Walmart's ridiculous sales policy

Hello--I'm too a victim of this, but a much more extreme case--I
finally got fed up with them. About a year ago I went to buy a bottle
of wine with my groceries and my youngest was helpin unload groceries
and touched the wine. Then they couldn't sell it to me. Of course I
got mad and retaliated, but I just got the rest of my stuff and came
in later to get it by myself. Well, I had no clue that Walmart's
policy (which is currently being investigated) is that an adult can't
even buy it in the PRESENCE OF A CHILD. A few days ago I went to buy
wine with my 21 year old son (I'm 40) and he didn't have his id on him
(picture) anyway because he was in the process of updating from SC to
Al since he moved back with us. They denied it to me just because he
didn't have an ID. I felt soo personally discriminated against since
I was just in a week ago and bough wine with my younger girls and
there wasn't a problem. That's when I proceeded to say that it must
be a "backwards-country-****Christian religious conspiracy!" and I
called the police to verify his age, but it backfired on me. By the
time the police got there, I've had ugly words with the managers whom
want to ban me from Walmarts all over Alabama. I was in no way
violent and the cop got mad and took his anger out on me--slammed me
up against the window so hard that it almost fell out and the manager
had to push the window back up. I asked the cop why did he get
violent when I was willing to go to jail over this ridiculous policy?
HE DIDN'T HAVE AN ANSWER. He was probably worried that I would sue
him for HIS CONDUCT. Well, now I have to go to court on Jan. 21st
here in Wetumpka, Al to see if I just have to pay a fine, or go to
jail. My husband has since posted my bond which was $500 (he didn't
actually pay anything-he put a lean on our home). I am guilty of
disorderly conduct--but I was in no way violent. I was just offending
people with what I was saying. I'm a sensetive person and took this
to heart, but I really think that Walmart's policy is an invasion of
personal privacy. How is it Walmart's responsibility that someone
drinks underage? How can they play God?? I never would've guessed
that you couldn't buy alcohol in the presence of a minor. Everywhere
else you can. How could I not think this wasn't a Southern Christian
Conspiracy? I know I may sound exteme, but really this is
ridiculous!!!

my boyfriend and my dtr 16 just went thru checkout line - self pay and
when my 16 year old went to swipe the card -- after I had already been
verified as adult over 21 (i'm 36)---they then refused to sell the
alcohol which was fine, but then they decided to not let me go back
thru the line for the alcohol purchase by myself and they also held
onto my card-- in my name that my dtr was just helping me by swiping
and stated that she could not even push the cart with alcohol in it.
we were just letting her slide the card with my name on it, just to
help-- in no way was i contributing to an alcohol purchase for her, it
didn't even cross my mind. She then completed the transaction of the
alcohol and other misc items and signed at the bottom of the receipt-
"underage purchase" and then rang up the other items minus the wine
and then let me sign for the purchase. now both the purchases are
shoeing on my acct. one with the wine and other items and one without
the wine bbut with the other items. so, we were charged for the wine,
but didn't get to leave the store with it and then in essence we were
double charged for the other misc items we had purchased. We are
currently awaiting return call from corporate. she in essence did
complete an underage sell by charging our card-- if that is what she
think was going on -since she signed where my signature goes "underage
sale" and charge my bank account-- did she do something illegal by
completing this transaction if she thought it was a third party
purchase for alcohol???if it would have been cigarrettes, would it be
the same, if i would allow my 6 yr old just wipe the card to help
would it still be an underage sell???-- it's frustrating because they
even told me i was not allowed to come back and purchase alcohol until
the next day. I understand them trying to cut down on underage
purchases, but this is riduculous and their attitude towards me here
in south carolina was ridiculous-- like i was a criminal-- so, I guess
a child--even a teenager is not allowed to push a cart with alcohol,
or slide the card in their moms name while in self checkout for the
parent when there is alcohol involved. Pretty sad that they completed
the transaction and charged my acct and i didn't get to leave with my
bottle of wine. Guess I'm getting a little educatin on alcohol
purchases here and how walmart deals with the public-- it was quite
embarrassing for the guests behind me to see it unfold as I would
never purchase or let my 16 yr old purchase the alcohol for her
consumption. I did get my card back in the end but only after i had to
use some words that I normally wouldn't say...

This just happened to me and my husband about an hour ago. We are
both 30 years old. I had forgotten my wallet at home. We currently
live in Iowa which allows parents to serve their children. The
cashier and the manager told us that it was because of third party
sales to minors. We are still fuming mad! I even was getting ready
to leave so that he could make the purchase but they said they still
would not sell it to him. They also said it was because it is a
college town, however, we are originally from a college town that has
no problems with selling alcohol to parties where not everyone has
ID's. I even asked if it was a policy or if it was a law and was told
it was a policy. We do most of our shopping at Wal-Mart but have
started to rethink this. I have read a similiar blog to this and
apparently this stupid policy has made the rounds to several
Wal-Marts. If they have policies where it is harder for people to
make legal purchases but the store a few blocks down doesn't, who are
they potecting? I have worked for an attorney in the past and I
really doubt they would not be liable by law for third party sales.

I agree this is a dumb policy. However how if your children are
underage is it legal for HIM to serve them at HOME????

The whole idea is stupid beyond belief.
First, it is easier in this country for a kid to buy an automatic
weapon than it is for him to buy a beer.

Second, is a single mother with kids who wants relief from stress by
purchasing a aix-pack supposed to let the kids alone, locked in the
car witht the windows up on a hot day or alone at home to get into
trouble, both of which are also illegal?

soooo what you r saying is that if a father buys beer with their 2
sons drinks on the way home gets in a wreck and kills the 2 boys and
the single mother driving the other car then the cashier gets aressted
because she did not id everyone in the party thats ok?? thats why we
id everyone to protect you, me, and your family and no im not saying
he would do that but that is why the rule is place..... but thats just
the crazy way walmart work we like to mess up your whole day but yet
you keep coming back and spending your time and money to buy things
and to make yourself feel better

I do agree with minors not being allowed to consume alcohol until the
state's legal drinking age (the law in Indiana). With that being
said, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to deny someone who is of
legal drinking age the sale of alcohol, whether is kids were with him
or not. If they are going to do that, then what about cigarettes or
cold meds that you need to sign for? And when does it stop? I mean,
come on! We're not freaking little kids here. We have a right to
make our own decisions on what purchases we want to make, when we want
to make them.

Well, here in the state of Indiana, it IS illegal to give a minor
alcohol. Although I don't agree with the policy that you can't buy
alcohol with a minor in your presence, I thoroughly agree with it
being illegal to give a minor alcohol. You would think that would
just be common sense, but then again...

I've had this problem too. They wouldn't let me purchase beer with a
16 year old next to me but they had no problem selling it to me when I
had a 6 year old next to me. Go figure....

That is ridiculous....guess they are going to lose some gusiness. In
Texas the law states that minors can't contribute to the purchase, but
they can accompany an adult while the adult purchases.
In my opinion, the "bad apple" population that has turned sue happy
over the past century, has ruined it for us all.
Cheers!

Isn't this like, a liability issue? If you give your teens booze that
you bought while you were with them at the store, and they got into a
drunk driving accident, the store can get sued, or something.

BTW, everyone's saying its legal to serve kids booze. Yeah, but why
do you want to get your kids liquored up in the first place? Better
prepare them for Youth AA.

Here in NJ Walmart doesn't sell liquor/alcohol, neither does Wawa or
Seven Eleven and so on. You have to go to a liquor store for
anything.

Seems that WalMart just wants to keep all of their bases covered so
that they don't get in trouble with the law and have to pay the
penalty. A strict store policy ensures that it will be unlikely they
will get a fine for having one of their cashier minions slip up by not
following the procedure. It's all about saving $.

Unless this is a law in your state Walmart should not be asking their
customers to do this.
However, if it is then they are well within their right to enforce it.


Ohio has no law like this...anyone of legal age can purchase
beer/alcohol no matter if they are with underaged persons or not.

And as far as your claim that its legal to supply beer to your child
at home there are many counties/cities who have their own laws
regarding this. Just because one wants to be cool with their kids does
not mean they should allow them to drink. Sadly more communites/states
should have this law.

BTW,I forgot to clarify that its not just a Walmart rule, but it is
indeed a law. working at a grocery store in the past, we were told we
had to card EVERYONE in the party who was buying the
alcohol,regardless if they werent teh ones paying. Had there been an
undercover cop, they would bust you for it. Its s law in every place,
its just the fact that no one really enforces it. I guess they dont
care to risk their jobs.

this is not a policy..this is a LAW! You or your husband do not have
special law privileges over any one else, regardless if you have your
children with you when attempting to purchase alcohol.The reason for
this law is if any alcohol is given to a minor (regardless if someone
is of legal age who bought it) from the person legal of age, if that
child is physically hurt and has proof that they were drinking and
that the drinking caused the accident, the clerk who sold it to the
legal customer could be sued personally and thrown in jail, not to
mention lose his or her job! Having children present only contributes
to suspicion of underage drinking. Personally, Being in retail, I know
feeding my family is much more important than some stranger's booze
fix! I hope you understand the consequences now,and that other people
also have families to feed.

I believe that this may actually be a Wal-mart Policy that just isn't
enforced across the board. I have one wal-mart in my town that follows
this exact policy and one that doesn't. it just seems to be up to the
individual store on how to handle it. There is also a trend I'm seeing
where these stores all have a separate little "Store-Area", for lack
of a better name, where all hard Liquor is sold separate from all
other merchandise.

I'm with the OP on this one. Unless this is state law, I think it's
absolutely ridiculous! I'm a parent of an 8 and 3 year old. I don't
typically buy alcohol, but over the holidays I bought 2 six packs in
one shopping trip and a bottle of champagne in another. My kids were
with me both times. Would I have purchased the alcohol if my grocery
store had insisted my children not be present? Certainly not. They
would have lost the sale and I would simply have gone elsewhere.

Anyone stop to think that MAYBE this ONE store has had a problem in
the past where people were buying alcohol for under age kids, so they
felt this policy was the best way to stop it? I can see that
happening. Have you checked other Walmarts? Is it really just this
one? If it is, then I would think that there was something that
caused this store to implement the policy. It may just be easier to
say "All must have ID and be 21" then to pick and choose. If you
"pick and choose" you run the risk of the person behind some one that
got pasted the policy, complaining that THEY didn't get the pass. See
where I am going?

If your husband goes back and wants to but alcohol there again, DON'T
have your kids stand in line with him. They are old enough to wait
right outside the door. Or have then go to the bathroom or something.

If this manager were in Wisconsin, he'd have some explaining to do
because the law doesn't support his cause. In Wisconsin, it is
perfectly legal for a parent to serve alcohol to a child. (See my post
below.)

Personally, I think this is a ridiculous policy too.

my understanding of this policy is that a cashier can refuse to sell
you alcohol if they SUSPECT a two party sale. if he/she observes you
exchanging money or asking someone in your party what brand they
drink, then yes card everyone. the simple presence of a minor should
not tip the cashier off. i think that if you explained the situation
EXACTLY as it happend, then yes the cashier was being unreasonable. in
response to the other half of your complaint, policy also states that
management CANNOT reverse the cahiers decision, this is for liablity
reasons, the cashier's operator number appears on the ticket,
therefore should anything illegal happen, there is no way to prove
that a manager has a say in the matter.

hope this clears everything up,
chad

While I do understand why you would be upset because if I where in
that situation I would most likely have been upset also.I can also
understand why the cashier did that,there are alot of people out there
that do buy alcohol for minor children being parent or someone eles.If
something was to happen to anyone and they knowingly sold them alcohol
they will be held responsible.I am a disrict manager for a retail
chain and I know what the consequences are.I had a great employee who
was with me for 5 years,two older looking gentlemen came in and bought
beer,she did card them but come tp find out it was a sting operation
done by the police.They had fake I.D's.The police had made them so
real that to be honest you would not know,it was there picture and
everything that to me just isn't fair.I had to fire her I have no
choice.This poor girl was arrested,fired,fined and had to pay bond all
in the same night.To me this should be illegal.Honest people working
and being set up it's not right.So I can totally understand why the
cashier was that way,alot of things can happen that just aren't worth
it,while I understand your situation because I have been there I also
know it is there job and there lives that will be affected.I hope you
also realize that it is illegal for anyone even a parent to serve a
minor child alcohol at anytime and anyplace,you can and will be
arrested for child neglect and endangerment.I hope you can understnd
why the sales people act the way they do when it comes to alcohol,it
isn't them you should be upset with it is the people who make the
laws.They are just trying to keep there jobs and stay out of jail.
Please try not to be upset with the people who serve you.

OK....Going back to the complaint. It IS NOT against the law to buy
alcohol, in NY, with minors present, if they are your chuldren.
But....it IS against the law to serve them alcohol, in your home or
anywhere else, IF YOU GET CAUGHT.(It is called Endangering the welfare
of a child..Penal Law 260.10.)Now, that my friends is a very
ridiculous law!!!!

I live in PA where you can only buy beer/liquor in a state store or
beer distributor. It is also illegal in PA to serve minors alcohol. I
know of several cases around where minors were at a party and got into
an accident on the way home and hurt/killed another driver. The adults
at the party were also charged in the crime even though they were not
driving the car.

The stores here can ID people if they look under 40 to buy cigarettes!
A policy is a policy, leave the teens in the car then go in and buy
the beer if the need be. If the kids are not teens and cannot be
alone, I guess a special trip without them would be needed.

Here in Ohio, a lot of places have signs up saying if you are buying
alcohol, EVERY person in your party must show ID.

I have never seen those signs in stores that sell groceries, though.
In fact, the woman in front of me at Miejer the other day had her two
kids with her and she bought wine and beer.

I wonder, are the kids older teenagers? Maybe the clerk was erring on
the side of caution. If so, I agree, a manager should have been able
to override the decision.

I cant imagine them refusing to sell alcohol in a walmart, target, etc
when, say someone is doing their weekly shopping and has their kids
with her.

I agree 100%!!!!!!!

The only reason I can think of this happening might be because the
manager did not believe they were his children and thought he was
buying them alcohol.

I know that in Texas it is legal for a parent or legal guardian to
give alcohol to their children. Can even do so in a restaurant so
long as the child drinks from the parents/legal guardians glass and
not their own.

That is ridiculous- I agree completely. I do not shop at Wal-Mart
myself, but I am a minor and have never heard of this. My parents have
purchased alcohol in my presence multiple times. Sounds like the
manager interpreted a policy incorrectly.

I believe it IS illegal to give minors alcohol in your home, or any
where else, for that matter. Someone who knows the law can say better
than I. BUT....If it is the policy of Walmart, then it's the policy.
The next time, he should go alone!

Actually, it is illegal for a minor to possess alcohol regardless of
where and from whom they obtained it. Wal-Mart is correct in not
selling your husband beer when he had minors with him. They don't know
if they are his children or not and if he is buying the beer for them.
Believe it or not, it is pretty common for minors to get adults to
purchase alcohol for them. Next time, have your husband go by himself
to buy his beer.