Always ask- even if she's cute.

Jacob was home from school and back working nights at a small convenience store near the beach. Jacob has worked there summers and holiday breaks since high school stocking, pricing and ringing up purchases. It's a few extra bucks in addtion to his daytime job as a lifeguard.

On typical summer weekends the store is crowded with partiers stocking up. Ice, chips, wine and beer, lots and lots of beer are typical purchases. The law in Jacob's home state requires identification to purchase alcohol for anyone who looks under thirty. By now Jacob is pretty experienced in spotting underage buyers and always asks for ID. Well, almost always. On a recent busy Friday of a holiday weekend the store was packed and Jacob was busily ringing up for the beach bound revelers and occasionally asking for ID just in case. In the midst of all this busyness a girl approached Jacob's register with a Fourty. She looked "kinda young" as Jacob recalls but she was also "pretty cute" and had a friendly smile. For the sake of expediency and possibly for the sake of making a friend Jacob skipped the part about asking for proper identification. He rang up the purchase and the girl left.

A few minutes a police detective entered the store accompanied by some local uniformed officers and the girl who had purchased the Fourty. "Did you sell this girl alcohol?" the officer demanded. Jacob was practically dumb struck. "Yes." he replied. "Did you see her identification?" Jacob said he didn't remember.

It was a sting.

The local police in association with that state's Alcohol Licensing Board had a program of sending minors into retail stores to attempt to purchase alcohol. These operations were usually during busy holiday weekend evenings. If the minor was successful the seller was cited. The detective filled out a citation while the officers took Jacob's picture with the girl holding the Fourty. Jacob signed the ticket which was an order to appear in court.

Since that night Jacob has appeared in court. The district attorney has offered him a deal in which if Jacob completes an educational course held over a weekend the charges will be dismissed. The course costs several hundred dollars, just about what Jacob makes in a month at that job.

Expensive lesson. Note it carefully. No matter where you are but especially where money is involved always follow the rules, regulations and guidelines. In retail, if part of your job is selling alcohol always, always, always ask for ID- even if she's cute.