The Bizarre Shift in Having to Present ID
Posted by Hillbillygeek1981@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 61 comments
Does it strike anyone else how comically different having your ID checked for a purchase is now from when we were younger? I looked older as a teenager and from 15 on I was the one that always bought the beer and tobacco in my group. No fake ID either, just straight up bluffing with facial hair, charm and bullshit. Never got busted once.
I'm 45 now and I get carded at a minimum a couple times a week. I don't even drink anymore, either, it's for things like Mucinex or paying bills. I have to provide ID to pay a fucking bill! If a random stranger ever turns up to pay my electric bill and is turned away because they card them, I will be pissed.
The need to persuade my wallet to relinquish its deathgrip on my license every time a cashier needs to scan it rather than just punch in a birth date has become an onerous task as well. I miss the days of the old lady at the gas station pushing her glasses up, staring down her nose at me and saying "You look 21. I guess."
wheres_the_revolt@reddit
As someone who has worked in restaurants since 1994, it’s because the fines are much higher and penalties are much higher than they were way back when. Additionally liquor licenses are crazy expensive compared to 30 years ago. Many (possibly most) states now require anyone who servers or sell alcohol to get a permit, and many establishments have blanket policies to ID everyone or ID anyone that looks under 30-40 years old (age depends on the establishments).
Jobeadear@reddit
Can confirm, worked in a bottle shop about 25yrs ago, sold a bottle of Jim Beam to a minor mistakenly, dude was considerably taller and looked older then I did, our rule to to card anyone that looked under 25, my coworkers backed me up that this guy looked well passed that, reason he got caught was he was known to local police who saw it in his hand and nabbed him and brought him back to where he purchased it, was a $25k fine to the company even back then, they changed policy from then that we must ID anyone that looks below 35 yrs.
elektrik_noise@reddit
\^ this is the answer. OP's points about Rx's has to do with pharmacy/store policy likely. I don't think kids are using Muxinex to make meth.
Though I did have a funny instance at a hotel in Boston the other weekend. I went to get a vino at the hotel bar on the second night we were staying there, and the person I asked wasn't the same bartender from the night before asked to see my ID. It basically fell out of my mouth, I was like "why?" and she looked at me and I apologized and handed her my ID. It was the first time I had non-requirement been carded in quite a while and I still find it humorous.
stoner_marthastewart@reddit
The mucinex is probably because that version had Dextromethorphan in it. People purposely overdose on it because it can be a hallucinogen. The kids call it “robo-tripping”
elektrik_noise@reddit
Oh dang, they're robo-tripping on Mucinex now? Lol that's a new one. A few decades ago it was just Robitussin like the namesake lol. Ok, super gtk thanks
stoner_marthastewart@reddit
Yep, it started because kids did it with Robitissin, then moved onto anything with dextromethorphan. I just smoked shitty weed behind NRM 🤷🏻♀️
elektrik_noise@reddit
Yeah, same. Ditch weed in cemeteries (goth kid here). A friend of mine a couple of times got black tar opium? Idk, it felt good but it was a version of dope so yeah, glad that was only a handful of times thing. Tasted good. Ugh, E in the rave scene. My brain prob looks like swiss cheese lol. I robo-tripped once in college and it made me nauseous and I thought it was kinda stupid.
stoner_marthastewart@reddit
The only time I did e I’m 99% sure it was Tylenol. I didn’t have the good sources, just a good friend with a stoner older brother
jackfaire@reddit
I had to present ID for Nyquil.
Adept-Target5407@reddit
How are you paying your electric bill that would require someone to even ask for an ID?
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
I live between two small towns about five minutes apart, I work in the middle of one of them. Literally every single one of my utilities has an office between work and home. Said utilities also have horribly outdated websites for billing that shit themselves and die the first Friday of every month when the whole county goes to pay their bill on the same day, so I stop by each one on my way home from work to pay with a debit card and avoid throwing my phone out a window in frustration.
lmstr@reddit
Who pays an electric bill in person?
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
Rural people who pass the company's office on the way home when their shitty outdated website is acting up because it's the first Friday of the month and half the county is trying to pay their bill at the same time, lol.
lmstr@reddit
Well your user name checks out! 😉
mjh8212@reddit
One thing I don’t get is everyone knows how strict they are with showing ID but most people don’t carry it on them. They have a pic of it on their phone but leave it at home. Then throw a fit when they aren’t sold the item they want. I have my id with me cause I get carded for everything from smokes to NyQuil.
Gian_Luck_Pickerd@reddit
One time I threw a fit, but that was because this one time when I was in college in GA (I was 22) I showed the guy at the liquor store my legitimate MD ID, but because it "looked fake" he wouldn't let me buy alcohol
mobster1@reddit
same thing happened to my friend, except my friend has the same condition as Andy Milonakis, where his pituatary gland doesnt function as it should, so he looks very young. He was also about 22, was already a little inebriated, went to buy more beer at the store, the cashier looked at him, looked at the ID and said it was fake. He threw a fit, they called the cops on him, and he got arrested. He ended up calling ABC news and they did a story on it, and the cops just said that a store can deny anyone they want to.
Gian_Luck_Pickerd@reddit
I'm the opposite. I've always looked older than I am. Meanwhile, the day after I was refused service a friend who was doing a year in the US bought alcohol with her French ID even though she was still 20
KeyFeeFee@reddit
I have a legitimate Mobile ID app from my state that scans and everything. Total game changer between that and Apple Pay I never take my wallet out anymore.
strippersandcocaine@reddit
Whoa I’ve never heard of this, need to see if it’s possible in my state. I mean, I always have my license on me, but would still be good to have as a backup
paradox183@reddit
I volunteer in concession stands at an MLS stadium. At least in my state, even as a volunteer I would be personally liable for any violations (e.g. selling alcohol to a minor, overserving a customer). It can also be really hard to judge someone’s age. I’ve served people that I was sure were 30+ but actually just barely 21, and I’ve served people that I thought were 21-22 but actually pushing 40.
For these reasons many of us choose to card everyone just to remove all doubt. Most people aren’t that put out by it, and the women in their 30s in particular are almost always flattered by it.
adammonroemusic@reddit
We went to Moab, Utah and the server wanted my ID for beer (I had left my wallet in the car). I said, "come on man, I've got gray hairs in my beard!"
I eventually went out and got my wallet, but they don't let anything slide these days, lol.
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
I don't have a problem being carded for alcohol or tobacco, I've worked retail enough to be cussed like a dog by sweet little old ladies when I asked for ID when they bought cigarettes, but some of the other stuff is getting ridiculous.
amusedmisanthrope@reddit
When I was in my early 20s, I worked as a doorman at a local bar. The bar had a 100% ID requirement, so everyone got asked for ID. Boomers were by far the cohort that got pissed about it. I keep that in mind whenever I get slightly annoyed about showing ID. Store policy, not about you, don't be like the boomer asshats.
ailish@reddit
I used to wait tables and uuuugh the boomers always got so angry about being carded. It's not like they didn't have it with them, it was just the principle for them or something.
PresentationLost1006@reddit
I’m more—not quite offended, but slightly embarrassed when I automatically pull it out for alcohol and they don’t even look. Like dang, just pretend there’s a chance, haha.
_ism_@reddit
it's because of increased excise enforcement compared to our youth. people trying to keep their jobs. policy. i hated having to card obviously old people when i worked these jobs, it was always awkward, you had to have jokes ready
mobster1@reddit
When I was 21 in 2005, I went and bought cigarettes at this QuickCheck and the cashier, got her book out, and analyzed my license so closely gave it back, then thought a minutes and asked to see my license AGAIN, and analyze it against the book again, then begrudgingly sold me the cigarettes. No reason for this story, just found it funny.
mobster1@reddit
I'm 41, and when I want to buy something stupid like sparklers, or those little popping fire crackers, they ID me because the computer tells them to scan the back, this is at walgreens in NJ.
HopelessMagic@reddit
I bought cigarettes for neighbor when I was like 10. Just pointed out to the truck and said... It's for him and they ran me up. 😂
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
My mom used to send me into the grocery store to buy her cigarettes at that age. By the time I was 12 or 13 they started making all the parents send THEIR ID in with the kids buying cigarettcars eat.
A friend of mine still refers to a case of Coors as her carseat. Her had would send her into the gas station near their house with cash and the old guy who ran it would carry out the case of beer and pump their gas, she'd sit on top of the beer in the front seat of the Nova on the way home so she could see out the windows lol.
fakesaucisse@reddit
Same here, my mom would send me to the corner store to get a case of Benson and Hedges menthols and a jug of Gilby's gin. Once I got to around 11-12 the owner said he couldn't sell to me anymore but at 7 years old, no problem 😂
VaselineHabits@reddit
I was going to say my grandmother sent me to the store with her mini cigarette "purse" that had the money & her ID in it.
Chemical_Butterfly40@reddit
I can smell this response
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
Every woman above the age of 30 had one of those in the 80s. Must have been standard issue with a pack of Newports, cheap green lighter, a pack each of Juicy Fruit and Doublemint and exactly 2.78 in loose change, lol.
VaselineHabits@reddit
I just checked, and you can still buy some! They're like $15-20 pop now
But I could absolutely seeing someone getting them as giveaways and/or "points" for whatever brand back in the day
redrosebeetle@reddit
My neighbor was a diabetic double amputee with (apparently) a drinking problem who lived with her adult children. Her adult children kept the vodka on top of the kitchen shelves.
Anyway, Miss Helen taught me how to make a screwdriver.
Into-the-stream@reddit
My mom used to send me to the store to get her cigarettes, and she would give me a little extra to buy candy with. No one ever questioned it (I was about 6 when I started, until I was in my teens and they started asking for ID). I think my mom would always send me with a handwritten note (like a homemade permission slip, lol), but the store didn’t care.
taleofbenji@reddit
I grew up in a small town and my mom would send me to the grocery store without any money. I'd say "just put it on our tab," and that was an acceptable form of payment back then.
Blackbird136@reddit
I hate to be a downer, OP, but I think it’s less that you actually look under 21, and more that many/most businesses who sell alcohol, medication, etc. have gone to the “card everyone just in case” regulation.
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
I'm not implying I look under 21, if anything I clock in a little closer to 55 than my actual 45 in appearance, lol. It's just been a very bizarre culture shift for me that it was easier for me to buy alcohol and tobacco as an underage minor than it is for me to buy a bottle of acid reflux meds now looking like I'm about to retire.
Blackbird136@reddit
Oh 100%. I started college at 17, and looked 12. Never got carded at a bar.
Expensive-Day-3551@reddit
One day when I was 15 I bought some 21st birthday balloons, got dressed up and went with my friend to the gas station. We made a big deal about my first legal alcohol purchase. The cashier never carded me. Said happy birthday. I went there to buy alcohol when they were working and never had an issue. Eventually I moved away, went back one day when i was 18 to buy cigarettes. The cashier was by then a supervisor and carded me. Looked at the ID, looked at me. I could see the wheels turning in their head. Recognized they had sold me alcohol many times. Sighed and handed me my menthols. I felt so bad. But I’m glad they never got in trouble.
HighSeasArchivist@reddit
I stock Pseudoephedrine deep. If I have to give them my ID then I'm buying a shitload. In my state it's 9g per month, which is easily over the 96 count 30mg tablet boxes I buy.
peekaboooobakeep@reddit
For real! every time I go online to mess with bills, why do I need to do a code and a email verification and the freaking "didn't come through resend code".
FMArroway@reddit
This must vary wildly by state. Where I live, they're required by law to card you even if you're very obviously over 21. I got carded once in college, around the turn of the century, for buying a martini glass for a Halloween costume. Not the ingredients for a martini, mind you. Literally just the glass.
mommiecubed@reddit
I got carded for white out, spray paint, children’s Tylenol, I am 47 and have enough wrinkles and grey, but…
59apache01@reddit
I've got you all beat. At 47, some young (probably 18-20) girl at Arby's gave me a senior citizen discount without me asking for it or for an ID.
After_Preference_885@reddit
Where do you live?
I don't have to show ID for much, just nicotine gum, because the guy has to scan it for the delivery app.
I've never had to show ID to pay bills, but I do that on the bank website.
I rarely ever even have my ID on me because I rarely drive.
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
I live in Tennessee, and I don't know if it's a state policy, individual store policies or what, but I have to show ID now to buy Mucinex, Benedryl, Omeprazole and Immodium at most places. I never minded getting carded for alcohol or nicotine, but having to whip out ID for heartburn medication or something for diarrhea seems a bit egregious. Given the meth epidemic I understand Sudafed up to a point, but the rest feels a touch oppressive.
avalonfaith@reddit
I can maybe explain the Imodium. Loperamide (the drug name) actually can be a drug of abuse or use if someone is really going for it or trying to take the edge of opiate withdrawal. It is actually a very tiny opiate. That's how it works. It mainly goes to the gut receptors but where there's will there's a way. Take enough and people can get a kick from it.
eastmemphisguy@reddit
Also in TN here. Def not state law to show ID for Omeprazole or Immodium, but some cold meds do require it. In Oregon and Mississippi you need a doctor's prescription just to buy Sudafed.
marle217@reddit
I've had the opposite experience. I have a baby face, and I never even tried buying alcohol before 21, there's no way it would've worked. Then I was carded regularly until my late 20s, then less and less often, and at some point I just stopped being carded altogether.
Emergency_Process622@reddit
A lot of stores, especially if they're a chain or corporate have a check id every person every time policy. Cashiers will get punished if they're caught on camera not checking.
SeaSkimmer2@reddit
Leave it right in front of your form of payment in your wallet, and it’s no longer an issue.
Puffyfugu8@reddit
Yep, I do that too.
Kahnza@reddit
I won't shop anywhere that wants to scan my ID.
TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit
Your appearance has nothing to do with it. Two things changed-
1) The punishment on stores that sell liquor and cigarettes to minors is immensely more severe than 20 years ago.
2) Business policies everywhere have taken decision making completely out of the process. They don't want cashiers to have to guess anyone's age, so they're required to card everyone.
madgirafe@reddit
Hahahaha the paying a bill part. I saw a similar sign at my bank and thought the same thing, like if you're here to give me money, you don't have to tell me first.
Puffyfugu8@reddit
When I was 8, I used to run across the street for my mom and buy two backs of Marlboros everyday. Once, someone at the register asked me about it- I said it was for my mom and they nodded because that made perfect sense to them.
I’m 45 too- what state/city do you live in out of curiosity? I’m from NYC.
Hillbillygeek1981@reddit (OP)
Tennessee. I remember a little mom and pop diner my parents used to take me to all the time. They had a cigarette machine, a video poker machine and Mrs. Pac-Man lined up against the back wall. My dad would give me a hand full of quarters to buy a pack of cigarettes for him and let me use the leftover change going back and forth between hands of poker and chasing pixelated ghosts. By the time I was six or seven I'd gotten good enough at poker that I could turn a profit and at least pay for the cigarettes and play Pac-Man a few times before we left lol.