If you’re working at a place that requires you to ask for ID, one would expect that passports would be a fairly common ID presented.
Nobody is expecting the store clerk to be familiar with the complexities of jus sanguis or jus soli but a basic knowledge of US passports.
I fail to see how it’s elitism to expect a basic knowledge of passports if one works in a role like that.
The irony is that your statements suggesting that minimum wage workers in West Lafayette Indiana should be familiar with passports is the embodiment of elitism. Not everyone has the same experiences, resources and access to training that “elite” people have had and it is frequently the case that “elites” lack the self awareness to realize this imbalance of opportunities.
I agree. Do you know US residents who use their passports for ID when not traveling? And I’m referring to US residents who have long held passports. I can honestly say I’ve never used mine for ID when I’m in the US… even on vacation. I use my DL.
So who are these people regularly using passports as ID so that the average grocery, pharmacy, etc cashier should be familiar?
DarkM is an expat, I believe… perhaps that’s skewing their perspective… but on the surface it suggests a shameful lack of awareness and elitism.
Ok…what would trouble me is that there was no supervisor, or someone in the store who does know what a passport looks like and means. Or someone who could be called at least. Surely the folks higher up on the food chain (no pun intended) would have been able to deal with this.
Nobody is expecting every minimum wage worker to be familiar with a US passport.
I’m not arguing that a worker at McDonalds needs to be familiar with US passports.
But if you’re working in a role that requires people to present ID, it’s hardly a high bar to expect them to be familiar with a US passport (which would be a common ID).
I think it’s condescending to assume that a minimum wage worker who would see IDs presented can’t familiarize himself/herself with common IDs.
But perhaps I do live in a bubble. I can accept that.
People should know that Puerto Rico and Guam are IN the United States, but many don’t.
Most people in Indiana have probably not seen a US Coast Guard ID, though it is valid everywhere and not would not be rare in Alaska. People have different experiences; there is no reason to expect otherwise or be offended
People have different experiences; there is no reason to expect otherwise or be offended
I’m not offended. Perhaps my tone didn’t come across well.
I’m just fascinated that people can live without a passport. It’s just not imaginable to me which is why I find it interesting.
I took a professional exam recently - the only form of ID they accepted was a passport. This is an American professional exam at that. How would one take such an exam like that without a passport?!
You do realize that says more about you, right?
It may be condescending, but I can easily believe there are minimum wage workers who don’t know what a passport looks like, or get confused when presented with a Puerto Rican driver’s license and US passport, and thus refuse to accept either of them.
Last I heard, only about 40% of Americans have a passport.
Indeed there was a time when teens sought to produce fake identification from rarely encountered states hoping bartenders wouldn’t know the difference…
You do realize that says more about you, right?
Absolutely.
That was my intention - it’s interesting to me. I don’t mean to start an argument here - I’m just curious.
My firm mandates we take the professional exam mentioned above. That means people without a passport would be practically shut out of a role like that.
This is an American firm at that as well with mainly American employees mandating an American professional exam that requires a passport.
It is not a common ID. Many people have never had a reason to obtain one. Especially back when travel to Canada, Mexico and some parts of the Caribbean did not require one.
It seems you do live in a bubble. It would behoove you in life to learn about others outside your bubble. Since you are fascinated by this discovery, I hope you will take time to do so. You may find yourself more empathetic and accepting.
On the OP topic, it is a sad state for our educational system that a significant number of the US population does not know how US territories work. But unfortunately, it does not surprise me, especially in rural areas without regular exposure to other demographics. The average min wage employee not knowing if they could accept a passport or PR DL does not surprise me in areas where this is rarely if ever seen, but I agree with the above poster that a supervisor should have been contacted and hopefully would have known. But not necessarily, as I doubt supervisors at that type establishment require a college degree.
Edit: Sorry @roycroftmom. This was not directed at you. I started to make a joke about being one of those who sought out an unfamiliar state fake ID in college… lol… then pivoted and didn’t realize it was still replying to you.
I’ll bet there are posters here who don’t know which foods are WIC eligible, don’t know how one qualifies for food stamps (no longer a stamp) and couldn’t figure out how to find a primary care physician who is accepting new Medicaid patients. To most minimum wage workers, your ignorance would be shocking.
Fair enough.
I’ll leave it there - I could respond but I recognize this is neither the time or the place.
Mea culpa.
Good point.
To me, the real culprits in stories like the two cited entities (CVS and Spirit) are CVS and Spirit. These are large companies, both dealing in sensitive products/services.
For heaven’s sake, CVS operates pharmacies with all sorts of controlled substances (fully appreciating that Mucinex is not an Rx product). I can’t believe that someone in the store didn’t have a CVS-produced chart or document called “Acceptable Forms of ID” or words to that effect. Pharmacists etc in drug stores like CVS have to be asking for ID all the time, and Purdue is a major institution with, presumably, folks from all over the US and the world. Lack of training by CVS seems to be the culprit.
Similarly, as crappy as Spirit Airlines is in many things, it is an AIRLINE, after all. Passenger and employee IDs in commercial aviation are obviously crucial to security. I am pretty sure that IATA and other aviation organizations have all sorts of documents about acceptable forms of IDs for both domestic and international flights. This ain’t rocket science in 2023. It’s the essence of aviation security.
To me, this is on the corporate entities themselves, not the employees, and the failure to train. Contrast these two major corporations with a small business like the bars etc talked about above.
My own personal issue is similar. We were bringing our dog over for an overseas move and entered the US through one of the largest international airports in the country/world. We had to go through the Department of Agriculture area to clear our dog, and the main thing they wanted to check was that all required vaccines were up to date. One vaccine had to be within 6 months of our date of entry to the US.
The country we were departing from uses the “other form” of dates, putting the day first and then the month (so June 1 is written as 1/6). In the US, we put the month first and then the date (June 1 is 6/1). If you don’t know the distinction, it can make a big difference.
The Ag Inspector flagged us because the vaccine certificate used the “other form” of the date and said our dog did not have up-to-date vaccines, since she transposed the month and day. We had to call a supervisor and explained, very calmly, that much of the world writes dates differently than we do in the US. I wanted to smugly add that we were surprised they didn’t know this since they were at an important international airport. However, luckily for all (especially darling puppy), I shut my mouth, and we were able to leave after about 30 minutes.
Stuff like this happens. But the employing entity needs to better train staff where ID documentation is important.
I’m not sure this has been mentioned upthread. Hertz at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans last week refused to rent to a Puerto Rican (who is a retired federal law enforcement officer of 25 years) for the same reason:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/16/business/hertz-puerto-rican-customer-apology/index.html
Hertz even called police. When the police officer showed up, he didn’t know Puerto Ricans are US citizens either. This video shows how dumb some people are: 
David Begnaud on Twitter: “Here’s the police body cam video showing what happened when a @Hertz worker at the New Orleans airport called police because a Puerto Rican man kept insisting that his drivers license was valid. The Hertz worker denied the man his pre paid rental car because he couldn’t present… https://t.co/jG6FyDSSz9” / Twitter
In this day and age, you’d think someone could just google it if s/he didn’t know.
Man, I’d carry around a Puerto Rican license just to make a point out of pure pettiness.
Perhaps you could fund or volunteer with civic education efforts if you feel strongly about the issue. Companies have great difficulty attracting and retaining minimum wage employes.