"Papers, please?"
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OK this is tin-foil hat material, but can someone please explain it to me.
I went to the grocery store for a few items for tonight's dinner. On the list was some red wine.
I emptied my cart, and put the groceries on the checkout thingie, and the very nice lady - Cynthia was her name - says that it's now policy for verifying age when alcohol is purchased. You have to show ID.
"Do I look like I'm under 21?" I asked as I pulled out my wallet and showed my driver's license. I smiled and sort of laughed when I said that.
"No, of course, but it's policy."
"OK, it's stupid, but whatever."
"Um, sir, you'll have to take it out of your wallet so we can scan the back."
"What? Why?"
"No idea."
So, being the good little pleb that I am, I handed it over, and she scanned the back of my drivers license, just like she would a sack of potatoes.
I can understand needing to show ID to purchase alcohol (several liquor stores, if not all, in New Orleans do that). But why scan the back of my license?
Tin-foil hat off...
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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Barcode or 2D code at the back of your license encodes the information printer on the front of your license. Restaurant probably uses a computer system that reads and records your date of birth. We don't know what else their system records or how well their databases are protected, so I'd say it's a privacy and information security risk.
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@Axtremus said in "Papers, please?":
Barcode or 2D code at the back of your license encodes the information printer on the front of your license.
Yes, so all I have to do is show my ID to prove my age. Why my birthdate? Why my address (I assume that's there as well)? What else is in that barcode that I don't even know about.
Restaurant probably uses a computer system that reads and records your date of birth.
Why record it? What purpose does that serve other than establishing yet another database that says that 71 year old geezers buy cheap wine to cook with?
We don't know what else their system records or how well their databases are protected, so I'd say it's a privacy and information security risk.
Now you're just being silly.
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@George-K said in "Papers, please?":
"No, of course, but it's policy."
"OK, it's stupid, but whatever."
"Um, sir, you'll have to take it out of your wallet so we can scan the back."
"What? Why?"
Why? You call my policy stupid and ask why you get extra hassle?
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If I were you I would have insisted on a senior’s discount in advance of providing her with my driver’s license.
FWIW, I have not come across such silly officiousness at the retail level when purchasing anything let alone wine or beer.
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Many states have laws that say a store is required to ID for alcohol and tobacco anyone who “appears” to be 25, 30, 40 years old and younger…Failure to do so, can result in significant fines or loss of license to sell those products.
Most of the people ringing you up for this stuff are teens/early 20 somethings earning around minimum wage—they are mostly annoyed at having to card people that are clearly 10/15 years older than them…and clearly of age to purchase the product.
So whenever possible, they skip the bullshit, and just punch in a birthdate that the computer on their register asks for when age restricted purchases are made. (and ever so occasionally if a friend goes through the line..
)To combat that, and ensure they don’t get a big ass fine, the checkout system at many stores now require scanning the ID to make the transaction go through. This is a lot harder (I assume) for cashiers to bypass, and allows the workers to not have to use any judgement other than “Sorry, it’s what the system requires.”
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@Mik said in "Papers, please?":
You can bet it is a state regulation of some sort.
It seems to be here in PA.
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@Rich said in "Papers, please?":
Many states have laws that say a store is required to ID for alcohol and tobacco anyone who “appears” to be 25, 30, 40 years old and younger…Failure to do so, can result in significant fines or loss of license to sell those products.
I have zero problem with that. I am more than obviously older than 25, 55.... Go ahead and card me - no problem.
Most of the people ringing you up for this stuff are teens/early 20 somethings earning around minimum wage—they are mostly annoyed at having to card people that are clearly 10/15 years older than them…and clearly of age to purchase the product.
Cynthia (yeah that was really her name) told me that she's 61. She looked older than that, LOL. I should have asked her for ID.
So whenever possible, they skip the bullshit, and just punch in a birthdate that the computer on their register asks for when age restricted purchases are made. (and ever so occasionally if a friend goes through the line..
)To combat that, and ensure they don’t get a big ass fine, the checkout system at many stores now require scanning the ID to make the transaction go through. This is a lot harder (I assume) for cashiers to bypass, and allows the workers to not have to use any judgement other than “Sorry, it’s what the system requires.”
That, pretty much is what Cynthia said. "I just work here, and them's the rules."
Does anyone know what information is bar-coded on the back of a driver's license?
@Jolly said "Database..."
Yeah, which one, and managed by whom.
