I get asked for my ID practically every single time. Again, things may be different from where you live but that's just how things are around here. I see everyone else get asked for the their IDs everywhere also (except for restaurants and if you use the credit card machine outside a gas station).
I looked up the information and from consumerist.com it says this:
Can a merchant ask to see my ID? / I wrote ‘See ID’ on my card, so I am protected from fraud… right?
This one is a little complicated. Sometimes merchants are supposed to ask to see your ID, and sometimes they’re not. Writing the words “See ID” on the back of your card doesn’t actually help you.
3 Things to Remember About Being Asked to Show Your ID card
MasterCard and Visa merchants are allowed to request a photo ID but generally may not require it as a condition of purchase.
Merchants should not be recording any of the personal info on your ID. In fact, in some states it is illegal.
Writing “See ID” on your card does not help, as your card is technically not valid unless signed, and few merchants now check signatures anyway.
Here’s how it breaks down.
In general, merchants can check your ID, but usually won’t. MasterCard says a merchant “may request but not require” a customer to show ID, and American Express simply instructs merchants to “verify that the customer is the Cardmember.”
The Visa merchant guide is a little different. It says, “Although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID… merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot… refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID.”
Based on that, Visa recommends its merchants not spend time asking for ID.
But of course, there is a big exception.
At the time of purchase, when a customer swipes their card, the merchant is supposed to compare the signature on the card with the signature on the receipt. In the event that there is a discrepancy, or if the back of the card is unsigned, then merchants are instructed to ask for a photo ID to compare with.
I think you're splitting hairs here. Showing ID is not some awful and embarrassing situation for one to go through and it appears they could refuse if they really wanted to.