Quote:
Originally Posted by PPAR
Huh? While I certainly am glad that Alberta privatized liquor sales, given the added convenience of multiple shops, the government run stores were hardly a disappointment. I don’t recall ever waiting that long at the cash.
As for registries, I find them a bit sketch. Was very glad when the government stepped in to take over road exams after watching my son and everyone of his friends systematically fail their first road test, have to pay for a second one, and then all pass...
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The government run stores were too hard to find and not open enough hours. Calgary has something like 18 to serve a population of 700,000. They were extremely sketchy. As a teen, I remember the scam to get served underage. An off shift liquor store employee would hang out by the CIBC ATM at Southcentre. If you wanted to guarantee that your ID would be accepted regardless of birthdate, you would take $40 out from the ATM and give it to the guy along with the receipt. He would write a code word on it. You then went to the ALCB store on the second floor where Sport Chek is now. At checkout, you would show the receipt along with your ID and the cashier would always accept the birthdate as legal. Jobs at the ALCB store were extremely hard to come by, especially in small towns. At a time when the minimum wage was sub $4, an ALCB cashier or stock person started at around $14. Generally, you had to have a family member already working there or be friends with an MLA to get hired. In small towns, ALCB employees were among the highest earners.
The old motor vehicle department locations were unionized, government bureaucracy at its worst. Calgary had two locations, one in the south at Fisher Park and another in the northwest near 16th Ave and Bowness Road. They were only open 9 to 5 and closed for an hour over lunch. You would pass through a series of lineups were some grumpy employee would initial or stamp your form and send you onto the next line-up. It would take minimum two hours to get anything done.
Even before the registries, you could take driver’s tests from private driving schools. The advantage was not having to wait weeks or months for an appointment. I did mine the morning or my 16th birthday, skipping school. The fee was $40. I could have done it for free at the Motor Vehicles Department but the wait list was months long, and the only location that did exams at the time was the one way in the NW.