Barbara Skapa left the grocery store last week with three out of the four items she needed.
Milk.
Olive oil.
Tapenade.
But when it came to the fourth item — wine — Skapa left a Farmington Hannaford empty-handed.
Skapa, 65, was carded.
“Even though no one would mistake me for 30 or even 40,” Skapa said, “I’ll be bringing my driver’s license with me from now on.”
According to Rebecca Howes, a spokeswoman for Hannaford Supermarkets, the grocery store chain recently changed its policy surrounding the purchase of alcohol.
Howes said the corporation has begun asking people who appear to be under 45 to present proof of their age. In the past, the policy was to require those under age 30 to present identification.
Tropicana field in St. Petersburg, FL had the policy of carding everyone regardless of age. No ID meant no beer, period. I was in my 50s when I went there a few times and when I went to get a beer I had to not only show my ID but take my wife’s ID with me to get two beers. Needless to say I quit going there. What an asinine policy.
Sometimes policies made by some corporate asshole loses customers.
2, YEP…
Some times stupid laws intimidate law abiding corporations into creating policies that protect themselves but scare away customers.
Oaken Keg, owned by Safeway, cards EVERYBODY, including my 100 year old mother in her wheelchair.
Milk, Olive oil, Tapenade and wine please….
…………………..oh, um and a box of those condoms………….
“Next time she will bring her driver’s license…”
What, she leaves home without it and is driving on the road….I don’t know guys…maybe not selling her alcohol is a good thing….
My store, Binney’s in Lakeview in Chicago, cards me at 48 though I look 48. It cards my friend who is 44 and looks 40. In fact, it carded ME when I was on line with my friend (who they carded) while HE was buying something. Binney’s also had that annoying habit of asking for my zip code with every purchase. (Why should I do free demographics for Binney’s? Yes, my privacy is being invaded.) So, I shop as rarely as possible in Binney’s, even though it’s BY FAR the nearest liquor store (with parking) to my home.
7. “What, she leaves home without it and is driving on the road”
From the article: “Last week, however, she was being driven around by a friend.”
The law exists for a reason. The concept of ‘common sense’ has failed too many times in the selling of alcohol, so laws like this were created, and I respect them completely.
If the readers of this blog truly feel that carefully worded laws and easy to follow procedures should not be equally applied, then I truly feel that people (at least the responders to this blog) have become crazy.
This is not about national security, this is not about the bill of rights, this is about buying alcohol, which has had an age limit for a _long_ time. I don’t necessarily agree with the actual age limit, but I do agree that in leiu of other tests to see if you can drink responsibly, age will have to do, and I’m not leaving it up to the pimply kid behind the counter to make a ‘common sense’ decision.
You are all missing it. When you employ minimum wage drop out kiddies and retirees in the early stages of alzheimers–a simple rule NOT requiring judgment is the only thing that will work.
Much better to alienate customers than get that $50K fine for selling to underage folks who look older but aren’t==enforcement again by folks that show now judgment all finally ending up in a court room where judges have to follow the law–ie, not exercise judgment.
I see a trend!
I would never do Biz with that store again.
I don’t really see the problem with this, honestly. As was said before, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
is it really that big of a deal to show a card?
Whole Foods market carded me at 48… and I look older! Store policy is that everyone’s carded, no matter the age. Yes, it’s stupid. I don’t care if I’m carded by an employee looking at my license or not. What I’d care about is if my driver’s license gets scanned by a machine.
Like it’s a big hassle. Just go outside and grab a fifteen year old with a fake ID to go in and buy it for you. Like most “store policies” — as long as you meet the requirement, you are good to go. That is, NO SALE to a 65 year old with no ID; but no problem for a 15 year old with a fake ID.
Why didn’t she have her ID isnt she an American!!! I mean come on we all know we are suppose to be able to prove who we are at any time…..Right?
It may be the alcohol in me, but which part of “No ID, No Sale” is hard to understand? Is it worth losing every alcohol sale over one? No. Losing your alcohol license is crappy, and maybe next time she’ll remember to have an ID with her (which she legally needs to operate the motor vehicle she no doubt needed to get to the super market).
The concept of ‘common sense’ has failed too many times in the selling of alcohol
Strange how common sense seems to fail so repeatedly in the US but not elsewhere. Shop personnel here (Spain, where the sale of alcohol is banned to under 18s) are perfectly capable of deciding who’s of age and who isn’t without demanding ID.
Probably a GILF.
No bureaucrat ever got fired for following the rules, no matter how ridiculous the rules might be.
In fact, following the rules is how you get promoted, which helps to explain why the people in charge of things are almost always mindless, humorless drones.
We are Borg. Resistance is futile.
#11
You make youself sound like an arrogant, aloof, yuppie with no conception of honest labor.
I may not know just how awesome you are.
Regulations are fine, but carrying them to an extreme is stupid.
#11, bobbo,
Much better to alienate customers than get that $50K fine for selling to underage folks who look older but aren’t
NO law requires the carding of everyone. The law only require that those who appear to be near the legal age must show proof. The “carding” of older people is optional. To deny the sale of a legal substance to anyone who is obviously of legal age is just moranic.
#17, Dr. Dibbles,
Uumm, why would you need to carry ID when you walked to the store. Or took a city bus. Or a friend drove you.
#23…Fusion….I’m surprised at you…..tsk, tsk………you need that ID in case your run over by the drunken 15 y/o from #15’s post who bought his booze with the fake ID. 🙂
silly rabbit.