IDing everyone in the group?

[mlmama]

I don't want to derail the other thread about this, but I had a question about how a worker handled the "ID everyone in the group" thing with my fiance' and my daughter one day.

My fiance' was 25-26 at the time and my daughter was a 5' 5" well-endowed(maybe the reason) 16 year old. He was going up to the booth at the gas station in the parking lot of Wally World, she got out to get herself a drink with her own money. They happened to walk up together and were talking. She is standing in line behind him, and has her drink and her money in her hand. He asks for his cigarettes and the lady in the booth asked for his AND her ID. They didn't understand at first. Why would she need to see my daughter's ID? He was buying the cigs. He got mad when she told him, "I saw you walk up together, so how do I know you're not buying them for her?" He said, "She's my 16 year old stepdaughter, and she wanted to get a drink. Of course we walked up together." (My daughter didn't have her license yet, and no school ID as it was summer.) Nope. The woman wasn't having it. If my daughter didn't have ID, my fiance' wasn't getting his cigarettes.

If y'all got through all that, my question actually is: Do you all think she handled that correctly, or should she have realized that they were 2 different customers buying 2 different things, and let it go?

[BearLeeBadenaugh]

Well, having been the cashier in almost the same situation, I say the cashier did her job right.

Age gap isn't evident enough for a parent-child relationship, they entered together, and they were conversing.

ID wouldn't have mattered one lick in that situation, your daughter was still underage and no "legal" parent-child relationship exists. Sure, he's your fiance and her future step-parent, but until the marriage, there's nothing there in the eyes of the law.

Heck, they did one of the "warning signs" we were told about in regards to party purchases. Came in together and made separate purchases. Not a cut and dried thing, but it's one of the bullet points on that poster we had had in the backroom.

[Monterey Jack]

I say the clerk did the right thing...better safe than sorry.

[BlaqueKatt]

as a cashier I heard similar from "straw purchasers", and in my city it was a classic hallmark of a sting.
They didn't just send in underage persons to buy, they'd get you for not checking a group with an underage person.

[TheSHAD0W]

They didn't just send in underage persons to buy, they'd get you for not checking a group with an underage person.

Just don't explain that to a customer, or they'll pull the "but I'm not a cop!" routine.

[Sliceanddice]

and this is why i have a thing about people who are together buying stuff sepretely.
If someone is buying something age restrictive then the easiest thing to do is either-
1. ask what the other person wants take their money and buy it with your stuff so the other person doesnt need to come in. This works with fast food too.
2. Buy your age restricted thing first, take it out to the car, come back buy what ever else you wanted.

[Rodimal]

Has soon has the word "-daughter" was uttered the cashier was in the wrong for refusing, but I don't blame them for sticking to their guns so to speak.

[Kittish]

Has soon has the word "-daughter" was uttered the cashier was in the wrong for refusing, but I don't blame them for sticking to their guns so to speak.

I disagree. It's easy to lie and say someone underage you're buying tobacco or booze for is your daughter/son. This is part of the reason why so many places refuse sale of age controlled items when one or more underage people is in the party. They're covering their own assets.

[mlmama]

I see it from her side, too. I know she was just doing her job and making sure that she didn't get in trouble. It was a CYA thing for her. A little irritating with having to go to another store, but eh, oh well. He got his cigarettes and she got her drink. I was wondering what the CSer's thought about it because I know some of y'all either have or are working in convience stores, so I like to get the other point of view on something like this.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

If y'all got through all that, my question actually is: Do you all think she handled that correctly, or should she have realized that they were 2 different customers buying 2 different things, and let it go?

As others have mentioned, possible straw purchase, and stores can and do get fined big bucks if they get a sting and don't card everybody in the group. Fines and the risk of losing the license to sell alcohol/tobacco will always outweigh a customer complaining.

The cashier may have figured it was two people buying different things, but couldn't take any chances.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Maybe they've been caught out on a sting before, and now everyone who works there has been told to be super vigilant? Fact is, yeah, it sucks to have to go someplace else, but it would suck even more if they lost their licience. You'd always have to go someplace else, then. XD

[Greenday]

I dealt with it a lot when working as a cashier at a pharmacy. Fact is, I'm not paying the fine if someone DOES end up giving the cigs to the kid. Don't bring your kids to buy age-restricted stuff.

[smileyeagle1021]

Has soon has the word "-daughter" was uttered the cashier was in the wrong for refusing, but I don't blame them for sticking to their guns so to speak.

Nope, sorry, but you're an SC on that one... I'm not losing my job because you want cigarettes while a minor is present... I will lose a sale long before I lose the companies license to sell. That is drilled into every c-store clerk's head from day one, if you have an inkling of doubt, refuse the sale. 10, 100, even 1000 pissed off (even rightfully so) customers is better than one illegal sale. Had the cashier's manager reviewed surveillance of the sale and seen her approve the sale after asking for ID and not receiving it she would be terminated on the spot... hope you can sleep at night with that on your conscience, if not don't ask for cigarettes when you are with a minor and you won't have to worry about it.

[BearLeeBadenaugh]

Brings back memories of the C-store I worked in during college. The owner(recently retired cop) explained it quite well. "I'd rather lose a couple $3 sales and maybe lose a few customers than lose a $300,000 store and ALL my customers."

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Has soon has the word "-daughter" was uttered the cashier was in the wrong for refusing, but I don't blame them for sticking to their guns so to speak.

Because no parent is trashy enough to buy cigarettes and booze for their underage children...nope, never happens, that's just crazy talk.