Serving a Minor....IT HAPPENED!!

[Tiggerlover91]

underage drinking sting....

i just heard about this and several have been busted for not carding those trying to drink or smoke. anyone heard of this. where an underage person is purposely sent in to a restaurant for example and all they do is order alcohol. there is an officer there that no one knows about and if the young person isn't carded..busted!! how embarrassing! now i've seen many say 19 year olds who look legal, but what they say is true...looks can be and ARE deceiving. guess i learned my lesson...ALWAYS card!

 

[ktpool]

This happens all of the time. It is a very common police strategy.

I have seen servers go to jail, pay fines and establishments closed down.

It is very serious business!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

In the hospitality industry, i've seen it happen ALOT at the hotel bars and such!

 

[Planogirl]

I remember this going on back in the dark ages when I was a teen. It's an old ploy and it's amazing that so many bars are so lax about carding.

 

[CPM]

Yes and I'm glad they do it, especially in college areas.

 

[hellokitty86]

I've seen this alot.

When I was in high school, programs would come to our school and ask for volunteers to do this. The kids would even get paid per restaurant/gas station/liquor store they went to!

I'm glad they do it, it's a great idea. These young kids DO NOT need to be drinking. If someone sells an underage person liquor, they need to face the consequences.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Wonder what happens in a corporate restaurant if someone is caught not carding. I mean that can't shut it down..I don't think.

 

[poohandwendy]

Wonder what happens in a corporate restaurant if someone is caught not carding. I mean that can't shut it down..I don't think.

Not sure what you mean by a 'corporate restaurant'....any establishment can lose their license to serve alcohol if their employees serve alcohol to minors. The employee can be fined and criminally charged, the owner of the establishment can be fined and criminally charged. (and the fines are really steep) And for many establishments, losing their liquor license is as good as being shut down.

It does not matter how old the customer 'looks'. The servers are responsible for carding anyone who 'may' be underage. The server and the owner of the establishment are legal liable for the alcohol they serve.

I am shocked you haven't heard of this type of sting operation before. It's been going on for years.

 

[mommy*RN]

When I was 18, I got my first full-time job working as a dispatcher for a small community police department. They didn't have much going on at night (which is when I usually worked). Some of the detectives decided they wanted to bust the local liquor stores so they asked me to go in and purchase a case of beer and see if I would get carded. It was more fun than sitting behind the desk...so I agreed. There were only 3 liquor stores in the village I worked for and they all sold to me without asking for ID...of course this was 12 yrs ago...but it happened then...I can't imagine it not happening now. Sad...

 

[Planogirl]

Liquor stores are really stupid for doing this. It's well known that these stings go on.

Of course, it doesn't stop anything. When I was a kid, liquor was easy to get just like illegal drugs and the like. Doing these stings won't slow it down I'm afraid.

 

[poohandwendy]

Liquor stores are really stupid for doing this. It's well known that these stings go on.

I would be really, really surprised to hear of a liquor store around here getting busted for this. We have state run liquor stores where no one under the age of 21 is even allowed in the store and the employees are generally elderly men who pretty much card anyone under the age of 60. It's much more common for restaurants and bars to not card.

 

[pigletz]

We had several people at the stand that I volunteer at get in trouble for not carding. Luckily the people who they didn't card were over 21. The stadium was doing it's own investigation and since the rule is to card if they look under 30 the people were told they couldn't come back. There's one guy that volunteers there that is hysterical. He cards everone no matter what age they look because he is so paranoid about getting caught. It doesn't matter if the person has gray hair and a walker. They'll still get carded by him. The funny thing is the people who give me the hardest time are the ones who are 22-25. Anyone who is 21 is happy they can finally drink legally and anyone over 25 is happy to still get carded. I just tell them I'm 32 and I still get carded for cigarettes. Get used to it.

 

[#1MMFan]

I do find it rather odd how obsessed the USA seems to be about ID'ing for alcohol and cigarettes. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with underage drinking in the sense that a law shouldn't be broken, but let's face it, a 20yr old with a drink is probably no less responsible than a 21 year old. I always think that US has a lot more serious problems than having the occasional person who looks older than they actually are, getting served alcohol or cigarettes. We certainly don't have more problems over here with an age limit of 18. In fact I'd go as far as to say that maybe it would be more appropriate for the driving age to be raised as opposed to the drinking age as - let's face it - the cars are lethal weapons to others more so than alcohol or cigs.
On topic, the police quite often are known to send kids in to buy alcohol from off-sales, supermarkets etc over here, and the stores can get hefty fines.

 

[southernbella]

That's become popular around here lately. As a Waiter/bartender, I wish they would make it easy on me & make it a law that if you want a drink, you must show id. That way I won't get cussed out by a just turned 21 year old redneck who's Mama's been letting them drink since they were on the bottle who's soooo offended that I need proof he's old enough to drink!

*putting soapbox away*

 

[ducklite]

Wonder what happens in a corporate restaurant if someone is caught not carding. I mean that can't shut it down..I don't think.

Sure it can. A corporate restaurant is no more above the law than a corner gin joint.

Usually it takes multiple violations before a liquor license is pulled or suspended though, and corporate restaurants are generally not scrutinized as closely, or as susceptible to being a place where underage patrons even try to order--although it can happen. A TGIF in NJ came close to a suspension after repeated citations for underage service a few years back.

Anne

 

[salmoneous]

Yeah, yeah, yeah - enforce the law and all that. If you've got a law you need to enforce it. But I've got a really hard time caring if a 20-year old is able to get a beer at a restaurant.

 

[SC Minnie]

My 18 yo nephew works at a grocery store and was busted by one of these stings. He was charged and I believe the store was fined. His sentence ended up being community service.

These types of stings have gone on for about 25 years here. Really since they changed the legal age for beer and wine from 18 to 21.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

It's weird...when I was about 17 or 18, a friend and I went out one evening with my mother and her work friends, but we sat at a separate table and not once were we asked for ID. Now at age 32, I'm asked all the time. But my companions...never.

 

[Allison]

It's done a lot at convenience stores and gas stations too.

 

[suzannews]

Where I work, the rule is if the person looks 30 or under, you card them. I just always joke about it and its never been a problem. We've taken away alcohol from a table where one person orders it and gives it to an underage kid. What you do in your house is your business but I am not going to jail for you.