Asked for ID in the supermarket - I'm 50!!

[Saisong]

I felt strangely affronted, rather than taking it as a compliment!

The cashier was a male approaching 70 (he told me), maybe everyone looks young when you get to that age? 😆

I guess that's one way to look follish while shopping

Honestly, what a ridiculous over-reaction that would be to a non event

Do you understand what this thread is about? What has the age of the staff member got to do with it other than not being able to sell the alcohol without a check which is totally different thing

The shop pays their staff, why would you think anyone else does?

I think the poster means the people who do the spot checks? They work for either trading standards or the licensing department who come under the council.

I got regularly IDed until I was 42 but then it suddenly stopped - think lockdown must have took it's toll on me!

Once in a pub with DH and I had a new handbag with me, and had left my ID in my normal one so they wouldn't serve me - I used to do bar work myself so understood and we just tried somewhere else. Went back a couple of days later with my passport and the same staff member who IDed me explained that someone at the pub had been caught and fined, and they'd all had to go on a training course and were being extra careful as a result!

My over the top, extremely vain DSis was in Tescos once and got asked for ID (she was about 45) on and and on she went about it and then fired off an email for more attention, about it (she was absolutely thrilled and truly believed she looked under 18)

She got the explanations above, more or less and shut up. Finally.

I was asked in M&S when I bought a bottle of wine with DD (3/4ish) many times. I did not look like I could possibly be under 18 as I was about 43. They just said sorry, it was policy or that they were only 17 and had to ask. (Bless)

Bloody annoying if you don[t have ID though.

They should just make it a blanket rule like in many US states, no one gets offended then.

Before uni I worked in Sainsburys for a year on checkouts, the ID thing was the most anxiety inducing part of the job. The training was terrifying, we were given examples of staff who failed to ID when it was a test and were fired on the spot, arrested, given a fine and would never be able to travel abroad again.

I was 19 at the time and once ID'd a woman who turned out to be 35. She was shopping with her mum and they both just laughed at me. I remember working on the self checkouts once and didn't ID a guy who looked old enough from behind but when I looked properly (after approving it) I realised he looked much younger, but he had already left. I only worked weekends, so I spent the whole of the next week in a state of constant anxiety, having visions of walking in for my shift next weekend and being marched straight upstairs to a manager. I'm an anxious person, but that part of the job nearly gave me a nervous breakdown!

I would say ID'ing someone who's 40+ is ridiculous, but they really do terrify the staff to the point where its easier just to ID everyone. The fear of ID'ing someone who's clearly old enough and having them be angry with you is also a source of anxiety, and the 'do I or don't I' debate that goes on in your head as someone youngish looking (but then again not super young so could be 30 or even 40) approaches you with age restricted products is awful...

Now whenever I'm in a supermarket and it looks like the cashier is eyeing me up and down uncertainly, clearly not knowing what to do, I just get my ID out and give it to them, and I try to be understanding.

Having said all that, stories of 50 year olds being ID'd, and that story about a woman being refused a bottle of wine because she was shopping with her baby are riridiculous. I can only think that they've got even stricter since I worked in that role and staff are thinking they're better off just asking everyone for ID as a blanket rule.

This thread explains why a young cashier suddenly glanced at me as he picked up a bottle of wine. I did think for a second it was strange as I haven't been asked for ID for about 25 years. Anyway he didn't ask me. He obviously hadn't been on the course!

I think they must work to quotas because in our local Waitrose the average customer age is well over 25. I imagine the only people in there who are 25 or under are some of the staff, and not many of those.
I’m 59, look 50 and get IDd regularly in Waitrose. I don’t for one minute think it’s because I look 25 🤣.

that story about a woman being refused a bottle of wine because she was shopping with her baby are riridiculous.

I think there’s a bit of a misunderstanding with the law there tbh

I did the training for a personal alcohol licence about 15 years ago, the rules may have changed since then, but back then you weren’t supposed to sell alcohol to a person who was accompanied by a minor, if you thought they were buying alcohol for that minor. So, if I was serving a woman doing her shopping with a baby, selling the alcohol would be fine. I would often get adults in who were clearly buying alcohol for their (underage) teens (they’d get the teen to choose the alcohol themselves and stupidly obvious stuff like that) so the sale would be refused if the teen didn’t have ID.

My daughter has been working in a bar this summer and she’d originally understood that you couldn’t sell alcohol to someone if they were accompanied by a minor, the ‘if you thought they were buying the alcohol for that minor’ bit seemed to have got lost in translation.

TBh, the alcohol training is (or was) mildly terrifying - it’s all about how you can be fined £1000s of pounds, get a criminal record and the store/bar/whatever will lose their licence, will have to close down, everyone will lose their jobs and it will all be your fault

Are you fucking serious? Ask for a manager?? My son is 18 and a cashier. He has had to id loads of people. It's hard to tell how old someone is. I'm 40 and get id'd all the time. I don't care. I look young. Why should you be getting a manager and getting a cashier I to bother FOR JUST DOING THEIR FUCKING JOB!? Take the compliment and move on with your day.

I think its a blanket policy in many shops, as I've been asked for ID and I produced my OAP's bus pass😂😂😂
The cashier did laugh when he saw what it was!

i wouldn't blame them for being very very cautious, if complaints are made they are just doing their job.

But then a cashier could just apologize and say its a company policy to demand ID. They certainly shouldn't be taking the piss like "it's a compliment to you"

A blanket policy to ask someone who is nearly SEVENTY to proof they are old enough to buy alcohol? None of this makes ANY sense.

Blanket policy yes... to ID anyone looks under 25.. but why on earth would they ID someone in their 60s or 70s??? Or even in their 40s, or 50s? NOBODY past 40 looks under 25. They just don't.

All the consequences for an underage purchase are on the cashier, bartender, or server. Even if they want to Id every single sale, that should be at their discretion.

Maybe they operate a seniors special discount and he thought you might qualify

It’s getting a bit ridiculous now tbh, I’m 32 my wife is 35 and every time we buy something from B&Q we get ID’d, even for a wallpaper scraper. Last time I forgot to bring some as I didn’t think I would need one for what we were buying (sealant) and told the guy who ID’d us that we are married and in our 30s, showed wedding rings and wedding picture which was a screensaver on my phone and he said “well you can get married under 25”, I said yes but you need to be 18 to buy this product not over 25! I think common sense has gone out of the window, we don’t look older than we are, but we are clearly well over 25 and I don’t think anyone would think we could be teenagers.

Came back later with my ID and he was a bit embarrassed and told me he ID’s everyone, even “the oldies”, but surely the point of challenge 25 is you only ID people who look under 25?

It's happened to me a few times and I'm 43. Definitely don't look 25 so just assumed that the shop had maybe been caught out recently and tightened up their procedures.

My Dad had an amazon delivery containing booze and had to produce ID. He was 71!! 😁

My Dad had an amazon delivery containing booze and had to produce ID. He was 71!! 😁

That's more likely to make sure the parcel wasn't stolen by a cheeky neighbour.

It is so hard for cashiers. I can't stare at someone so I have to make a decision in about 3 seconds and usually just ask for ID because my job depends on it. We had checkers in yesterday!

Manager would back the staff and say to come back with ID or drop the restricted products

@Beeinalily glad I give staff a big giggle but let's face it I'm laughing at any person who asks for my I'd, I'm in my fifties. Because let's face it, it isn't 'doing your job' it's the member of staff being stupid.

Just to add there are loads of places who don't ask so plenty of options as a customer 🙂

Manager would back the staff and say to come back with ID or drop the restricted products

I have dropped the entire shopping trolley a few times. I'm already inconvenienced by having to traipse to another shop, so i can get other groceries in there too.

I did the training for a personal alcohol licence about 15 years ago, the rules may have changed since then, but back then you weren’t supposed to sell alcohol to a person who was accompanied by a minor, if you thought they were buying alcohol for that minor.

But how are we supposed to do a big family shop, which may contain some age restricted items?

At least you get asked....you know you've had it when you don't!!!!!!

No it's the member of staff doing what they're told by using the ID policy to provide proof that they use the ID policy for the licensing authority, trading standards and their employer. Once again no laws need to be broken to lose an alcohol license, you need to show you're a responsible retailer and to do that stick to the conditions of your license - and that includes proving you're using the ID policy in place - and that policy is a condition of the license.

Do you really think that the defence of 'I was using Common sense', 'I didn't want to be an idiot', 'The customer didn't like it' or in fact anything is going to work when you fail to meet the license conditions and the licensing team add more conditions to the licence or remove it? If you're the staff member that broke policy and get a disciplinary or the sack for it?

No one, least of all the person selling it to you, cares if you're going to drip feed it to your 5 year old (because it's legal don't you know!!) Or get drunk and do a hula down Regent Street naked, but the fact is if you do that, and there is backlash from it, they are the ones who face it, not you. That's why they're careful, that's why they ID someone obviously over 18 because they need to show they're being responsible about selling a restricted product or they stand to lose the license to do so and the actual person selling it can lose their job. Licencing effectively makes be someone else responsible for someone else's stupid behaviour because they sold them the alcohol. As someone who sells it, I don't like it very much either, what a way to avoid responsibility for your own actions!

I wonder how well received it would be if someone walked into your workplace and started calling you an idiot for following your company policies? Or for following the terms imposed by outside authorities?

The whole issue with this is because people don't like feeling like they've been challenged by someone there to serve them, and they feel entitled to buy a restricted product and demand other people take the concequences, and this attitude is multiplied by 100 when alcohol is involved.