Funny How Those Who Drink And Drive Blame Everyone Else

We’re a movie theater that serves food and drink to guests while they watch their movies. I am selling tickets. We’re set up so customers buy their movie tickets from us from a booth at the front of the theater before they enter the building.

We are twenty-one-plus, and to make it easier on the servers, we require valid ID for every ticket before people can buy them so people don’t have to get carded in a dark theater every time they order a drink.

A lot of people don’t realize that there’s a lot more to it than just being over twenty-one. If their ID is expired, they didn’t bring it because they’re in their fifties, or it’s damaged and unreadable, then we legally can’t sell them a ticket. Customers get really upset about this. The worst-case scenario for them is that they get turned away, but if we get caught making a mistake, we get fined and we could lose our jobs. As such, I’m pretty firm on IDing people and I spend a lot of time explaining what the problem is and what their options are.

During really peak times, like Saturday, we stop carding for each transaction, we give a little spiel about IDs in case someone is trying to bring a minor in, and then we have someone positioned at the door checking IDs for every person that enters. It just makes everything move faster.

It is just before the 7:00 pm set on a weekend. It’s already started picking up in pace a little bit, but we don’t have someone carding at the door yet. A gentleman requests two tickets.

Me: “Yes, sir. I need to see both yours and the other person’s ID.”

The man goes to get the other person’s ID rather than her bringing it herself. He shows me hers and then shows me his without taking it out of his wallet. The window on his wallet is dirty and his thumb is in the way so I can’t see the expiration date.

Me: “Could you please remove the ID from the wallet?”

He does, but he refuses multiple times to move his thumb out of the way. I finally say:

Me: “Sir, I need you to hand it to me.”

He’s been grumpy and put upon this whole time, but it’s nothing too out of the ordinary since he’s obviously over twenty-one. He finally hands the ID to me, and I see that he’s got a diamond-shaped hole punch through the smaller picture. This means he’s had a DUI, I believe a more intense one, like someone got hurt from it or he was way over the legal limit or something.

While I don’t think they mention it in the online test for being allowed to check IDs in the state of Washington, I’ve asked my managers about it before and they’ve told me we shouldn’t sell tickets to people who have the hole punch. He clearly knows he’s not supposed to be served, since he was so adamant about not letting me see that hole punch.

I inform him of this and tell him about other theaters in the area that are showing the same movie he wants to see, minus the alcohol. He grumbles at me, snatches back his ID, and stomps off to talk to his lady friend. I can see them standing off to the side muttering together, but my line is busy so I just kind of keep tabs on them while helping other people.

I eventually see him hand everything to his lady friend and they get in another ticket seller’s line. I act like I’m going to their station to grab more ticket paper and I discreetly point the couple out and let her know that the gentleman’s ID isn’t valid to be sold alcohol and they’ve been turned away.

It’s getting even busier and we get someone carding at the door. The other ticket seller still cards the woman since she thinks she won’t be able to sell them a ticket and we have to call a manager to process a refund, but she apparently doesn’t know about the DUI hole punch, sees nothing wrong with his ID, and sells them the tickets.

The person carding at the door is a server; he has taken the test, but he doesn’t often have to ID people, so he’s proficient enough to be placed at the door, but he apparently doesn’t know about the DUI hole punch, either, so the two of them get their tickets and go inside without any further issue. I shrug it off. I did my due diligence, so I can’t get in trouble for it. I’m not going to take this home with me. I’ll let the other two staff know about the hole punch later when I get the chance.

But… as soon as the man is admitted to the lobby, he comes around the back of the ticket booth, draws my attention, and straight-up smugly calls me a b****. I’ve been working out some stuff with my medications at this point, so my emotions are pretty close to the surface, and despite working in this position for three years, this is the first and only time someone has ever legitimately sworn at me.

I see red and lunge up off my stool, and the ticket seller next to me grabs my arm to stop me. The man laughs at me and pulls his lady friend along to their theater. I’m still angry and need a second, so I grab the first thing at hand, which happens to be the small broom we use to keep the booth clean, and I head around to the back of the building.

I take about thirty seconds to whale on the side of the building with the broom and then take some deep calming breaths, get myself back under control, and return to work.

While I was outside, the ticket booth called a manager and explained what had happened, and the managers tracked the two down in their theater and kicked them out without a refund. I didn’t get in trouble for the now broken broom.