Retailers Caught in the Middle on ID Checks

When a clerk scans the bar code on a customer's driver license, what data is being collected? Is it fair to make retailers the first line of defense against underage drinkers and other lawbreakers? Can the information be stolen or misused? And how do you keep entry-level employees from turning a standard request for ID into a annoyance for customers?
These and other questions came up on The Consumerist after a would-be wine purchaser wondered why Target needed his street address, eye color and organ donor status to sell him a bottle. Blogger Thruhike98 objected when a clerk asked to see the actual license card, then quickly scanned the barcode on the reverse without asking permission:

As a rule, we don't give out unnecessary information to anyone. We are uncomfortable with businesses' track record when it comes to the use and protection of their customers' personal information. We are also upset with the take-it-without-informing-us approach Target used to get this unneeded personal information.

It may not be fair -- in fact, it's hugely unfair -- to make retailers de facto police, but it's a lot easier to catch the underage consumer while purchasing than while drinking. To do that, retailers have to be threatened with a big stick: big fines, jail time, and loss of their liquor license.

Here's the problem: The two people directly involved in an ID check have no stake in the outcome. It's the store owner whose livelihood and reputation are at stake. Clerks just want to avoid annoying the customer. And customers just want to buy their tequila and not have their identity stolen or misused.

What's on that bar code or mag strip? It, too, varies by state. Some states just encode license number and date of birth. Others include the driver's whole record (down to height, eye color, motorcycle endorsement -- and sometimes Social Security number). Some states even encode your signature and mug shot. In states where it's legal for retailers to collect all that info, some find a ready-made marketing database hard to resist.

You're increasingly likely to get the scanner treatment if you're purchasing canned air, spray paint, an M-rated video game, cigarettes, or cold medicine. Some banks swipe your ID when you cash a check, and some buildings do so to create nontransferable security badges. Last week, I got badged as a hospital visitor and discovered that my name is misspelled in my driver license barcode data. (It's correct on the front. Anybody who knows how this could have happened, hit the comment button.)

I was struck by the number of posters who claimed to be Target clerks -- and yet had completely different stories about how they'd been trained to do ID checks:

• I worked at Target for about 9 months, and every now and again we had to do this. But we only had to this when the COMPUTER prompted us to. Chances are that cashier was on some sort of power trip.
• I've seen Target scan driver's licenses before for checks, but not alcohol. Maybe the cashier didn't know what he/she was talking about and assumed they were the same system.
• I work at Target and we now have to ID every single person that buys any age restricted item, whether you were born in 1924 or 1984, you're going to have your ID checked. There is no way to override the prompt. Too many stores got caught in TABC stings and it costs the company far too much money in fines, alcohol education classes, etc.
• I work at Target and this is not the best way to go about this. The POS allows you to key the date of birth when prompted for ID, and that's the way I've always done it. Swiping the card is bothersome.
• Even worse . . . when my boyfriend and I bought wine at Target several months ago, they not only scanned his ID but also insisted on seeing mine! Their reasoning? We were "together."
• I worked at Target for 2 years. They don't keep any of it, it's just so that I don't have to go, "Okay, today is the 20th of November 2007 and you were born in 1986 so that makes you...." It's to stop us from making mistakes. It's a simple calculator.
• The same thing happened to me buying a copy of The Witcher video game (an "M" title). I told the checkout person that I didn't want my license scanned and she told me she couldn't sell it without doing that, so I left.
• I worked at Target. The barcode usually didn't cooperate for me. I always swiped them for the mag strip instead.
• In NY there are two bar codes on the driver's license, one at the top and one at the bottom. The top one is a standard looking barcode (Target uses Metrologic scanners that reads this standard 3of9 codes at checkout) that has the driver's license number and D.O.B. ... I also have supplied product to Target that use the Metrologic barcode scanner so I understand their technology.
• The swiping/scanning thing for restricted items is more a quality assurance issue; after all, you can mistype a number. It's also for speed. Cashiers are graded on the speed of the transaction, and typing a number is much longer than swiping a card.
• I am a cashier at Target. I am almost certain scanning your license does NOT save any information on our database; it simply confirms that the license is real, and checks that you are of age to buy alcohol (and certain drugs as well).
• Just a week or two ago, Target changed its policy regarding IDs - it used to be that we only had to ID people who looked under the age of 35. If they were obviously older, we could bypass the prompt to check ID. However, we now have to ID every single time we are prompted, and we have no way to bypass the prompt.
• However, most important, as far as I see, is that we do not have to scan the ID. We can also just look at the ID and enter your birthdate into the computer. Tell the cashier to do that, if you are not comfortable with us scanning the ID.

Make sure your employees understand every aspect of ID verification, and use role-playing to teach them consistent, friendly, yet firm ways to deal with customers who have privacy concerns.

Image of supermarket wine (in a Monoprix in Paris) by christine592 via Flickr, cc2.0