling to you could get us (ourselves and the store) busted for two violations.

The fact is, there is absolutely and without question, no excuse for getting all bent out of shape because your ID is required for a transaction involving a controlled substance. You do not have some kind of inalienable right to require anyone to do business with you specifically on your terms. In fact, you don't have the right to expect anyone to do business with you at all. Choosing to initiate a purchase is an act of agreeing to company policy regarding that transaction, and that includes whether or not you have to show your ID to the cashier to prove you aren't asking him/her to violate the law. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't drink... and well, you shouldn't be smoking, anyway. It's bad for you.