A man from Iowa aged 57 who was denied the right to purchase vodka and beer from a Wal-Mart store has shown his disapproval by saying that he felt humiliated when this was done to him in front of his teenage daughter, who was there with him.
Jim Davis had selected Budweiser and Smirnoff along with groceries. But during payment, it was his daughter who was carded. The cashier asked for age proof, and as she was unable to provide it, she was not allowed to take the alcohol. The reason was that asking for ID is a procedure that has been in place for more than 10 years.
The service statement said, “In order to ensure that alcoholic beverages and tobacco are not sold to minors, Walmart is testing point-of-sale age checks in some locations across the country,” “By testing this, we hope to discover the best methods for ensuring that products are not sold illegally to minors. In addition, to comply with federal laws, stores may ask for the ID from individuals within a group other than the person making the purchase.”
Brian Nick, who is the National Media Relations director said, “What happened is not consistent with the intent of our policy,” “The last thing you want to do is create an atmosphere where people feel they can’t be in the store purchasing things with their children.”
Jim Davis gave a strong reaction, “If Walmart is so worried about underage drinking and smoking, why do they sell alcohol and tobacco to begin with?” “Are they going to do this with other potentially dangerous things they sell, like ammo?