Pass the baby; I need to buy cigarettes!

[CloserToSane]

Pass the baby... really . And the fact that they don't seem to think you'd speak to the main store either amuses me.

I'm 22 and get asked for ID about half the time. It's always with me, so not really a pain to hand it over.

I didn't get asked for an ID with one alcohol purchase at the beginning of the month but three days later, buying the same thing, even the same cashier (but no I don't expect her to recognise me) I'm asked for ID. That is still confusing me.

[Gizmo]

Pass the baby... really . And the fact that they don't seem to think you'd speak to the main store either amuses me.

I'm 22 and get asked for ID about half the time. It's always with me, so not really a pain to hand it over.

I didn't get asked for an ID with one alcohol purchase at the beginning of the month but three days later, buying the same thing, even the same cashier (but no I don't expect her to recognise me) I'm asked for ID. That is still confusing me.

An outfit or hairdo can make a huge difference in how old you look. I had a customer come through my line twice in a week. The first time she had her hair loose and I couldn't get a good idea on the age so I ID'd. Mid 30s! The next time she had her hair tied back and I wouldn't have ID'd her even if I didn;t remember the prior occasion.

In reference to a lot of other posts: The problem with ID'ing consistently is since there seems to be little training in which situations you should ID, which you shouldn't and no consistent opinion on what 25 even looks like. I would regularly ID people into their very late 20's and yet my ex-co-worker said she rarely saw an ID for someone over 22.

They drilled it into us that if we got caught out selling without checking we would be disciplined, fined, potentially fired, and get a criminal conviction and the store would also suffer and risk loosing its license. However they seemed to have no wish to help us improve on identifying when to ID.... It was assumed we all knew that and could judge it to the same standards.

[Kogarashi]

They drilled it into us that if we got caught out selling without checking we would be disciplined, fined, potentially fired, and get a criminal conviction and the store would also suffer and risk loosing its license. However they seemed to have no wish to help us improve on identifying when to ID.... It was assumed we all knew that and could judge it to the same standards.

This is why I was always grateful when my store switched policies (albeit temporarily) to "ID Everyone." Then it didn't matter if they were wrinklier than a prune and hobbling along with a walker, I still had to ID them and blame policy. None of this "what does 27 look like" trouble.

[Jester]

What I was trying to say was that, if a place seems generally lax in following that rule, repeatedly, no matter who was on-staff, then one might want to consider that it is possible that they are lax regarding other rules and regulations.

Now that is a different story entirely, and that I will agree with.

Perhaps such insights will be included in your new book, Jester: The Man, The Myth, The Legend?

Oh, I can see the reviews now....

"He's an ass." --the author's ex-girlfriend.

"He's a moron." --the author's sister.

"I wouldn't cross the road to piss on him if he were on fire." --the author's publisher.

The problem with ID'ing consistently is since there seems to be little training in which situations you should ID, which you shouldn't and no consistent opinion on what 25 even looks like.

Sad that you don't get that training. We, on the other hand, get regular seminars about that stuff, and have a lot of it drilled into us.

And since there really ISN'T a clear definition of what 25 looks like, most places are trained to ask for ID of anyone who looks 30 or less. I have even worked in some places where the policy was to ask for ID of anyone who looked 40 or less.

But what does 30 or 40 look like? Well, that's not the point. The idea is that if the person handling the sale believes the person attempting the purchase looks to be 30 (or 40, depending on policy) or less in the seller's opinion, than the seller should ask the purchaser for ID. Pretty simple, if you ask me.

Of course, you often get parties of mixed ages, and a lot of times you will get some of the older sorts jokingly (or sometimes seriously) wondering aloud why you didn't card them. I usually joke with these people: "Are you kidding me? You and I were doing shots of tequila last night! I can't believe you don't remember!" Almost always defuses what could be an awkward situation.

[Mytical]

Frankly I liked the place one place I cashiered that sold alcohol's policy (Note: Not Mart of Wall). Now I didn't much care for anything else in thaat place, but I digress.

The policy was..ID everybody. Person coming in with a walker, white hair, and wrinkles? ID them. Person who makes Whistlers mother look spry and young? ID them. No exceptions. No ID, No sell.

One of these days I will bore you all with the tales of the B & C. A place that made my days working at the Wall of Mart seem like a picnic in the park.

[SuperDan]

The state of Indiana passed a law last year that everyone gets ID'd for every age-controlled sale every time (carry-out sales only, bars and restaurants were still only held to the 39 1/2 and over don't need to be carded and you don't need to re-card someone you have carded before rules). I fully support this, as do the local alcohol distributors and many front-line workers in places that sell alcohol. However, enough package liquor store owners and grocery store CEOs complained that they were losing money with it being harder to make illegal underage sales, so the law came up for repeal this session. I don't remember if the legislators got to it or not, as a bunch of bills expired while our democratic senators pulled a Wisconsin.

On a side note, Indiana law tends to favor package liquor store owners. When they lifted the Sunday sales exemptions on bars and restaurants, they remained in place for carry out sales, since grocery stores already open Sundays would be able to get the alcohol profit without any additional operating expense while a package liquor store would have to raise their payroll 17% to be open the extra day. Grocery stores are prohibited by law from selling cold beer. A hard liquor license for a grocery store costs more than a beer and wine only license and it comes with restrictions on how close to certain other products the hard alcohol may be sold. Up until about two years ago, gas stations couldn't sell alcohol at all. One curious law in the other direction remains though: package liquor stores are prohibited from selling milk.

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled topic.

[Jester]

One curious law in the other direction remains though: package liquor stores are prohibited from selling milk.

The Dude cannot abide that, man. What, he's gotta make two trips for his Caucasians? Uncool, man.

[wolfie]

A hard liquor license for a grocery store costs more than a beer and wine only license and it comes with restrictions on how close to certain other products the hard alcohol may be sold.

Does the hard liquor license cover all types of booze, or only the hard stuff? If the former, is a grocery store licensed to sell hard liquor required to sell hard liquor? Looks like a big loophole, where a grocery store that wanted to sell beer and/or wine could save money by getting an "all types of booze" license, and not selling the hard stuff.

[Jester]

Wolfie, that would make absolutely no business sense. Liquor licenses are expensive commodities, and businesses go about actively applying for and purchasing them. To pay for one and not sell the stuff you are licensed to sell through it is the equivalent of piling a bunch of money in the center of the store, soaking it in lighter fluid, and dropping a lit match into it.

[wolfie]

Jester, there is one possibility of it making business sense, and I was asking about it. If "hard liquor license" meant "license for all kinds of booze", instead of "license for hard liquor only", that would mean that a license to sell beer, wine, and hard liquor would cost less than one to sell beer and wine but not hard liquor.

In that case, it would make business sense for a store that wanted to sell only beer and wine to get the "all kinds of booze" license, and merely not sell the hard stuff.

[MadMike]

The Dude cannot abide that, man. What, he's gotta make two trips for his Caucasians? Uncool, man.

You'd hate it in PA then. Grocery stores and the like aren't allowed to sell alcohol at all. If you want beer, you have to go to a beverage distributor. And if you want hard liquor, you have to go to one of the state-run liquor stores. So if you're in PA and want to throw a party, you might have to make three trips.

[Jester]

If "hard liquor license" meant "license for all kinds of booze", instead of "license for hard liquor only", that would mean that a license to sell beer, wine, and hard liquor would cost less than one to sell beer and wine but not hard liquor.

If a "sell all" license cost less than a beer and wine license, it would make sense to get the former but sell only the latter. But I have never once heard of a case where an all inclusive liquor license cost less than a beer and wine license. I would be honestly shocked if such a situation existed, to be perfectly honest. Because it would make exactly zero sense.

Which probably means that somewhere, some government agency is probably doing just that.

You'd hate it in PA then. Grocery stores and the like aren't allowed to sell alcohol at all.

One of many reasons that I reside in that wonderful place called "Not PA."

That being said, grocery stores here in Florida can sell beer and wine, but not liquor, though many have a liquor store attached directly next to them. Back home in Arizona, you can actually buy liquor in a grocery store. Say what you want to about Zona, and a lot of it is probably true, but that part freakin' rocks.

As for the Caucasian, many liquor stores sell mixers, presumably including milk or cream for said drink. Btw, a true White Russian is made with half and half, not milk, incidentally, though my bar makes it with milk. Personally, that's the way I prefer it.

[protege]

You'd hate it in PA then. Grocery stores and the like aren't allowed to sell alcohol at all. If you want beer, you have to go to a beverage distributor. And if you want hard liquor, you have to go to one of the state-run liquor stores. So if you're in PA and want to throw a party, you might have to make three trips.

Depends where you are in PA. Some grocery stores, like the Giant Eagle near me, actually *do* sell six-packs of beer. But, it has to be sold in a separate area away from the "regular" cash registers. I'm sure they mark that shit up--it would be cheaper to buy a case from a beer distributor. So far though, the only place you can get hard liquor, or wine, is from a state store. We're still stuck in the dark ages here regarding alcohol. Some areas still won't sell it on Sunday. Oddly enough, I've never been carded at *any* of the distributors or state stores, or even if I choose to get a glass of wine with dinner. So much for the "check ID" policy the state pushes

[Andara Bledin]

Back home in Arizona, you can actually buy liquor in a grocery store.

It's the same in California.

^-.-^

[Jester]

It's the same in California.

"The West is the best." --The Doors