Ravenwood - 01/22/03 12:54 PM
A Liquor store in Wisconsin adopted a zero tolerance policy for carding patrons. They card everyone, including 76-year old WWII vets like Don Meyer.
"People may not like it, but they understand what we are trying to do. We're just trying to do the right thing," said Robert Mariano, president and chief executive officer of Pick 'n Save's parent company, Roundy's Inc.
Personally, I refuse to patronize stores with such a moronic policy. It's the same reason I don't eat at restaurants in Alpharetta, GA.
When I lived in Atlanta, the suburban city of Alpharetta decided to pass a law requiring all restaurants to card everyone, regardless of age. It didn't seem like a big deal, until my 30-something year old friend left her ID, and was denied service. It was then that I realized just how silly zero tolerance could be.
Had this been my 60-something year old father, they would have had to deny him service for not having an ID. Had this been a daily regular customer, the 'Norm Peterson' of Alpharetta, GA, they are still required to ask for ID.
Frankly, it is idiotic, it is a waste of time, and in Alpharetta's case it is a burden on the restaurant industry. So, Mister Meyer, I say give that Pick 'n' Save the finger and shop someplace else. If they don't value you as a customer, that's their problem.
How is this policy "trying to do the right thing"? How does such a policy stop teen drinking? How is this not a waste of everyone's time? Some of the stores in Tallahassee have a similar policy for cigarettes! So I, at age 54, if I smoked, would have to show an ID to prove I was 18!? It's a perfect example of proving that the government is an ass, and so is whoever goes along with such idiot policies. How is that right and good and warm-fuzzy?
Posted by: Robert Speirs at January 23, 2003 11:22 AMall of our liquor stores here do it. the registers won't even work unless an id is run thru the reader. everyone's used to it now, and nobody cares.
Posted by: tanya at January 23, 2003 6:35 PMI guess they don't sell to non-residents or those without a state issued ID then.
Posted by: Ravenwood at January 23, 2003 6:46 PMnot without a state-issued id. they're city-owned, and i guess they're more concerned about stopping drunk teenagers from killing themselves on the icy roads than profits. go figure.
but you can always go to a different city.
Posted by: tanya at January 23, 2003 7:21 PMDon't worry, I will. I also don't agree that refusing to serve a 76 year old keeps teens from drinking and driving.
Posted by: Ravenwood at January 23, 2003 8:29 PMThis should be read together with the item about the guy who was fired for saying "God bless" at a military funeral.
Today's bureaucrats are attempting to make *all* aspects of life fall under the control of predefined procedures. Evidently, some colleges have even established specific phraseology that must be used for asking someone to have sex.
Posted by: David Foster at January 23, 2003 9:30 PMBut you can get an abortion at age 16 with no ID or parental permission.
Posted by: Brent at January 23, 2003 10:42 PMwhen i was seventeen and drinking too much, i didn't go to liquor stores. i went to gas stations and flirted, and got the cashier to carry the booze to my car. or got my 22-year-old boyfriend to buy it.
so please understand, i'm not saying it's a perfect solution. all i'm saying is, they're trying to fix it the only way they know how, and you get used to it and carry your id everywhere.
besides, i'm 31. i like being carded. ;o)
Posted by: tanya at January 23, 2003 11:33 PMDon't take me the wrong way. As a 30-something, I don't get upset when I get carded. I just don't think that a 'card-everybody' policy does anything to keep teens from drinking.
In your two instances, it wouldn't help prevent underage drinking at all. In the first scenario, it sounds like you were able to get around being carded with some sweet talk. In the second scenario, it didn't matter any way, because the purchaser was over 22.
In both cases, a blanket policy would have failed to keep a minor from drinking.
Posted by: Ravenwood at January 24, 2003 7:45 AM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
