alcohol makes people stupid - by PJ

You may have been at wal-mart at some point and picked up an item that doesnt have a barcode on it. for some, the experience is unbearable and is just terribly time consuming. i think the longest price check i've ever had was under 5 minutes. maybe 7? but anyway... anything over a few minutes and people start to get antsy - some people decide against the item, some wait, and some complain ever 10 seconds to themselves til the price check comes back.

but the one thing people FREAK out most about when something goes wrong is Alcohol. no matter if it's 10 am or 7 pm, people just want their alcohol. since alcohol has quite a few laws about it - and a lot of people dont know the laws, i'll list most of them for you.

in idaho:
1. alcohol is not sold between 1 am and 7 am.
2. you have to be 19 to sell it, 21 to buy it
3. ID must be state or government issued with a birthdate and photo.
4. even if they're related to you, if they're under 21, they cannot touch the alcohol.
5. to prevent third-party purchases, if you come to the register in a group, all of you will be carded - if one doesnt have ID, or if one is underage - the alcohol is denied to the buyer.
6. we card if the customer looks to be "under 40."

and so on.

SO - today i worked a 5 hr shift which is one of the shortest wal-mart scheduals for. i figured it would be an easy shift. ha.

first, a lady and her young daughter came up to the register with about 70 or so items - a full cart. six of which were 12-pack of soda, and one 30-can box of beer. i set the beer off to the side first and didnt card the mother because she looked WELL over 40... i then piled the sodas and a pillow around the beer can and began bagging the smaller items. the daughter then started to load their crap into their cart. now, most parents say "dont touch the alcohol," because they know the laws and store policies. most kids know the rules and dont touch it. i assumed. oops. i turned my back to scan some more stuff, and turned back and poof. the kid put the alcohol in the cart.
"are you 21?" i asked her
"uhh... nope..." she backed away from the alcohol putting her hands up.
"oh, i'm sorry. i cant sell it anymore. it's the law, i'm sorry. it's nothing personal."
the mom then asked "what's going on?"
so i explained it again. "it's the law. nothing against you. store policy and state and federal law says who can touch it..." etc.
old little fat mommy wasnt happy. not one bit.
"well, of COURSE she's under age - all she's doing is loading the freaking cart. this is bullshi..."
so i checked out her stuff, she told her daughter to take her cart to the car while she paid. she paid and left. i figured shew as going to complain...

about an hour or so later, four guys came up. one guy in a blue Duke hat was the buyer, but they were all together. they were buying an assortment of chicken, sauces, ribs, charcoal, typical cookout stuffs, and beer. as i was getting close to the beer, i asked "so, are ya'll together? gonna have a cookout or somethin big?"
one of the others says "yeah, we're grillin and swimming at his house," pointing to the blue hat bro.
so there was my proof. they acknowledged they were all together. i rang up the beer and requested ID from everyone. another guy said "wait, but he's buying and we havent touched it?" (ok, so he knew the touching thing law .)
i said, "yes, but if you're all together, our store policy is that we have to ID everyone."
the buyer had it. a guy to the left had it. the girl had it. so i asked the kid lingering in the back.
"do you have id?"
"no... not with me."
"i'm sorry then. store policy is, i cant sell it."
the main guy nearly cut me off mid-sentence with profanities.
"well, what the eff. eff this, stupid ... you - nah, just eff it all." and they walked off mad, leaving all their food, and their beer - everything.

i canceled the order, explained the story to the confused-as-mess guy in line behind them - he hadn't been paying attention. but i got off 30 minutes later and clocked out. i came back up front with a few items i was gonna buy and my CSM (customer service manager - they tell the cashiers were to go and deal with the customers who get really mad) called me over. he said "you had a couple complaints tonight. one from a short, blond, bigger lady, and another from four REALLY pissed off guys. both about alcohol?"
i looked at him and said "yeah..." and my face must have been a look of shock because he followed up his comment.
"dont worry about it tho. you followed the law and did the right thing. i tried to explain that to them, but they were all pretty mad so they didnt want to hear it. we'll always back up a cashier when it comes to alcohol sales."

sooo yeah. i mean, seriously. it's just alcohol. go to a gas station on your way home??? or here's a theory. DONT DRINK??