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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.
Consumerist asked “Why does Target need all of your driver’s license data to sell you wine?” And posters responded with (gasp!) the facts. Clerks have to handle the license to make sure it’s not a composite or color copy. States require scanning to ensure the data on the front matches the bar codes and mag stripe on the back. Many systems only capture the license number and birthdate.
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:
The takeaway: Retailers have the legal obligation to check ID on certain purchases, and consumers have a right to know how their personal data is being collected and used. Some shoppers deface their licenses with Sharpies, stickers, and magnets to impede the process. Retailers and their front-line employees are stuck in the middle.
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
posted by Lisa Everitt
July 18, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
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