My wife got carded last night.

[n5wd]

What I have a problem with is that he asked for an Id and took it away and scaned it without saying anything about joining a club until he came back to the table. I thought he was just going to look at it to verify her age.

My first question, before I handed over an ID, would be "since I'm obviously over 21, why would you need an ID"? Surprisingly, a lot of times, that's gotten me out of having to show a DL.

[puma guy]

What I have a problem with is that he asked for an Id and took it away and scaned it without saying anything about joining a club until he came back to the table. I thought he was just going to look at it to verify her age.

The waiter definitely should have informed you of his intent. The new TDL's have RFID in them and I am reasonably sure the only legal purpose for non LE use is for alcoholic bev issues.

[tbrown]

Ok, Why can he scan a Dl with your personal information on it for that purpose? We decided not to join the club, but their scanner still has our information on it.I really don't want them to know our address ect.

The front of your license has your address. If you want to keep that info private, you shouldn't show them your license.

[fickman]

The "club" is free. . . sometimes they'll charge a small fee if you want a permanent card, but if you get the cheap paper one, it's free. When I waited tables in Denton County in college, we used Unic Cards. Basically, you had to fill it out with minimal information and we put it in the office in case TABC or local law enforcement asked for proof of membership, which to my knowledge never happened. The machine will also beep if somebody is underage and the waiter missed it or if the DL is expired. . . since a lot of the service industry isn't necessarily known for their mental math skills, our managers liked this perk to keep themselves out of jail for something a server did.

It was such a normal part of business that we were usually caught off guard when somebody from outside of the area wasn't familiar with the requirement, so I understand if they didn't give you a full presentation of their intent. It was new to me when I moved from Tarrant to Denton and became an afterthought for the few years I lived there.

A lot of customers didn't even keep their cards and just filled out a new form every time they visit. From my understanding, the forms aren't actually sent to a club or group anywhere. . . no mail. . . no spam. . . no calls. . . just a formality to circumvent the outdated drinking laws.

[OldCannon]

I'm a bit confused -- aren't wet/dry areas determined by voting districts, not by counties? Or has that changed?

[sjfcontrol]

The new TDL's have RFID in them...

Are you sure about that? What is "new"?
My license is 1-year old, and I don't see any evidence that there's an RFID chip embedded in it. I would expect to be able to at least see the antenna when examining the license with a high-intensity flashlight shining thru it from the rear. I DID however, discover the outline of the state of Texas in very small transparent spots beneath the expiration date. And of course the obligatory embossed birthdate and hologram images.

The Texas outline is on my CHL, too.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

I've been to a pool hall in Kingwood (in the Montgomery County part) that scanned ID's at the door and charged a $1 membership fee for this purpose. Texas liquor laws are something else...

[C-dub]

That used to be very common here in the DFW area several years ago. I thought the requirement to join those "clubs" went away state wide, but maybe not.

[OldCannon]

...Texas liquor laws are something else...

Clearly you haven't tried to drink in Utah

[Oldgringo]

Tyler, Texas in Smith County is the wettest dry town I've ever seen anywhere and I've been to a lot of places. One can get an alcoholic drink in just about all restaurants (clubs)...maybe even in the Post Office? I don't think Braum's has any booze.

The "locals" keep Tyler dry but 15 miles south on 155 is a plethora of stores where the "locals" can buy their adult beverages without being seen by other "locals". In the event that a "local" encounters another "local" in one of these stores, the "locals" do not make eye contact and thereby remain unseen.

Such shameless hypocrisy makes the Oldgringo ill - to say the least.

[74novaman]

The wet/dry map on the first page cracks me up. I grew up in Randall county, and while it is marked partially wet, until a few years ago the only "wet" part of the county was the little german community of Umbarger. I'm pretty sure the germans would have thrown a riot if they weren't able to have their beer.

I remember clearly as a freshman being shocked that convenience stores sold booze. To me, you had to go to the liquor store across the county line.

[Divided Attention]

Had never heard of the place and am in Tomball daily. Googled and found it - kinda off the beaten path, and one of 6 "Mexican" restaurants in the city that I know of. However, won't be rushing over there sounds like - don't want anyone scanning my id unless there is a really good reason, and they are definitely not walking away with it!

[gigag04]

This is not a big deal and happens all the time. It is how you get a drink in a dry county.

[puma guy]

The new TDL's have RFID in them...

Are you sure about that? What is "new"?
My license is 1-year old, and I don't see any evidence that there's an RFID chip embedded in it. I would expect to be able to at least see the antenna when examining the license with a high-intensity flashlight shining thru it from the rear. I DID however, discover the outline of the state of Texas in very small transparent spots beneath the expiration date. And of course the obligatory embossed birthdate and hologram images.

The Texas outline is on my CHL, too.

There's a another thread somewhere here about TDL info usage and who can use it. I've never been too successful doing searches ...............but if you're a mind to. It's only legal for drinking age checks by establishments and LE. Back in 2009 Arizona and Texas entered into agreements with Fed Gov for DL ID enhancement. I think other states have now done so as well. Both on the southern border and northern borders.

[apostate]

There's a another thread somewhere here about TDL info usage and who can use it. I've never been too successful doing searches ...............but if you're a mind to. It's only legal for drinking age checks by establishments and LE.

Cite? I have a hard time believing companies break the law when they obtain a name, address, etc. from a DL.