rude people

[lovebuzz]

I just need to vent. I wait tables 2 nights a week at a steakhouse. Well last night a couple comes in and sit down and orders a beer. well i id them because she looks young and well I'm not going to jail for anybody. ( ok I have 4 kids, maybe a night in jail would not be so bad ) Anyway she did not have her id with her so I said sorry. well the boyfriend gets an attitude with me and asks what the legal age is here. I say 21. Apparently they were from the UK and he goes off on me. Tells me that they are here on vacation and that she is 26. well over the drinking age. I'm sorry but if you go to a diffrent country on vacation and want to have a beer. Then read up on that countrys laws. he kept saying well in my country....finally i had to tell him well this is my country and these are the laws. I did not make them. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[Luv'sTink]

Why would you go on vacation to another country and not take some kind of ID. Besides she HAD to have a passport.

You were right, the law is the law no matter what country you are from. That would be why so many 19 year olds go to Canada.

 

[LadyBears]

I can relate!

Years ago, when I was waitressing we had a "rule" - in which we had matching buttons to wear - "We card everyone under 100". Well, this family comes in - Mom, Dad & 2 kids. The parents looked in their 30's, but like you, policy says we must card. The dad wanted a drink - I card him - he has no ID. I told him nicely that I can't serve him without ID. He YELLED & through such a fit that everyone was staring. Just as my manager got to the table he yelled louder about the stupid policy & made his family leave!

I guess his drink was more important than his family's appetite?? I felt bad for the mom & kids.....

The entire restaurant was laughing at them as they walked out.

 

[lovemygoofy]

You did a good job. I can relate to rude people, considering I posted my own rude person thread recently lol. How would the woman not have an id if she was from another country? Anyways, good job for you sticking up for yourself.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

I just need to vent. I wait tables 2 nights a week at a steakhouse. Well last night a couple comes in and sit down and orders a beer. well i id them because she looks young and well I'm not going to jail for anybody. ( ok I have 4 kids, maybe a night in jail would not be so bad ) Anyway she did not have her id with her so I said sorry. well the boyfriend gets an attitude with me and asks what the legal age is here. I say 21. Apparently they were from the UK and he goes off on me. Tells me that they are here on vacation and that she is 26. well over the drinking age. I'm sorry but if you go to a diffrent country on vacation and want to have a beer. Then read up on that countrys laws. he kept saying well in my country....finally i had to tell him well this is my country and these are the laws. I did not make them. Thanks for letting me vent.

Go ahead and vent. You did the right thing, and their story is suspicious. Who travels in a foreign land with out having proper ID on them? That makes no sense to me. I think she was underage and wanted to see if she could get a drink. Also, you are 100% correct that when you visit a country you read up on their laws, because they are the laws you need to abide by.

 

[budbeerlady]

You did the right thing!

When I was waitressing my way through college the state would do "stings" with minors. They would come up with all sorts of stories, if you brought the beer you and the establishment were fined! Also it was really obvious as they would get up and go leaving a blue paper on the table behind them. It said something about secret whatever it was called that they were doing. That was 11 years ago but I am sure other states do something similar.

 

[DawnCt1]

I don't know if it is a Hawaii Law or a Maui County Law but I got carded everytime I ordered an "adult" beverage and I am well over twice 21! DH and I were in the ABC store and I bought a bottle of wine. I pulled out my ID which sent DH into fits of laughter until the clerk ask to see it!!

 

[Enchanted Tiki Bird]

In my province, the legal drinking age is 19. I am almost 26 and I get carded all the time. I really don't care. I just haul out my ID and show it to them.

I do find it a little weird though about the restaurant that cards everyone under 100. I mean, some people are really obviously above age.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

You did the right thing. If they had a problem with the rule they should have asked to speak with the manager. If the manager allowed her then the responsibility is his, hopefully your manager would always back you up. You were doing your job.

 

[FlyingBelle]

Being in my 30's (DH in his 40's) I'm always surprised that someone would think I'm under 21 - but we've had 2 incidences...

1) DH & I were working on our house, we'd had a completely exhausting day and decided to go out for dinner (we were working on the kitchen). DH forgot his wallet at home and just wanted a beer so badly. He got carded, they refused to serve him. Oh well - ordered a coke instead. Our fault for not bringing id, not the servers for refusing to serve him!

2) I was grocery shopping with my 80-something grandma. We walked to the store, so I just grabbed my keys and some cash, but not my driver's license. I needed to buy a bottle of wine for a recipe - not even thinking that I would be carded! Sure enough - they refused to sell it to me. So, I got grandma - but made the mistake of handing grandma some cash in front of the cashier (grandma didn't have any cash with her - just her credit card), and the cashier again refused because I was having her buy alcohol "for" me. Grandma still teases me about this one!

 

[KimR]

I don't know if it is a Hawaii Law or a Maui County Law but I got carded everytime I ordered an "adult" beverage and I am well over twice 21! DH and I were in the ABC store and I bought a bottle of wine. I pulled out my ID which sent DH into fits of laughter until the clerk ask to see it!!

I am well over 21 and get carded quite often. I think some estabishments card everyone no matter what. At City Walk I tried to order a margarita and was refused because I ddin't have my id with me - I had given it to DH to carry because I don't carry a purse around the parks. My kids thought it was hysterical that he wouldn't serve me and they insisted it was because he didn't believe I was over 21!! Yeah, I wish!

As to the OP, the drinking laws are much more lenient in Europe and I think it's hard for them to understand how serious the repurcussions are here for serving alcohol to minors. Not that that is any excuse for rudeness. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I honestly don't think I could do your job with all the rudeness you have to put up with on a daily basis.

 

[Oreo Cookie]

I don't know if it is a Hawaii Law or a Maui County Law but I got carded everytime I ordered an "adult" beverage and I am well over twice 21! DH and I were in the ABC store and I bought a bottle of wine. I pulled out my ID which sent DH into fits of laughter until the clerk ask to see it!!

This happened to me and DH when we were in Hawaii too!

I'm way past 21, but it was good feeling being carded!

 

[arminnie]

Anyway she did not have her id with her so I said sorry. well the boyfriend gets an attitude with me.

You should have told him you were going to call immigration if she entered the country illegally with no ID.

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

You totally did the right thing. When I was 26, I carried my i.d. if I planned on having alcohol. It just makes sense.

At nearly every store I go to, there are signs that state if you don't look over 27, you WILL be carded and no exception made if you don't have proper i.d.

One time when I was in my early 30's, I was feeling kind of blue about getting older, so in order to make myself feel better I thought I'd go buy some beer. I didn't want the beer, but knew I'd get carded and that would make me feel better-reassure myself that I still looked young.

Not only did the clerk, who was barely out of school, NOT card me, she called me "ma'am!!" So much for my ego.....

 

[pennst8r]

I like being carded.

Then I don't feel so old!

 

[LindaM]

In Alberta the legal drinking age is 18. I have a lot of family in Holland, and there you can drink legally at 16

 

[korbbec]

I know the feeling. I work in a steakhouse 2 nights a week too. I love it when I card a 23 year old and they huff and puff at me like I just insulted them. I actually had a dad try to berate me last Sat because I asked his 24 year old daughter for an ID. He started yelling about how she was his daughter and if he said it was ok to serve her alcohol then I have to do it no metter her age. Thank goodness she handed me her ID politely and told Dad to stop because he was embarrassing.

 

[Eega Beeva]

State to State (even county to county) the alcohol laws vary, but there are common threads. As their server you have a lot of responsibility and you are at risk of jail and fines. Serving a minor or an intoxicated person in most cases is a crime. You are under NO OBLIGATION to serve ANYONE, regardless if they show you an ID or not. For instance in my state it's also a crime to serve a "known drunk". If you are the last person to serve a patron and they are involved in an automobile accident, you are liable as is your place of work. In some counties a patron cannot move their drink by themselves if they change seating locations (table to table). If anyone gives you a hard time about being served, don't serve them at all. They sure aren't going to give a hoot when you are the one that winds up fined or in jail for breaking the law. The second someone gives you a rough time, get your manager to back you up, that's what they are there for. If the manager fails to back you, make him/her serve the patron and make sure the owner is aware of his/her actions. If the owner doesn't back you, quit and notify the local Alcohol and Beverage Control office.

 

[Enchanted Tiki Bird]

Just be happy that the sample ladies at Costco aren't questioning your age.

 

[VSL]

To the OP - I thought everyone in the UK knew that the US had a higher age drinking limit and was stricter about enforcing it than we are over here! I'm quite shocked (and a little embarrassed for my country - does anyone else feel a bit like that when they hear that someone from their country has done something idiotic while visiting another country?).

You should have told him you were going to call immigration if she entered the country illegally with no ID.

She may have had ID, but it was probably back at the hotel (regardless of her age).

I never carry my passport everywhere with me when I'm abroad, but I do make sure that I have some other ID (driving license) with me.