Then why is this retail establishment the only one around here doing that? Clearly every other establishment within miles doesn’t feel the need. And they’re still in business.
It’s just a dumb policy.
I’m “entitled” because there’s one store in my neighborhood that annoys me? Really? Is there no retail establishment, anywhere, where, in your entire life, you haven’t thought “well, that was annoying, guess I won’t go back there”? Not one? Seriously?
I didn’t even not go back to the store. I just don’t buy beer there anymore. No big deal. And yes, I think the policy (again, not the cashier) is dumb. You’ve never met me, and never will, but believe me, there is no doubt whatsoever that I am multiples of the legal drinking age. That’s perhaps unfortunate for me, but it’s undeniably true.
But I’ll remember that you’re one of those “rules are rules, no matter how stupid and pointless” people.
Well that retail establishment is also still in business. So they aren’t driving away enough people that it’s a problem.
Of course. If I get bad service, sure. Not because they have a policy that protects them and their employees though, no.
They recently lifted the mask ban in my state. There are businesses that choose to still ask people to wear masks. I don’t mind going to those places. I don’t begrudge someone who chooses not to go there, just like I don’t begrudge you if you choose to take your business elsewhere from the establishment you’re describing. You’re free to make business decisions however you want to. If you decide not to go somewhere because their store mascot freaks you out or you hate their commercials, even that’s cool. But to lambast them for it and to call them stupid over it, and to act like it is such a hardship and unreasonable, yes I’m going to call you out for that. Because it’s a really fucking stupid stance for you to take.
No, I support rules that are sensible. This is a very sensible rule. I’ve stated over and over why it is “rational”. Your entire fucking rebuttal is that you don’t like it. So I’ll remember you as the “rules are bad when I don’t like them” person.
It’s not. As evidenced by the fact that this place is the only place around here with this rule, and nobody else appears to be suffering from the lack of such a rule.
Aren’t we all? Of course I am. You’re apparently an exception, since you seem to be a bit of an authoritarian, but really, at heart, we’re all that person.
As far as you know. Do you know for certain that establishment in question never had such an issue? It might have been a response to a sting in the past. And you said it was part of a chain; it’s possible (I’d say extremely likely) that they have stores in locations where this is necessary, and generally a chain needs to apply rules across all locations for those rules to be enforceable (for legal reasons; the employee handbook has to have these things spelled out and applied to everyone or they can get in trouble for discrimination or other HR claims). I’m sure neither of us have enough info to make an informed judgement about that.
On the subject of not being able to tell someone’s apparent age just by looking at them, when I was in college I knew someone whose hair started going gray before he was twenty. He said it was a family trait; the same thing had happened to his father and grandfather. As far as I know he never tried to take advantage of this to buy alcohol, but I could easily see someone looking at him and assuming he was over 21.
And speaking of college, there were a few people who were surprised to find out that I was the same age as most of my classmates. I didn’t really look older, but they said there was something about the way I carried myself and spoke that made them think that I was older.
That’s not the question I asked though. Carrying on like a muppet in the store over a minor inconvenience, especially in the context of all the “anti-mask/the rules don’t apply to me because muh freedoms” stuff isn’t something normal people would support.
Objecting to being subjected to an inconvenience which isn’t specifically legally mandated isn’t “idiocy” though. It’s entirely possible for someone to object and not be causing a scene about it either.
Consider this scenario: Someone who is in their 40s wants to buy a six-pack of beer at a store which has a “Everyone gets IDd, no matter what” policy, and the cashier, who is 19, asks said person for their ID.
Buyer: “Come on dude, seriously? I’m clearly old enough to be your parent, never mind buying beer”
Cashier: “I’m sorry, it’s corporate policy; we have to see everyone’s ID. I can’t put the sale through without it”
Buyer “Ugh, fine.” [Shows ID, completes purchase]
Buyer has objected to the policy, but hasn’t turned it into some sort of massive civil liberties issue or started abusing the cashier or whatever. They may also think “I’m not going to shop there for beer anymore if I can help it”
There’s also the situation Saintly Loser describes, where the cashier knows them personally and still has to ask them for ID. That’s obviously a ridiculous, indefensible situation from any perspective except “The law expressly requires it”, and it’s completely reasonable for someone to feel the law shouldn’t require it - and doubly reasonable for someone to object to a business implementing a stupid policy (as long as they don’t take it out on the cashier, obviously).
Bear in mind that the cashier may be dealing with this many times a day; and each time doesn’t know whether the customer’s next line will be “Ugh, fine .” or an explosion.
Objecting to the policy is one thing. Objecting to it to the cashier, in any form which implies that they could do differently, is something else. Does anybody really think the cashier’s doing that on their own initiative? (Leaving aside the possibility that the cashier knows themselves to be particularly bad at guessing ages, and/or the customer’s presenting ambiguously, and the cashier genuinely isn’t sure whether the 40 year old is 40 or 20. But while in those cases it may be the cashier’s decision, it would be the correct decision.)
Exactly. But in my state, the law doesn’t require it.
Anyway, I don’t harass the cashier, and never did (in fact, although I still shop there for various things, mostly because this store is open all night, I don’t buy beer there anymore). Despite the vitriol hurled at me in this thread about being “entitled” and a “whiner,” I’ve never given the staff there one second of crap. Yes, the cashier who knows me by name, and knows my children by name, and I have mutually rolled eyes at each other over the store policy, back when I would buy beer there once in a while.**
But apparently thinking this store’s policy requiring someone who actually knows me to require ID* is kind of dumb makes me an entitled whiner, and possibly an alcoholic. Go figure.
* Oddly, as a notary, under the laws of my state, I am not required to demand ID of someone “personally known to me.” We can argue about what “personally known” means, but still, it’s pretty funny that, under some circumstances, I can put my seal on a legal document, perhaps involving millions of dollars, attesting to the identity of the signers, without seeing ID, while a cashier to whom I am personally known can’t sell me a six-pack without seeing (and sometimes scanning) ID.
** They also require ID for some kinds of cold medicine, for some reason. I think it may be possible to make meth out of it? Not sure. Although I would think you’d have to buy a lot of Sudafed to get any useful quantity of meth. But maybe this one is law in my state. I have no idea. But they didn’t require ID when I picked up a prescription for morphine sulphate a little while back, nor did the physician who wrote the prescription. So, opioids, no problem. Budweiser? Show me your papers!
It’s all silly. I don’t care.
The misuse of my phone number is another story – that’s a real invasion of privacy.
Why do people think that just because things were once one way a long time ago, they will never change?
Sure, when cell phones were not as common it was easier to get along without one. Now that most people have one, the way many businesses operate have changed with the times.
I think mobile phones are an incredibly useful technology that, all things considered, make my life (if not everyone’s) easier. The convenience factor is outstanding.
And (and this might just be my neurotic self) texting is so much better than talking on the phone about 90 percent of the time. It’s faster, it forces people to stick to the point, and it gets the job done.
But people will take advantage. The Samsung washing machine app that is obviously designed to harvest information is a case in point. It’s pretty well-known, actually – I’d heard about that one before looking at your link.
And the voice recording thing is another major issue.*
You can avoid most of it with a bit of work, but you shouldn’t have to do that work.**
It is progress. But there are plenty of people and entities who will take advantage of the technology to basically invade your home and steal information from you. Samsung is in a particularly good position to do this, since they might make your mobile phone and your smart TV and your washing machine.
* Interesting thing – recently I was at the memory care facility where my father lives, with our lawyer, dealing with a few things (some tax stuff, some T&E stuff, nothing weird). The facility has those Alexa things in every room. They’re convenient for the staff, who can control the televisions and the piped-in music and, apparently, the climate control systems, all with just a word or two, while they’re dealing with the residents. And that’s a good thing. But the downside is that they’re always on, and I understand that lawyers are increasingly uncomfortable with having private, privileged conversations with their clients in the presence of what is, for all intents and purposes, a recording device.
** I wouldn’t own a Samsung phone – Samsung is notorious for this shit, according to the mobile support people in the IT department where I work. I like the Pixel phones, which have their own issues, but there’s less bloatware for sure. And I think I’ve been able to disable all the invasive stuff.
Someone who is 19 can not legally sell alcohol to anyone. That, too, is a violation of the law. It would help the conversation if you were more conversant with the subject being discussed and I invite you to reduce your ignorance on these laws prior to contributing to this threat again.
Yes, you can make meth out of Sudafed, which is the brand name for diphenhydramine. Pretty much all states require you to show an ID to purchase it AND they definitely track you in my state. If your purchases exceed a certain amount within a 90 day period you WILL be arrested and charged. Did it stop meth? No. What it DID stop was random houses, sheds, and trunks of cars spontaneously bursting into fireballs, which is an improvement of sorts in the neighborhoods where this was becoming a substantial problems. Methheads and tweakers: why we can’t have nice cold medicine.
Also, at least in my state, there is now a minimum age for Robotussin and its cousins because, apparently, the kids have figured out how to get high on it. Again, this is why we can’t have nice cold medicine without a hassle.
Sudafed can be used to make meth. However, diphenhydramine is Benadryl, an antihistamine, not a decongestant, which Sudafed is. Sudafed is pseudoephedrine.
We went to a new Mexican place for a late lunch yesterday. (Patio seating, I’m not eating inside yet.) I ordered water with lemon and hubs ordered a Margarita. Hubs got carded. I got all excited* and ordered a Margarita so I would get carded too.
*Me: Really? You’re seriously carding him for booze?!
Him: Yes, Ma’am, we card everyone.
Me: Awesome! I want a Margarita too! I haven’t been carded for longer than I can remember, can he take a pic?
Does the buyer then run to a public message board to moan about it? It’s such a trivial inconvenience that it would never occur to me. And I’m in my '50s and get carded all the time at clubs and festivals. Showing my ID is not a hardship.
Aren’t we all? Of course I am. You’re apparently an exception, since you seem to be a bit of an authoritarian, but really, at heart, we’re all that person.
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