Why do bouncers in the US enjoy looking at IDs so much, even for OBVIOUSLY adult people? In Austria and Germany, you don't usually get asked for your id, unless you look underage AND the clerk/bouncer is in the mood to check.
When I was clubbing in New York, the bouncer would even control my id very closly when I went back in after a smoke. It was cold, he saw me leave, he saw I wasn't wearing more than a t-shirt in the cold night. Yet he took 20 seconds to check my passport. People tell me I look like 35.
The police here send underage people to bars with fake IDs in order to try to punish the bars for serving the underage people the police sent. Really. The punishments are pretty severe, including losing their liquor license for some time or even being shut down entirely. So they are pretty rigorous in their ID checks. The system works, I guess.
That happens in every country with drinking age laws right? This can't be what makes the USA different (assuming GP's thesis is correct, I've never been to a place that had a bouncer let alone to the USA).
> The police here send underage people to bars with fake IDs in order to try to punish the bars for serving the underage people the police sent. Really.
I don’t have a source but I personally visited a restaurant that had their license temporarily suspended for serving a minor who turned out to be an undercover cop. Unsurprisingly these places prefer not to have this fact publicized, and it was their first offense, so you’re unlikely to find stories about it in news articles on the internet.
I don't know about the US, but so-called "test purchases" are an extremely well-known practice in the UK and it's not the least bit controversial to suggest they happen - and everyone knows it if they've ever worked on a bar. I know someone who lost his job for failing to ask for ID when the customer was a test purchase.
I know the writer of the article and the bouncer in question. While hanging out with said bouncer I've seen him catch fakes from some young looking adults who later revealed themselves to be cops running this very scheme. Regardless of whether this is a good use of anyone's time, I can confirm it happens.
The level of scrutiny you're describing sounds unusual for most parts of the US, but the broad answer is that the relevant enforcement authorities are more aggressive in the US than they are in Austria and Germany. This leads to inflexible policies so that the establishment's lawyer can more effectively defend against prosecution for any failures.
In your case, I think he was possibly just curious about your passport. In the general case, bouncers do this to not seen as slacking on the job by their peers or manager.
It might have to do with enforcement. Some liquor control boards don’t give a shit if someone had a fake ID, they will fine or shutdown them bar if someone underage comes in.
And I know in my city they’ll hire folks who are underage, with fake IDs to try and get pdf the checks.
The bar has probably been busted before and told the bouncers they’d be fired if they didn’t check closely.
This varies widely by city and state. There are some cities where you'll almost never get carded, and others where you'll get carded at every single bar.
Had this in vegas. But it seems to depend on the bar/staff. One would absolutely refuse to serve me without seeing my passport, another wouldn’t even ask.
When I was clubbing in New York, the bouncer would even control my id very closly when I went back in after a smoke. It was cold, he saw me leave, he saw I wasn't wearing more than a t-shirt in the cold night. Yet he took 20 seconds to check my passport. People tell me I look like 35.