No alcohol for you!

Had this little situation crop up the other day, and for the life of me, I can't figure out what sense it makes.

 

So apparently there's a policy that some stores have in effect (and some states as well, as far as I can tell) that says you must ID everyone in a party if an individual is buying alcohol.

 

Before I gripe about it, let me just get the obvious out of the way. Yes, I understand that the policy attempts to undermine under-aged drinking. Yes, I understand that the store is just covering their own ass. And lastly, I understand that a vendor may refuse to do business with anyone for any reason (although randomly refusing paying customers seems like one shitty business model.) Okay, better? I'll carry on...

 

What the hell? Even with the half-assed explanations that I can come up with, this seems like a remarkably stupid idea. Any purchasing policy that can be completely defeated if the buyer of goods simply says, "Hey, stand over there for a minute" must be shit to begin with.

 

And, to make matters worse, there is another glaring hole in this policy: it starts with a completely subjective judgment call. I've bought many adult beverages with my small children in tow. Do they get carded? Would that make sense? So what's the cutoff?

 

I'll tell you what. How about you stop trying to save me from me? What's next, asking for my keys at the register so that I don't speed on the way home? If you are dead set on 100% absolutely not contributing to underage drinking, don't sell alcohol. But that would cost you money...