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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCVS rejects student's Puerto Rican ID, asks for immigration papers to buy cold medicine
CVS officials say they are investigating a claim by a Purdue University engineering student who said he was denied the purchase of an over-the-counter cold medicine because employees at an Indiana store looked at his Puerto Rican drivers license and told him he needed a valid U.S. ID, before pressing him about his immigration status.
The episode started when Guzman Payano went to bed Oct. 24 feeling like a cold was coming on and woke up to a sore throat and congestion bad enough that it was difficult to breathe. A diagnosis at the Purdue University Student Health Center later that day pointed to bronchitis. That morning, though, he said figured Mucenix, an over-the-counter medication, would do the trick.
He said he rang up the items in a self-scan checkout and waited for a store clerk when the machines screen noted that an ID check was required for the cold medicine. When he showed his ID a clerk told him it wasnt enough. She said I needed a visa, Guzman Payano said. He said he had his (U.S.) passport, so he showed that, with no luck. He said the store employee told him he still needed to see some sort of immigration status before he could buy the (over the counter) cold medicine.
He left and then came back minutes later to see whether a shift supervisor or manager could help. Guzman Payano said he received the same line about corporate policy (his drivers license from Puerto Rico didnt fit the companys policy of accepting only U.S., Canadian and Mexican IDs).
CVS did offer an apology, via a statement, when asked by the J&C.
We are committed to ensuring that every customer receives courteous, outstanding service in our stores, and we apologize to the customer for his recent experience, Amy Thibault, a CVS spokeswoman, said.
https://news.yahoo.com/cvs-rejects-purdue-students-puerto-161311488.html
elleng
(131,063 posts)EDUCATION seriously needed!
P.S. YEARS ago, on a business trip to Washington State, I registered @ a motel. I lived in DC at the time, had driver's license, and clerk was 'surprised' that people LIVE in Washington DC. I educated her.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)And you're right, a lot of folks way out west only know what they've seen on TV and in the movies. But, a lot of East Coast people have faulty knowledge about how things are on the West Coast, too.
I guess it's what happens when you live in a fairly large country that doesn't try to educate people while they're young about the parts they don't live in.
SonofDonald
(2,050 posts)They saw his passport and that wasn't enough?
I'll never walk into a CVS store again, never...
I think it's time for an email to corporate headquarters
FAILURE
politicaljunkie41910
(3,335 posts)are US residents, at birth, when the POT-ASS doesn't seem to understand that, himself.
getagrip_already
(14,816 posts)And to top that off, anyone with a US passport is also a citizen. The us govt doesn't give permanent foreign residents passports. They have to use passports from their country of origin with a visa doc.
This surely isn't cvs policy. It was just a set of racist idiots working there. If they still work there, you can blame cvs.
If it weren't for the passport, it could have been a misunderstanding. just because you have a drivers license doesn't mean you are a legal resident, but the license should note that.
cannabis_flower
(3,764 posts)I'd go so far to say they are racist. I would however say they are ignorant. It's quite possible they were ignorant enough to think that Puerto Rico was a foreign country, like Costa Rica. That doesn't make them racist, it makes them ignorant and uneducated.
Also, since it's Indiana, it's likely that there aren't a lot of Puerto Ricans there. I would expect New Yorkers, Floridians and Texans to know that a Puerto Rican driver's license is a valid ID.
TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)Since corporate apologized and is looking into it, it's obviously not corporate policy.
It's also Indiana, home of Mike Pence. It's like the Kentucky of the Midwest.
Mr.Bill
(24,312 posts)Blue_true
(31,261 posts)I have talked to the guy, his rule is that his staff treat everyone with respect and don't play games with customers.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)wnylib
(21,562 posts)employee. She is an asset to them in communicating with people recently arrived on the mainland from Puerto Rico whose English is not yet fluent. This would never happen there.
sdfernando
(4,937 posts)but boiler plate muck. They couldnt even address the apology to Guzman Payano??
zaj
(3,433 posts)Or West Lafayette?
Not sure boycotting CVS over this is called for quite yet.
dem4decades
(11,301 posts)Glad those brainiacs at CVS caught it.
Mr.Bill
(24,312 posts)He had a United States Passport.
dem4decades
(11,301 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,312 posts)Sometimes my sarcasm meter needs calibrating.
snort
(2,334 posts)tblue37
(65,477 posts)left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)People from D.C. were told they were not from the U.S. because their driver's license say "District of Columbia".
And, of course, we all know New Mexicans are from Mexico.
IronLionZion
(45,494 posts)who know for sure that DC isn't a state so the license is obviously fake and must be confiscated. Thankfully when the police arrive, they usually have a license book where they can look it up and see that DC does indeed have government issued licenses even though we are a district.
What's even more ironic is when a new transplant showed up at the DC DMV with his New Mexico license, they knew for sure he was a foreigner from Mexico since New Mexico isn't a state and his license is not valid form of US government ID. That one made the news. He was a white guy named Gavin Clarkson. It happens to brown people with foreign sounding names all the time.
https://www.newsweek.com/man-asked-show-new-mexico-passport-when-marriage-clerk-forgets-its-state-1239353
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)n/t
ChubbyStar
(3,191 posts)I have never had a pleasant experience in their dumpy store here in NO CA. Haven't been back in 2 years. I miss Longs!
TheCowsCameHome
(40,168 posts)Trouble is they are on just about every corner.
DURHAM D
(32,611 posts)even if you are like 90 years old. They scan it.
One day I was in line when the man in front of me said he did not have his with him - he walked over from a nearby complex. The clerk started lecturing him that he had to have it with him at all times - it is the law. The gentlemen was at least 50 and had dark skin. The clerk was doing her best to humiliate him.
I tried to tell her she was wrong about the having it with him at all times thing. Naturally she told me I was wrong.
Anyway, I told him to hang on and I bought his cigarettes and gave them to him. The clerk was having a cow.
Then I noticed she was wearing about 15 pens - Christian, Trump/Pence, flags, etc. I said to her that I was surprised that was allowed and she went into a rant about immigrants. Out of nowhere she said that Obama was from Kenya and he was a Muslim.
I walked to the back of the store and had a conversation with an assistant manager. The next day I spoke with the manager. She was fired.
barbtries
(28,810 posts)ain't nothing like proud ignorance.
The clerks at Walgreens are being watched by corporate and if they do not look at an ID when selling cigarettes they can lose their job or be reported. That's all she had to say. I buy cigs there all the time. they don't scan my license every time but they have to see it. i'm 64.
someone should have already hit her up about her chestwear.
catbyte
(34,423 posts)It doesn't matter if you're 19 or 90, you ain't getting them without proper ID. It seems silly, especially when a person is clearly over 18, but the penalties for selling anything like that to minors here are pretty harsh. But that clerk was way beyond the pale. Good for you. She probably called hannity the next day whining about "those meanie libs."
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)appalachiablue
(41,168 posts)IronLionZion
(45,494 posts)Showing a US passport and still being told you need some immigration status is something that we should talk about, since it's wrong. It is valid US government issued ID, and he had 2 forms of ID!
I've had this experience many times. Documents don't matter to racists who think they know what an American looks like.
fescuerescue
(4,448 posts)Lots of people just don't get it.
It's not even good enough to get a Social Security card. Last time I had it replaced (maybe a decade ago), they wanted a Birth Certificate or State ID. Since I had lost my wallet and replacing lots of items, this created a nasty catch 22.
I was amazed. The (Federal) SS agency didn't accept a (Federal) US passport and insisted on a state issued item.
I've had lots of other random idiots give me a hassle about it to. Including Walgreens.
kcr
(15,318 posts)Social Security needs to start accepting US passports because Real ID requirements are creating more nasty catch 22 ID requirement loops. You relocate to a new state and require a name change on your SS card? Fun times.
certainot
(9,090 posts)so you had to ask for assistance for standard contraceptives etc
IronLionZion
(45,494 posts)they think people will shoplift it. So they also lock up razor cartridges, batteries, anything that is relatively small but high value.
barbtries
(28,810 posts)i don't think they lock up trojans to embarrass people.
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)fescuerescue
(4,448 posts)(Which is ridiculous)
I guess CVS doesn't sell cold medicine to foreign visitors!
Why should CVS care about immigration status?
This is an idiotic combination of poorly trained clerks and the war on drugs.
wnylib
(21,562 posts)buy cold medicines regardless of ethnicity. The reason given is that teens use a chemical in them to get high by freezing them first and then chugging them.
fescuerescue
(4,448 posts)Ineffective in the war on drugs but fine whatever.
But a passport IS an ID.
Given that they only take American, Canadian and Mexican ID's, I guess the rest of the world is shit out of luck if visiting a CVS.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Are CVS employees now moonlighting as ICE or CBP agents? This is precisely the issue for localities that don't want to have their law enforcement personnel become adjuncts of Immigration. Suddenly we're ALL supposed to be immigration officials.
crickets
(25,982 posts)If you're visiting from another country, are you just not allowed over the counter cold remedies? Really?
treestar
(82,383 posts)you can't get cold medicine? Stupid.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)titanicdave
(429 posts)......to t-RUMP's America......he is making America Stupid Again and Again and Again.......this form of stupidity has.....NO....PLACE....IN.....THIS....COUNTRY !!!!....employees need to be smart enough to realize that Puerto Rican people ....ARE....U. S. Citizens !!!!!.....as are citizens of Washington D.C.......this should be required reading in their employee handbook.....
NewEnglandAutumn
(184 posts)There are very strict laws limiting the type and amounts of some OTC medicines. When rung up a prompt occurs for the cashier to check id; most often the id is scanned just like any product being purchased. If the computerized register is not able to scan or read an id the employee has to enter information into the computer. When this is done the employee can be held responsible if there are any questions about the purchase. Employee training, state and federal law emphasizes the law about how many mgs of cold medicine can be legally purchased in any given day or month. Pharmacy techs. are required to hold a license in most states and if questions are asked about possibly violating the law their license can be revoked. Furthermore they average 13.52 an dollars an hour most earn much less give them a break.
https://www.chpa.org/Meth.aspx
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)"... employees at an Indiana store looked at his Puerto Rican drivers license
and told him he needed a valid U.S. ID'
rockfordfile
(8,704 posts)James48
(4,438 posts)In Governor Pences Indiana?
Im sure it was some Hoosiers.
Maybe it was even MOTHER who taught those youngins in sckool. Or maybe they was home-learned!
And didnt cover Puerto Rico, or any other of the possessions the USA took in wars in the 19th and 20th centuries.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)Oh, fuck you, Where did you copy that , some googled website of corporate bull shit???
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,873 posts)do not understand what a Passport is. Which tells you, sadly, about the state of both education in this country and that most people never get a passport.
Oh, and the New Mexico state magazine as a back of the book feature called "One of Our Fifty is Missing", stories about times someone was convinced that New Mexico was not a real state. I live in NM, and luckily that's never happened to me, because I'd be a complete jerk about it. Make the person look at a map and note the name of the state that keeps Arizona and Texas from crashing into each other.
Periodically someone will report trying to mail a package to NM from some other state, and the clerk will insist that customs papers need to be filled out. The presence of the ZIP code should be the first clue that NM is a state.
Takket
(21,609 posts)Liberal In Texas
(13,569 posts)madaboutharry
(40,216 posts)Americans are today. These dopes didn't know that Puerto Rico is a United States Territory and that Puerto Ricans are American citizens. That is the bottom line. It is our shame that people are so ignorant.
treestar
(82,383 posts)And PR and its status have been in the news from the hurricane. This is just ridiculous amounts of stupid.
KentuckyWoman
(6,690 posts)They started that because of meth.
Oh and CVS... a US Passport .. hello.
Idiots.