No ID, No Idea, Part 54
I manage a privately owned liquor store. Being in a major college town, I’ve learned to be extremely cautious of underage buyers. One Friday night around 5:00 pm, I get a group of college-aged guys in the shop. The group is having fun shopping around and choosing their drinks, and after settling on their choices, they bring a bunch of bottles and cases up to the counter.
Me: “Looks like a good mix, guys. Can I see everybody’s IDs before I start scanning everything in?”
The apparent leader of the group steps up to the counter.
Leader: “I’m paying for everything. Here’s my ID.”
Me: “Looks good. How about everyone else?”
Leader: “I’m paying, so you only have to see mine.”
Me: “That’s not how it works. You were all shopping together, so I have to assume you’re all going to be drinking. I need to see everyone’s ID, or I can’t sell anything to any of you.”
The leader looks at me with a hint of arrogant disgust, but nobody else in the group hands over their ID.
Me: “How about I put this stuff behind the counter, and if you all come back with your IDs, you can buy it later tonight?”
Leader: “Dude, come on. I’m the one who’s paying, so…”
Me: “Or I can call the police for suspicion of purchasing alcohol for minors and let them sort it out.”
Everyone in the group, including the leader, went pale, and they started trading nervous glances. The leader managed to croak something about how they’d be back with their IDs later, and they started to slink out the door. Before the door closed behind them, I heard one of the group members suggest heading to the liquor store across the street from mine and trying to get drinks there.
Now, one important note is that the owner of my store also owns the store across the street. The stores have different names and different themes. Both stores carry all the major brands, but whereas my store also specializes in harder-to-get imported brands, the store across the street specializes in local craft brands. Being a major college town, the owner makes a healthy profit from his arrangement because very few people know that he owns both stores.
As such, the manager of the other store and I work together to keep ourselves and our boss — the owner — out of trouble. I gave the manager a quick phone call to let him know about the college group. Watching through the window, I saw the group go into the other shop, only to come back out with their tails between their legs a few minutes later and start walking back toward the college campus with no alcohol.
Related:
No ID, No Idea, Part 53
No ID, No Idea, Part 52
No ID, No Idea, Part 51
No ID, No Idea, Part 50
No ID, No Idea, Part 49
