This is my best guess for the forum, as it’s kind of a rant, but more curiosity…
I work at Shaws, where we have an alcohol department. It is store policy to ID everyone. I mean everyone. The elderly ladies actually seem to like the policy… but apparently not everyone does.
We had this man, who my rough guess on an age would be in his 30s (granted, I’m terrible at guessing age) who wanted to buy a bottle of wine. When asked for an ID, he said he wasn’t going to buy it. On principle. Because he shouldn’t have to show ID.
He had ID, i think, he just refused to show it. Not really annoyed… but i can’t for the life of me figure out the logic behind this… anyone share his opinion or at least vaguely understand?
IMO, some people just get pissed off over stupid things. To him it probably seems like a huge annoyance to get his ID out of his wallet and show it to you for 3 seconds. Maybe he feels almost like it’s an acusation - ‘You don’t believe I am 21’ even though it’s irrational if he owns a mirror.
When I buy cigarettes I lay my ID (in the clear plastic sleeve) on the counter in case they want to see it. I don’t get carded often anymore when I don’t already have it out, but it saves time.
Some people are annoyed when I ask to see their ID when they give me a credit card to make what are often $300+ purchases at work. I am protecting you here! and in your case, you are saving your ass and have every right to.
Yeah, I can feel him. I’m relatively young so if I get carded I don’t mind. But if you are IDing a guy who’s got gray hair and wrinkles, it’s a stupid waste of time. There is no reason to have a store policy that makes you ID people who are clearly over 21. Sure, ID people who are younger looking just in case, but not someone who is clearly old.
Or maybe the clerk asking would just like to know my birthdate and addess to go with my card number.
It’s right to refuse such a request, and the credit card companies make it clear that the process for checking a card should not involve asking for other IDs. Some explicitly forbid it.
Since I don’t keep my cash in my wallet, I wouldn’t have my wallet out.
However, the time wasting aspect is not the big issue for me. It’s the stupidity of the whole thing. Sure, they are trying to cover their ass, but there is no need to cover their ass when they are selling liquor to a person who is clearly over 21. I’m fine with carding when a person is young looking. When a person has clear signs of being old, however, it’s just stupid. It’s enforcing a policy that accomplishes nothing.
This is a legal request for verifying age. It has nothing to do with credit cards.
The whole idea of the blanket policy is so that a lowly sales clerk doesn’t expose the entire store to legal action because someone looked 30ish but the clerk made a judgment call. This policy doesn’t allow them to make questionable calls, everyone is carded, move along. For an 80 year old it’s not an issue, but could be for someone who looks anywhere from 15-40. But you can’t make a subjective call so they make it uniform.
The logic is easy. If there’s a problem with underagers, you, the clerk can say that you carded EVERY SINGLE PERSON WITH NO EXCEPTION. When the cop points at the little old lady and asks if you carded her, you can say yes. If you say no, you’ve now opened yourself up to problems. Also, if the cops stop an underager walking out the door with booze that you sold them, you can tell them you carded them. Even though they don’t have an ID on them now you can say that you saw their ID and it said they are legal. If they don’t have one now, that’s not your problem.
The same logic goes for bars that card every single person. When the bar gets busted for admitting underagers and all the underagers toss away their fake IDs you can testify under oath that every single person that walked through the door had one.
The supermarket here has a blanket policy of asking for everyone’s ID regardless of how old you look. What’s more, they’ll ask for ID of everyone in your party, even if they’re not paying for the beer, and deny the sale if someone is underage.
The liquor store, on the other hand, has never asked to see my ID.
Oh, and getting caught selling alcohol to minors isn’t cheap. Around my parts, the clerk gets a $600 ticket and the store owner gets a $600 ticket. Not to mention the possibility of the liquor licensce being pulled.
I have no objection. I generally wait to see if they ask or if the clerk just keys in a birthdate to clear the “check ID” message. If they key it in without asking, I always look to see if they guessed high or low and adjust my mood accordingly.
My wife, on the other hand, has a hissy fit if asked for her ID.
I’m 39 and got carded a few months ago. I found it hilarious because the clerk was underage himself, and was obviously just carrying out store policy. I told him I was legal before he was born, and showed him my ID. Then he told me I had to scan the 6-pack and bag it myself because he was too young.
Well whatev - more and more people are showing up at my place of work with cards that say SEE ID on the back, and more and more people that don’t seem to care besides the fact they just put their wallet away. And it’s the holiday season and it’s my store’s policy to check IDs to ward off stolen credit card purchases. I personally glance at the name and that’s it. Not saying some employees don’t steal identities, but I for one don’t. It’s 100% your right that you can refuse the request but it’s also 100% my right to ask and refuse you a sale if you can’t prove it’s your card. Especially at my place of work where purchases can be quite expensive (electronics store).
Do you have a cite for this? The retail company for which I work has a policy of asking for ID fro EVERY credit card purchase. This company is VERY bottom-line oriented, runs a tight ship financially - I can’t imagine the company having a policy which could hurt their bottom line. And I can’t imagine why a credit card company would object to checking ID - what is a good alternative? A signature check would be useless on half of the cards I see, which have no sig or “See ID.”
…and something about the OP. My company has a policy of ID-requesting if our guest appears under 40. I do it. Some people like it, some hate it. You’d be amazed at the number of people that are clearly old enough, appearing to be, say, 35, yet don’t have ID, then get in their car and drive away illegally…
Well, there’s a handy Google Answers which has a number of links to PDFs of typical merchant agreements. It also contains this statement from a state-run Consumer Credit department’s guide:
“When you pay for merchandise with a Visa card, MasterCard, or
American Express any store that accepts these cards should accept
yours too, no questions asked. It’s part of the deal that merchants
agree to when they become participating members. They must check your
signature and the card - electronically or by telephone - to be sure
it’s valid. Once the answer comes up yes, they can to ahead and
charge. They can’t ask you for any further identification - not a
license plate number, Social Security number, proof of address, phone
number, or picture ID.”
The gist is that the credit card companies set out a procedure and the contract says “This is how you must do it”. Doing it any other way violates the contract. And usually, the right way is to compare signatures and make sure the card is active.
As a thirty-something bloke, I’d be annoyed too. I have a friend who was carded at a nightclub when he was forty, but he has a baby face and was quite amused and flattered. I, on the other hand, don’t have a baby face and could pass for five to ten years older than I am. I’ve always been this way (great for underage drinking when I was fifteen!). I’d be annoyed because it’s so STUPID when I’m clearly of age, and it’s not good customer policy to treat them like criminals.
That said, I’d politely ask the sales assistant if it was his own decision or if it was store policy. The answer wouldn’t change my decision not to proceed with the purchase, but it would help me decide whether or not to chew out the cash register-jockey. If it turned out it was store policy, I’d politely tell the kid behind the counter why I was no longer going to buy the booze at their store, tell him it might be a good idea to let his boss know that the stupid policy is turning away paying customers, and then genuinely thank him for his service and apologise for having wasted his time.
Any store I’ve ever worked for has had a policy that a card must be signed or ask for an ID. If you read the back of a card, it says it isn’t valid until it’s signed. And honestly, if you’ve ever worked a register, you see enough cards and IDs you can barely remember your own address by the end of the day, let alone anyone elses. At least that’s how I feel and I have a nearly photographic memory, particularly for numbers.
As for carding everyone, as several stores I’ve been in, they actually need to scan the barcode on the back of the licence to finish the purchase. I see no problem in this. It take maybe three seconds. Anyone that would not patronize a store because of this is overly fussy in my opinion.