Fought For His Country, Not Just His County

(Our store gives a military discount, but you have to have one of three types of nationally-issued ID cards to get it. It can’t be a state, county, or city-issued ID. My current customer has a county-issued veteran’s card.)

Me: “I’m sorry, sir; we can’t take these. It must be a nationally-issued card.”

Customer: “This IS nationally issued!”

Me: “No, this is a county VA card. The county seal is right there. It has to be from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in DC.”

Customer: *blankly* “This IS a VA card.”

(I pull out the cheat-sheet for cashiers.)

Me: “It has to be one of these types. They’ve gotten very strict on that.”

Customer: “I’m going to [competitor]! They know how to treat their veterans right!”

(The customer storms out. A regular, who is a retired vet, comes up to me.)

Regular Customer: “Good for you! I can’t stand people like that.”

Me: “I was about ready to rattle off my parents’ names, ranks, and postings. Mom did her 22 years, and Dad’s a Lieutenant Colonel. And both of them would’ve told me that if I didn’t have my ID, too bad!”