Carded

[msmemory_archive]

At my age? I was just asked for my birth date (note: not just the year) so that I could purchase THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS at Target. Sent them a polite nastygram to their Feedback address when I got back to my desk, too, believe me. None of their business how much older than 17 I am, and I have no desire to have my birthdate attached to my purchasing records or my Visa card number in their files.

Comments

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of carding for movie purchases. Some places that sell alcohol have a policy to card everyone, no matter how old they look. Bread & Circus Whole Foods does, and cards me every time I buy a bottle of wine there. I agree that I wouldn't want Target keeping track of that, but on the other hand, I'd be very surprised if they didn't already have access to the info, unless you paid in cash.

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

surprised if they didn't already have access to the info,

I'm sure they do, through the credit reporting system, but I want it to be at least obscured a little bit, instead of keyed right in by the clerk.

[svava.livejournal.com]

Walmart carded me for a Bruce Lee film and the cashier was giving moral high groud about the fact that he didnt' watch rated R films. I have many reasons to never shot there again but that one certainly made the list.

[the-nita.livejournal.com]

This is when I would normally have said, "Okay, give me my card back, here's your DVD back, I'm buying it elsewhere."

They didn't need that information. Period.

Feh

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

With a loss-leader movie like MR, I like to shop around for the best price. We bought our copy at Strawberries, which had it for $19.99 and then a $10 rebate. No carding, good customer service, and we ended up buying several more (used) DVDs and CDs for cheap.

We watched it last night, as we missed it in the theaters thanks to Z. Quite satisfying!

Re: Feh

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

$15.99 at Target, but we'll see if it's the last time.

Which Strawberries? I've been bereft since Newbury Comics closed their Woburn location.

Re: Feh

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

The Strawberries on Mem Drive. I picked up D from work and we also went to Micro Center and Trader Joe's, so Z traveled in his baby backpack and had a good time.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

I just post false information at this point. I used to put Jan 1, 1900 for my birthdate, but some sites won't take it -- evidently, if you're 104, you're not on the internet. One site I was curious enough to track down Jan 1, 1918 as the oldest birthdate they would allow. Someone had to go invent that number, stick it in the javascript, ...sheesh.

Anyway, nowadays I use something similarly easy to remember (in case, against my protest, they ask for it as identification). If they're going to ask stupid questions, I'm going to give them stupid answers...

[metageek.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an excuse to me--i.e., management wants more data about consumers, so they come up with a superficially justifiable reason to ask for your birthdate.

As for your age--how old was the clerk? I know that I had absolutely no clue about judging people's age until I was, I dunno, somewhere between 20 and 25. (I remember one friend who was 28 when I met her; I guessed 19.) You don't really look your age, and a young person taking a quick glance might have underestimated.

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

I was formerly a cashier at Wal-Mart, and when the register system asks for a birthdate for a product that's in the system as requiring carding, you actually have to key in 6 digits, there's not just a yes/no option. I wouldn't be surprised if Target's POS was set up the same way. It's partly to avoid miscalculation on whether or not someone is really old enough or not.

There is an override, and normally on a movie I would have used it. Cigarettes and such were trickier as we were frequently the target of "stings". The cashier may have been new, or a very by-the-book sort of person. Or perhaps Target's POS doesn't have an override.