May I scan your ID?

 
CHRISTOPHER CHUNG / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
David Cooper on Thursday walked through the parking lot of the Safeway in Petaluma, where he was required to scan his driver's license in order to purchase a bottle of wine.

It's fair to say that no one in their right mind would mistake Petaluma retiree Frank Simpson for being under age 21.

Being of the World War II era, Simpson isn't used to being carded when he buys alcohol. But that's just what happened at the local Safeway grocery store.

And the sales clerk didn't just demand proof of Simpson's advanced age, she told him his drivers license must be swiped in their information-scanning machine before he could purchase a bottle of wine.

“I was flabbergasted,” he said. “I didn't know what had happened at first. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like some type of line has been crossed. It's offensive. It's patently absurd.”

Simpson said he feels it's “an unnecessary additional exposure of your data, just to get a bottle of wine.”

Irritated, the retired attorney began blogging about the experience a few weeks ago and it has created quite a stir among Petaluma shoppers.

Some are raising privacy-rights questions about why Safeway would need the information contained in the magnetic strip on the back of the state-issued license and are suspicious about what, exactly, is done with the information once it is scanned.

Others say they don't mind, didn't notice or don't care if clerks scan their licenses.

Still others are incensed that the company requires the scan for all buyers, despite the absurdity of confirming whether someone squarely in the AARP set is old enough to legally buy alcohol.

A Safeway spokeswoman said the new system — being used in Rohnert Park also — is a trial program to prevent minors from buying alcohol.

Susan Houghton said the two local stores are among six in the Northern California region undergoing stricter ID checking tests after recent violations.

Both the Petaluma and Rohnert Park stores have paid hefty fines to the department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the state agency that issues alcohol licenses, because of license violations in 2006 and 2008.

Neither store is officially on probation, ABC spokesman John Carr said, but a third violation in three years could cause a store to lose its lucrative license to sell alcohol.

Houghton said the commotion sparked by Simpson's blog, on Petaluma360.com, which is owned by The Press Democrat, has been noticed.

“We certainly do not want to alienate our customers,” she said. “We understand that some customers who might be over the age of 30 might be offended, but there are others who might feel complimented.”

But what of the logic of carding those with gray hair or using canes and walkers?

“We've heard the people loud and clear. We've seen the blogs,” Houghton said. “We understand that this is an issue for them.”

She said the scan check is meant to remove any human error. If a patron refuses to have their license scanned, the clerk is supposed to summon a manager to make a judgment call.

But during visits to both stores this week, neither clerk volunteered that option for a customer uncomfortable with the scan. They simply said they wouldn't sell alcohol without compliance.

One in Rohnert Park said “state law required” her to scan a drivers license.

The DMV said by law any business is allowed to swipe IDs for age verification or to determine the authenticity of the card. The magnetic strip contains only the same information as on the front of the license.

“There are no hidden fields of information on the magnetic stripe,” said DMV spokesman Steve Haskins. “It does not contain Social Security numbers, phone numbers or any other bit of info that isn't on the front of the license card.”

He added that state law prohibits storing or further use of the data — for marketing or law enforcement purposes, for example.

“Businesses are not allowed to retain or use any of the info for any other purpose; in other words, they can't create a database using the info,” he said.

But several shoppers contacted this week said they don't trust Safeway not to store their data.

“Who really knows?” said David Cooper, 41, of Petaluma, who bought a bottle of red wine Wednesday. “What happens to that information? Obviously it's stored, but for how long or for what purposes?”

Tony Delario, 32, of Petaluma said he appreciates the stores wanting to root out underage drinkers with fake IDs. “But it's a little silly,” to card a senior citizen, he said. “They're definitely going overboard on that.”

Another man felt the demand for a scan was another way for Big Brother to keep watch over the citizenry.

“It's The Man,” Damion Mantle, 41, said. “Scanning every ID to know exactly who you are, where you are, what you're doing, how much alcohol you drink, what kind of alcohol you drink.”

Houghton, the Safeway spokeswoman, said, “Nothing is captured at all. There is no secret database that people need to be worried about.”

She said the company may, within the next week, decide whether the all-ages scanning — or some modified version of it — will continue.

“A good option might be to just require scanning for anybody who looks under 35,” she said, adding to disgruntled customers: “Have patience, we're hearing you.”