Walmart Says Dad Can’t Buy Beer Because He’s Shopping With Teen Daughter

Dear Walmart: Your price may not be beatable, but some would rather shop at a store that doesn’t treat them like criminals. (photo: Alex Nobunaga)

Back in college, I’d to the grocery store with friends and we always had to separate the beer from the other items being purchased because anyone chipping in money (yes, this was a time when most people paid by cash or check) had to be of legal drinking age. But if anyone under 21 just happened to be standing in line near the beer, no one cared. This is apparently not the case at Walmart, where a dad was told he couldn’t purchase beer and booze because he was shopping with his teen daughter.

The man tells the Des Moines Register that, along with some groceries, he took a couple of Bud six-packs and some vodka up to the register at a Walmart in Ames, IA, earlier this month.

But rather than ask the 57-year-old for ID, the cashier carded the teen girl.

Being 15, she had no form of ID to share with the cashier, who then refused to sell the alcohol to the man who was trying to buy it.

A rep for the store said requesting ID from everyone who appears to be under the age of 40 is a policy that has been around for a decade.

“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,” reads a customer service statement given to the dad. “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.”

The dad, who estimates that his family has spent about $3,000 at this particular Walmart in just the first half of 2014 was confounded and embarrassed by the situation.

“If Walmart is so worried about underage drinking and smoking, why do they sell alcohol and tobacco to begin with?” he asks. “Are they going to do this with other potentially dangerous things they sell, like ammo?”

The Register’s Lee Rood says he gave Walmart HQ two weeks to comment on this story, but did not receive any response.