I just came out of a Total Wine and More store. I went there to buy a bottle of vodka. Pretty simple. However, it was awkward, but I learned something you all should know.

I went into the store and quickly located the product I was after.  I approached the cashier and asked to the two employees there “How are we all doing this fine evening?” The cashier replied, “Good, and you?”

“I’m doing well,” I replied. He proceeded to ring me up. $9.70. I pulled out a $20.

“Can I see some ID?” he asked, proceeding to scan my drivers license with the bar code scanner.

“What does scanning it accomplish? Do you think it’s fake?” I asked him.

“No, we get a little extra in our paycheck for each one we scan,” he replied.

“Really?!!” I recoiled. “That’s a bit Orwellian, don’t you think? Some of us don’t like to have our barcodes in databases. Why do you think I pay in cash?”

The cashier, who looked about 23 chimed, “Well, you looked a little young, so I wanted to be sure.”

“You are a lot younger than I am, so I find that hard to believe.” I replied instantly.  I’m almost 35.

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” he reflexed. “Have a nice evening.”

“You too,” I replied as I was shaking my head in disbelief.

So, that’s right. This store PAYS it’s employees EXTRA when they scan your driver’s license.

Now that I’m home, I am printing a sticker to go over the bar code on my license. It is going to read: “If you feel it necessary need to scan this document, be prepared to fetch your supervisor. I do not want to be in your database and I do not consent to have your computer scan this document.”

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