My first time!

[Rick Potter]

Catchy title, right?

At age 72 (pass for 71 all the time), I was asked for ID to prove my age today.....at the 99 cent store! I bought a bottle of cough syrup that has 10% alcohol in it, and I had to prove I was old enough to buy it.

Honest, this was my first time ever carded (non-drinker). I have four grandkids old enough to buy booze.

The cough medicine did have it's own shot glass on top.

Gonna try to buy cigs tomorrow.

[Jim Koepke]

The cough medicine did have it's own shot glass on top.

Gonna try to buy cigs tomorrow.

Forget the cigs, they won't help get rid of the cough.

My wife and I do not get carded as often as we would like. We print "ask for I.D. on our credit cards. Maybe one in ten cashiers actually ask. We thank them when the do.

jtk

[Jay Jolliffe]

The first time it happened to me was at a Whole Foods store. I said you have to be joking....I'm 62....& look it. They told me they have to ask anyone who buy's alcohol no matter what age they look. They asked my wife & she just thanked them....

[Anthony Whitesell]

When I worked at the grocery store, the oldest man I asked for ID from was 55 with white hair. But in my defense, I was working the express line on July 4th weekend and order after order was nothing but beer. The oldest woman I asked for ID from was 52. She definitely did not look it. The manager saw me pause while looking at the ID (expecting her age to be in the 20's the math threw me for a second) and stepped over to see what was wrong. He took the ID and checked it against the "book". Then returned an apologized for the delay.

As for "See ID on the cards", all of my agreements with the credit card companies (all that paperwork they send when you get a new card) state that if the card is stolen and not signed, then the credit card company is not liable. Of the few times I have lost a card, I was asked if it had been signed or said SEE ID. The rep stated "Good, because there is nothing we can do if you wrote SEE ID on the card." I have also seen places refuse to accept SEE ID credit cards. Just my experience.

[Jerome Stanek]

When I was in Salt Lake City we were carded at a Outback they said everyone had to be carded there was 8 of us and all but one of us had our ID's on them the only one that didn't get carded was the one without the ID he slipped through

[Lee Schierer]

I would think that training an employee to always ask would be more responsible than trying to train them to remember only if the person "Looks" young. A busy or harried employee is more likely to skip a judgement call step just to reduce the line in front of their counter than they are to omit a mandatory step. When my wife and I were younger, she looked much younger than her age, still does. She was often carded at theaters and other places when I wasn't asked for ID at all.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

While some may consider it a pain to be carded, state laws often require everyone to be carded. Often businesses and employees are severely fined when a sting operation is brought into a business to determine if they are illegally selling tobacco or alcohol to minors.

I have been carded and I obviously show my age.

After being carded, I have had employees apologize for the inconvenience and explain why it was necessary.

[Pat Barry]

The last time I got carded was while purchasing Nyquil. Apparently the law is everyone gets carded because of the methamphetamine ingredients contained in it. Maybe that cough syrup had a little of the meth ingredients in it.

[Jim Koepke]

As for "See ID on the cards", all of my agreements with the credit card companies (all that paperwork they send when you get a new card) state that if the card is stolen and not signed, then the credit card company is not liable. Of the few times I have lost a card, I was asked if it had been signed or said SEE ID. The rep stated "Good, because there is nothing we can do if you wrote SEE ID on the card." I have also seen places refuse to accept SEE ID credit cards. Just my experience.

I have heard something like this. So now I sign and also print "Ask For ID" on the back.

This reminds me to check and make sure my wife is doing the same.

jtk

[Rick Potter]

In my case, the store computer would not accept the sku without scanning the ID. The clerk couldn't over ride it either. I suspect it must be a new state law which started a few days ago. The new drivers license I got in Oct. has a bar code and a magnetic strip.

The cough medicine I got had 10% alcohol, and was a generic of Nyquil. Perhaps either one set it off.

[Brian Elfert]

Merchants are not supposed to accept unsigned cards or cards that say "See ID" or similar. It seems silly to me why the credit card companies wouldn't want ID at the time of sale. There are so few merchants where the clerk even handles the card that the benefits of "See ID" are fairly limited.

A number of credit card companies some years ago put photos on credit cards, but they quit doing it. That seems to be a major benefit as few crooks will look like you.

[Wade Lippman]

They have to ask everyone for ID now, but 30 years ago my wife was checking out at a supermarket with our 3 month old and the cashier told her she had a beautiful grandchild. The next day I bought some beer and got proofed. She wasn't amused.

[Erik Loza]

To the OP, not sure if your cough syrup is the same Nyquil (behind the counter: heavy duty, not the stuff on the shelf) I buy but if so, I believe the reason they ask for ID is due to the pseudoephedrine in it, which is what the meth cookers buy it for. I know, for example, that I cannot buy more than two bottles in a 48 hour period.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Bert Kemp]

I get carded everytime I buy spray paint, I guess the kids found a way to get high on paint LOL go figure.

[Phil Thien]

As for "See ID on the cards", all of my agreements with the credit card companies (all that paperwork they send when you get a new card) state that if the card is stolen and not signed, then the credit card company is not liable. Of the few times I have lost a card, I was asked if it had been signed or said SEE ID. The rep stated "Good, because there is nothing we can do if you wrote SEE ID on the card." I have also seen places refuse to accept SEE ID credit cards. Just my experience.

The CC companies prefer that you sign your cards. And technically the card is not valid unless signed. But your protections aren't afforded by the CC companies, but rather by federal law. So even if you write "SEE ID" on the card instead of signing, you are not responsible for fraudulent charges and it doesn't matter much what the CC issuer says.

Things are a bit more complicated for debit cards but not much more.

[Val Kosmider]

In my case, the store computer would not accept the sku without scanning the ID. The clerk couldn't over ride it either. I suspect it must be a new state law which started a few days ago. The new drivers license I got in Oct. has a bar code and a magnetic strip.

The cough medicine I got had 10% alcohol, and was a generic of Nyquil. Perhaps either one set it off.

I believe this is becoming more and more SOP--whether dictated by law or not. Stores don't want to be on the hook for any sort of shenanigans with regard to selling alcohol. " I carded the guy, put the info in the system, and we both went on your way." No judgment call; simply the facts. If there is ever an "issue", the information is in the system. Whatever the purchaser did with it after I correctly sold it to him is out of our hands.....

With regard to items like cough syrup, I believe not only do they ensure that you are "of age" but they monitor the volume of this stuff that you are purchasing over time. I live in a part of the country where meth making has replaced moonshine and one of the ingredients is something in the cough medicine department. The stores place limits on single purchases, and monitor "volume over time" purchasers as well.

Some world we live in, huh?