Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Wal-Mart Sucks

Ok, so I know that's not exactly an astonishing revelation, but I'm not talking about a general hatred for Wal-Mart and their poor business practices, this is more of a specific complaint about a Wal-Mart in Orlando. I shop at Wal-Mart at home in Jacksonville all the time, just because it's easy and cheap, and I don't give a fuck if the store is cluttered or the people working there know anything about what they're selling. So, we're on vacation at Universal Orlando, and decide that if we want a snack, we don't want to pay $12 for a jar of nuts, or $5 for M&M's, and we need a few things to wear when going on the water rides, so we decide to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart. Now of course at home, you can't drive 10 minutes without running into a Super Wal-Mart, but here we turn the wrong way and drive for an hour before eventually finding one.

So, we get there and go in, and of course all Super Wal-Marts are laid out almost exactly the same, but that doesn't help me from feeling like I'm in the Twilight Zone any time I go into one where the groceries are on the right instead of left like I'm used to. Anyway, we get some snacks, and some water shoes and stuff, and we go the register, wait in line for about 15 minutes, then finally get to the front of the line. When the cashier gets to a bottle of wine my wife was buying, she asks for ID, and I start to show her, but then she points to my 16 year old daughter and says "No, her ID." So we explain that she is 16 and the woman says she can't sell us the wine. Of course we're flabbergasted and try to explain that we're not giving her the wine and she tells us that Wal-Mart policy is that everyone in the party must be 21 to purchase alcohol.

Now, I don't know if that is actually Wal-Mart policy, or if it's just their local policy or just that particular store's policy or what. I do know if it's Wal-Mart's corporate policy, every Wal-Mart I've ever been to has the good sense to ignore it. And I don't mind anything that discourages underage drinking, but this policy is so asinine that's it's unbelievable that anyone could have ever thought this was actually a good idea. Mostly, because it's so easily circumvented. Anyone who knows about the policy will simply leave the underage people somewhere else when paying, and the people who don't know about it will simply take the alcohol to a different register after finding out about it. The only people that will be dissuaded by it will be people like us who are legitimately purchasing alcohol and just say fuck it when confronted with their retarded policy. Anyone who actually wants to give underage people the alcohol will just do one of the things I mention above. Also, I could understand this a little more in a liquor store or some kind of smaller store where they had any chance of enforcing, or at least where underage people had no business going anyway. But this is a store that sells everything from tires to toothpaste, and where I'm likely to buy a bit more stuff and shop in a more general fashion.

Anyway, the fact that I actually was motivated to post this should show you how irritated I was with this crap. Anyone else ever heard of this ridiculous policy at their local Wal-Mart? Or any other poicies you want to bitch about?

Oh, and otherwise, we're having a great time.

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28 comments:

Toast said...

Why on Earth would you shop at Wal*Mart in any case? What, there aren't any Targets around?

John Howard said...

I didn't see any Targets, but I normally shop at Wal-Mart anyway.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps it was that one specific cashier's policy.

michelline said...

I've seen this policy but I've never had someone try it out on me. You're right, it's one of those stupid policies that only affects people who actually abide by the rules, like DRM.

I've bought plenty of beer at supermarkets with my kids along, and no one has ever tried to stop me.

Anonymous said...

We stopped shopping at Walmart altogether now. I object to having the stuff I buy made by 11 year olds in China. And the Super Target is really really close to Universal. It's right there at the Millenium Mall (for future reference;> )

John Howard said...

Is the Millenium Mall close to Universal?

Unknown said...

It happened to me today. This is insane and unbeleivable. I baught a six pack of beer and went to register. I had my wife with me and she was not carrying her purse with her. And guess what? Cahier refused me to sell beer. He mentioned that it's their policy and they can not sell it. So I asked my wife to go back to car. Then I took one more six pack and went to other register and paid for it without any problem. I wonder if somebody carrying a little baby with him/her. Would they ask the same question???/?

Anonymous said...

The exact same thing happened to us, and it was the final breaking point that caused us to stop shopping at Wal-mart.

Anonymous said...

I had the same thing happen to me. Me and my girlfriend (im 22 and shes 20) went out to see a movie and decided we shouldnt just go home and sleep but rather get some wine and watch some tv since we were both pretty awake. Anyway we go to the local walmart (it was the only place open) and just buy a liter of merlot since its our favourite wine. We get to the cashier and she looks at the bottle, then at me, then at my girl then says: "So... you two are going to have some fun tonight?" Without thinking about it i say "yea, its a good wine, not much else to do tonight" and my girlfriend smiles and nods as I say that. The cashier then asks for both our IDs. So i start thinking, and say, look its only for me shes not going to drink it. But she referres to the fact that my gf apparently "nodded" and that she cant sell it unless she has ID from both of us. Anyway i was about to let my gf go back to the car while i just walk to another cashier and get the wine but my girlfriend asked me not to because she was afraid it was some sort of law we dont know about since we are both new in this state.

Anyway about this whole issue I think the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. Doesn't seem right that you can join the military, use granades, machine guns, actually KILL people, even VOTE if you wanted to but you cant go out and buy a drink.

Mike Bishop said...

Same thing happened to my Dad and I in Reno, NV. We were buying a bunch of groceries, as he was here visiting me from Texas for the weekend. Since I am 20 and he's..... lol, way old, we also got a 6-pack to enjoy back at the house. But Wal-Mart would not have it, they refused the sale. So we went to Safeway next door and got a 6-pack no problem.

Now the even crazier part is that Nevada law does state that someone aged 18 - 20 may drink under the direct supervision of their parent or guardian on a private property. So what we were doing is in no way illegal at all. Wal-Mart just plain sucks. And you're right, it's so easy to circumvent... just leave the under-aged people in the car when you buy it.

It pisses me off that I live alone, own a house, own a new car, make extremely good money and am 100% independent.... I can go buy a rifle, join the military, own a business, travel to most any country alone.... but still not be allowed to buy a beer. If 18 is the legal adult age for everything else, it should be for alcohol too.

Kim said...

I encountered the same problem today with my Mom at Wal-Mart. I'm 20 and my mom is obviously well over the carding age and along with buying lots of other items we picked up a 12 of Mike's. Not exactly hard drinking :/.

But when we got to the register the girl, who was obviously not over 21, asked for my ID. After a night of crazy dogs (we're dog sitting and got about 5 hours between the tow of us) the two of us flipped out. The cashier backed down and sold it to us. This was in Massachusetts, a state that allows parents to buy for their children.

But this is the straw that broke the camel's back. I go to college in Arkansas in a dry county and the local laws about drinking are ridiculous. Not 21 and want to go to a restaurant? If they serve alcohol, too bad! You're baned. In a college town where the only other options are pizza and IHOP, it gets old fast. Underage drinking is a big issue and by issue I mean a big problem of opinion in the US. While there are serious issues with making it legal, such as increased drunk driving and all that, there's also the other side of the issue of learning to drink responsibly. Thankfully my parents showed me the right way otherwise I could be like some of my more...conservativly raised friends in Arkansas who get alcohol poisoning from overdoing it.

I'm going to refrain from shopping at Wal-mart at all costs from now on, which will be pretty hard when I return to college in Arkansas, as they've wiped out almost everything else in the town.

Admin said...

Happened to me too. Does anyone know if there is a written policy on this somewhere?

It must be something from corporate as many stores have the same policy.

At what age do they decide that they need to card. If I was with a 6 year old would they refuse to sell it to me?

Anonymous said...

I had it happen to me tonight. I was grocery shopping with my girlfriend who is 20. I figured why not buy a 5th of whiskey. Well it turned out to be on of those momments when you just want to tell the chashier to fuck off. I really wish the cashier would take the time to realize that my girlfriend would more than likely NOT drink whiskey. So, I took all the things in my cart. Put them on the shelf next to the cashiers place and walked away, and did my grocery shopping else where. This is the final straw with walmart, they have lost another customer. If they keep this up I'm sure they will loose more. I'm tired of walmart setting all of theses rules. If your 21 you should be able to buy alcohol no matter what.

Danielle Moser said...

This happened to my boyfriend and i just last night, but we figured it was late night, I was purchasing something entirely separate and no one would care. We knew about the policy though (we live in mid-missouri) but figured they wouldn't mind as i was making a totally separate purchase. The cashier said we were together because she saw us talking in line. What the hell? It's a terrible policy and i'm writing an angry letter. Wal-mart is the worst place in the world to shop anyway, but that was really the last straw.

Anonymous said...

anyone under the age of 35 is carded for tobacco or alcohol. wal mart policy. the one i work at usually wont hassle you if you are buying and you have your kids with you though! boyfriend and girlfriend is a different story, they will ask for both id's. all policy!!!

eva said...

Wal-Mart refused to sell me alcohol because my driver's licence is expired. My date of birth is still the same, didn't expire! but that didn't fly. You need a valid ID. OK, so I show my green card. No, no good. A federally issued ID is "not valid". My European driver's licence and ID - nope, that's their policy. Are they f** crazy? So foreginers who are traveling to the US and want to shop at Wal-Mart will be denied the right to puchase alcohol?!
That was their last nail to their coffin - not shopping there any more, even if I have to drive 20 miles to the next store.

Anonymous said...

I was with my 19 year old daughter, and was buying fishing tackle and red wine, when I was asked for both of our ID's. I had dealt with stupid people all day and wasn't in the mood for anymore. Long story short, I was escorted from the store and felt threatened. I am non-violent but came very close to violating my own beliefs. I will not let this go. wal-mart does suck and I hope they choke on it! I asked for the written policy and the mangers couldn't produce it. I asked how they knew about the policy and they stated they had seen it at the court house. Duh Huh. RIGHT. F$^%K You! Idiots are evey where.

Addict said...

We ran into the same thing at a Walmart in Oregon last night. I think it's a "walmart thing".
My adult daughter was buying wine... I was carded too since we were shopping together. Glad she had me with her and not her infant son...
to which the clerk responded that they would NOT sell to an adult or family shopping with even their infants.

S said...

My active duty Military son was not allowed to purchase alcohol in a local wal mart using his valid military ID. He then showed them his valid NYS driver's license. They still refused.
Wal-Mart is terrible to our troops!

Anonymous said...

i am a 60+ lady from west jefferson ohio who purchased [rather, attempted too] buy 2 bottles of wine from the london wal-mart, i was asked for my i.d. which was in the car, the 40'ish woman insisted that people try to put on make-up,etc. to make themselves appear older and refused the sale.how stupid can you get!no amount of make up would hide my age. they have lost a customer to the Kroger down the street who isn't so ignorant.

Unknown said...

This happened to me today. My 70 year old husband (I'm 54) and I went to our local Walmart in Albuquerque, NM to buy groceries. We had also purchased a bottle of Vodka. We had forgotten our reusable bags and my husband said he would go get the truck and pull it up for me. The cashier asked if my husband would be coming back and I told her no. She said she had to have his ID for purchasing the vodka. I asked for a supervisor and the supervisor told me she could not over ride the cashiers decision as this was her license on the line. Long story short I called 1-800-walmart to complain and received an asinine call from the assistant manager explaining their policy. I will not let this go and will go as far up the stupid chain of command as I can. Oh by the way, I will throw out the Walmart reusable bags as I won't need them anymore. Target here I come.

Anonymous said...

update from walmart in alpharetta, they are not allowed to sell alcohol to non US citizens, european passport was not valid proof of our age according to their stupid new policy.

Anonymous said...

Nice post and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you as your information.

Anonymous said...

It sounds to me like alot of these posts prove the purchaser intended to share the alcohol with a minor. The 22 year old with a 20 year old wife who thinks 18 should be the legal drinking age. Come on, the cashier isn't stupid and neither are we. The law doesnt bend just for young love birds that get married at 18. No ID, not 21, no alcohol. Period!

Unknown said...

This happened to us just now in Jacksonville W/M. My wife and I bought our weekly groceries and had our 21-year-old daughter along. Even though I was obviously the paying customer, my daughter had to provide ID. So I asked the cashier, "If my daughter were ten, could I buy the beer." No answer, just a defensive shrug of the shoulders. Having lived the last twelve years in the Philippines, where I can just send my child up the street to buy me a beer, I have to say this Land of the Free thing is a joke. I am done shopping at W/M and I am applying now for my Costco membership. Cheers and good riddance.

Anonymous said...

Hey Anonymous 9/02/2010 4:07 PM, When you get married such as the case you said with the 22 year old and the 20 year old. The 22 year old becomes the legal guardian over the 20 year old after marriage...just like the 20 year old's parents. Therefore the 22 year old can serve the 20 year old alcohol with no problems asked. Just like when a minor drinks with their parents, there isn't an issue. W/M's alcohol policy is just ridiculous...I mean come on a parent of a 10 year old can't buy alcohol with their groceries if the 10 year old is with them?! Why does W/M even bother selling alcohol?

V said...

I just had this same exact thing happen to me. My wife was paying for our groceries. We knew that more than likely she would get carded but the cashier tells us we both need to get our i.d. out. So I have to run out to the car and get my i.d. While I was out my wife and the "friendly" cashier almost have a fall out because the cashier was being rude. I just got off the phone with the store manager and she just basically said sorry. You know what ...F-U have a nice day!!!!!

Anonymous said...

My boyfriend and I were denied sale of alcohol at Wal-Mart because he is Canadian. They would not accept his valid passport as ID because it was a Canadian passport, the cashier wanted a US passport. I looked up Florida statue law and find that a passport is indeed valid ID, and it does not have to be a US passport as the cashier claimed. We went across the street to the liquor store and had no problems; we even saved a $1.00. We will no longer be shopping at Wal-Mart. They don't know how to read the law they are trying to enforce, and it further feels as if we were discriminated against based on nationality.