Next to Purdue (where the store in question is), anyone checking ID is likely to see passports (although probably mostly foreign, shown by international students whom there are likely to be plenty of in Purdue’s graduate programs). It is not elitist to expect that anyone in a job of checking ID should be able to recognize the acceptable IDs, or at least have a lookup book showing what each acceptable ID looks like (example).
West Lafayette is also not that far from an international border, so people there are more likely to have heard of the need for passports for travel, even beyond encountering international students at Purdue.
That is why they advertise $15+ per hour pay on the “help wanted” signs in the store fronts.
In any case, the clerk in the original story asked for immigration papers (the most common of which is a foreign passport with a US visa). Presumably, the clerk knew what a passport was, so a US passport should have been recognizable to the clerk.
But if it were an issue for me, I 100% would be petty about it - the guy above was making a point (he had a passport if I heard correctly, he chose not to bring it).
The one at the pharmacy near Purdue apparently anticipated ignorance about Puerto Rico, so he did show a US passport as well, and that was refused by the clerk asking for immigration papers.
The one at the pharmacy near Purdue apparently anticipated ignorance about Puerto Rico, so he did show a US passport as well, and that was refused by the clerk asking for immigration papers.
The car rental one.
Edit:
When Home Alone (1990) came out where the family went to Paris, only 4% of Americans had a passport. Huh, that’s fascinating.
While there may be some professional exams like the CFA exam that require a passport in most cases (though that exam allows some alternate IDs for those from some countries), that is not necessarily the case for other professional exams.
Other professional exams that generally accept non-passport IDs include the USMLE, NCLEX, FE/FS/PE/PS, ARE.
I’m talking about the CFA. They’re headquartered in America and even though it’s an international qualification, certain terminology is more used in the way an American professional will use them.
I took my Level 1 last week and they did not accept any form of ID other than a passport. They did not make any exceptions.
If you’re a US citizen, it doesn’t seem like you can take the exam without a passport. The two forms they accept in lieu of a passport seem to be for non-Americans.
So they’re effectively excluding the 58% of Americans who do not have a passport because one must have ID that allows them unrestricted international travel (and they only grant exceptions if one has ID that does this).
We’re going off-topic so I’ll stop now - but as I said, my American firm mandates it for all investment employees while clearly aware that 60% of Americans do not have a passport.
So to me, it seems quite unimaginable to not have a passport but I recognize I live in a bubble. That’s all.
Yes, CFA is a bubble in this respect, even compared to other professions where there are licensing exams (e.g. physician, nurse, PE-licensed engineer, licensed architect).
But it does not mean that an employer assigning employees to do ID checking should neglect to ensure that such employees are familiar with the allowed IDs that may be presented, and have access to an ID example book if uncommon IDs are to be accepted.
But it does not mean that an employer assigning employees to do ID checking should neglect to ensure that such employees are familiar with the allowed IDs that may be presented, and has access to an ID example book if uncommon IDs are to be accepted.
We went off-piste for a bit there but in this regard, I agree with you 100%. But it doesn’t seem like others on here do.
We have places that will not accept a minor’s DL even if the person is now over 21. My nephew had a DL with a vertical orientation (minor) but he’d turned 21. License wasn’t expired as they last 5 years, but bars, liquor stores, etc wouldn’t accept it as proof of age. Employees are trained to only accept horizontal licenses, nothing foreign, nothing that looks damaged. They don’t want inexperienced clerks to have to make judgment calls. I’m not sure if they could accept military IDs or passports. They didn’t care they were losing business by turning him away.
Here a 16 y.o. can check an ID for buying Nyquil but not for liquor purchases. They have to call a manager over, and if there isn’t one in the store, they can’t sell it.
I’ve actually seen older immigration papers. My dad came here after WW2. Let’s just say…his immigration papers would likely not have satisfied the ID requirements for just about anything. No picture, no address. Really name and birthday were the only thing…and my dad’s had his name spelled incorrectly.
I agree. The passport card is a nice option to have as a backup. I don’t know anyone who uses it as a primary ID on a daily basis, but that doesn’t mean it never happens. That’s why I asked the above question… in case others do carry passports as primary ID when not traveling.
Lots of good points have been made. While I agree that the real issue is with training and the responsibility ultimately lies with the companies, I’m less surprised by the issue at the CVS. I am surprised about the stories in the travel industry… TSA, airlines, rental car companies… people who regularly work with travelers. Wow.
I used to for my daughter when she was little and I needed to prove her age. She is foreign born and though she has a certificate of foreign birth issued by the state, it confused people. It was just easier to use her passport. Registering for school, sports, girl scouts, things like that. Also for my other daughter, I used a passport for hockey registration because I didn’t want them to copy the birth certificate and keep it in an unsafe file cabinet to have all that info (DOB, place, certificate number, mother’s name, father’s name) as I think the state would issue another copy without too much questioning and I don’t like all that info floating around.
Sometimes if I have my passport handy I do use it as an ID rather than my license. The info on my license is soooo tiny that if I have both I’ll just take out the passport.
Do you remember the movie Breaking Away (filmed and set in Indiana ironically) where the mother did keep her passport in her purse because she said it made her feel important to whip it out at the grocery store or bank. Of course at the time, very few people had passports.
The employers must have a low opinion of employees if they do not believe that the employees can read the date of birth on a vertical driver’s license or any ID that does not have the horizontal / vertical distinction for alcohol age. No judgement call is needed if the employee can read date of birth from ID.