I hate this question. It usually starts some kind of confrontation. It's a liquor store. When I was a kid, kids were not allowed to touch the liquor in the store. You have to be 21 to purchase alcohol. In my store, not only do you have to be 21, but the people you came into the store with have to be 21 unless you're with your parent.
One time, some kids came into one of our other stores. One showed ID and purchased. They all left together. Then they drank - all of them - in the car - outside the store. Except, someone wasn't 21 and the police showed up. Held my company accountable and had to pay a fine. So, we have a policy in place.
Everyone has to be of age unless it's a kid with a parent. No exceptions. Most people don't mind showing their ID, but some take offensive. They call us names, call us racist and that's after they get declined a sale.
So, during prime times, we have someone at the door checking ID's. It's really meant to make sure we can still get the sale.
So, 4 people come into the store. The checker asks everyone for ID. Only 1 person has ID. He tells the 3 people that they have to leave and the 1 person can still come in and buy. They get alcohol, we get the sale, it's a win win. Until the system goes awry or a customer gets loud.
3 people walk into the store. They are asked for ID. One leaves to go retrieve her ID. The other 2 get loud and blast past our guy calling everyone names. We watch to make sure they are not stealing and when they get to the register and are all asked for ID and one doesn't have it the sale is declined. In this instance, I thought some theft would happen because when someone doesn't want you to know who they are, there has to be a reason. But, if the girl without ID had just listened and left when given the opportunity, the sale could have happened.
The more perplexing customers are the ones who have ID, show their ID, and start complaining about our policy. You got your alcohol, right? So, zip it. Then there are the guys who claim to be police officers, corrections, state police and their companion has no ID. So, if you're law enforcement, you're the one person who could appreciate our policy! They beat their chests and leave, usually without alcohol.
The language barrier ID checks are funny. We used to say that all members of your party must have ID. A person who did not fully understand the English language would respond back by saying "they are not going to the party." So, we stopped using that word.
My favorite refusal of all time was years ago. We had this nice, quiet cashier. When someone did not have ID and they complained, he would point at the wall and verbatim read the sign. "Stop. All members of your group must have ID. Any members...." When he would get interrupted, he would start all over again. "Stop, all members of your group..." I've seen him restart this policy 4 times and never finish.
So, one night, he was my cashier and this kid came in with an even younger kid. The younger kid did not have ID and I was the lucky person on duty. The cashier started his speech by reading the wall. He ended up calling me over. Cashier's call us when people won't leave, ask to see a manager or get loud. This kid was about to cry. He said it was for his boss. I explained the policy that his friend needed ID. He kept saying "please, please, please." It wasn't him that made this my favorite refusal. It was the cashier. You know when you start laughing and try to hide it? That's what happened here. I kept repeating, "sorry, sorry." The customer kept saying, "please, please." I said, "sorry, sorry." And my cashier is laughing as quietly as he can, but his shoulders are moving up and down trying to hide his fit of laughter. I miss that cashier.
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