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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU - to think that if im paying at the tills, then asda shouldnt refuse to sell me a DVD?

135 replies

pinkheart · 06/02/2011 21:54

Hi, I had an experience yesterday in ASDA at the self serve checkout and wondered if it is just my local ASDA that has introduced a ridiculous policy or all of them? this is a bit long winded but;

I used the self serve checkout with my children (my eldest son loved to do this bit)and as all the items were swiped through, the last item was my DVD which had been at the bottom of the basket. I forgot I would have needed to get age authorisation or I would have used a different till. However, we waited for the self serve assistant to come over and authorise the sale of my DVD, however she told me that I couldn?t have the DVD as she had seen my son swipe the DVD. I thought she was joking as she took the DVD away and so I stood at the checkout waiting for her to bring it back (I assumed she was removing a security seal or something similar). The assistant saw me still standing at the till so came back to ask why I was not moving. To which I replied I was waiting for my DVD. Again she replied that as my Son had swiped the item I wasn?t allowed to have it.
I was purchasing all of the shopping on my debit card so I cannot understand why I was not allowed to have the DVD. I had to walk back through the store with both children and my bags of paid shopping to reselect the same DVD and take it to another checkout to pay for it.

when i got home i was still fuming over the way the checkout lady had spoken to me and lack of explanation, so i rang the store to complain (I have never ever rung and complained to anyone before!)
The Customer services manager told me that it was store policy to not allow items swiped by children to be sold. I replied that I have never encountered this situation before and there are no signs or notices anywhere to inform customers that their children cannot use the self serve checkouts. He told me that they had recently been caught selling an age authorised product to an underage person. However, clearly I am over 18, with my own debit card, photo id, and 2 children in tow and obviously old enough to purchase a 15 rated DVD (I am in my 30's).
The manager then suggested that I should shop without taking my children with me!! If I could complete my shopping without having to take the children around the aisles with me I would, but I work full time and only have weekends to undertake such tasks.

AIBU to think this is ridiculous or have other people encountered this?
I have emailed ASDA to complain but so far nothing back..

OP posts:
Tortington · 06/02/2011 21:56

yes totally ridiculous, do these people not have any fuckng common sense the fuckups

stoppinchingthedummy · 06/02/2011 21:57

I think the issue probably was they thought it was for your ds since he swiped it ..unfortunatly some checkout operaters take everything as literally and also are given lectures on selling things if they are in doubt about who it is for etc ...YANBU but i would think they would just highlight their store policy in their reply. good luck

YankNCock · 06/02/2011 21:57

That is absolutely bizarre. I'm tempted to have DS (17mo) wave a bottle of wine over the self serve scanner and see what happens!

Louii · 06/02/2011 21:58

That's pretty mad alright, how dare the manager tell you how to do your shopping though, that's the bit i think I would actually be most pissed off about.

MoonUnitAlpha · 06/02/2011 22:01

Fucking ridiculous!

ElleAndBump · 06/02/2011 22:02

omg! i wuldnt have left the self serve till until the cow had bought the dvd back, or asked to see the manager ther and then, thats pathetic to makeyou walk back in to get the dvd, as if its not enough hassle to go shopping with kids! i hope you got the name of the man on the phone who told you to go shopping with out the kids, who is he to persume your circumstances, thats just rude!wldnt we all go shopping without the kids if we had the choice! haha take it higher if you dont recieve email back

pointythings · 06/02/2011 22:02

Bonkers.

curlymama · 06/02/2011 22:05

Write to head office, if that's not who you emailed. You might get a freebie.

CilantroLarry · 06/02/2011 22:06

I would take issue with the way you were spoken to if it's as you report.

But it's the law and their jobs. If they hadn't done as they are obliged to and you had been a secret shopper/it was a set up, that member of staff would have lost her job.

A very, very good friend lost her job in the same way.

It's unfortunate but it's not something they're doing on a whim.

Newgolddream · 06/02/2011 22:07

YANBU, completely jobsworth.

It reminds me of the stories you read of supermarkets refusing to sell alcohol to people who just happen to have their under 18 teenage child with them when they are doing their shopping......in case the alcohol is for them!!

Original poster
pinkheart · 06/02/2011 22:08

Louii thats what made me even more angry after talking, i was teompted to just put the phone down then.

its annoying that she stood and watched my son scan all the shopping for me but didnt say anything until she had to authorise the age of the dvd. her whole attitude about it is what made me think she was joking as she took it off me, so i stood waiting for her to bring it back. i've never had this done before and i quite often buy cheap dvd's from there, wont be going back again now.

i understand if theyre getting 18/19 year olds buying dvd's and alcohol for their friends theyre with but when im obviously not buying it for my children, i took offence that they thought i might.

may email again if i dont hear anything by tuesday maybe..

OP posts:
NellieForbush · 06/02/2011 22:09

YANBU. jobsworth. Fucking ridiculous.

Mrsfluff · 06/02/2011 22:09

Yadnbu! Once, I was buying my daughter a chocolate bar and myself a lottery ticket and newspaper, my daughter went to hand over the money - she liked to help and it was good for her to learn about paying for things - and the assistant wouldn't take the money from her as she was under-age to buy a lottery ticket, so I had to hand it over!?!?!? The money came out of my purse and I was there to oversee the whole transaction Confused

Original poster
pinkheart · 06/02/2011 22:11

i wish now i had left all my shopping there and walked out, but i was a bit taken aback by it at the time. it was as i drove home and was thinking about it more and more i wound my self up and rung to speak to the manager.

OP posts:
ElleAndBump · 06/02/2011 22:12

they did the same sort of thing to me as well, was wiv me oh, pregnant at the time, and he went to buy some fags(for himself, i may add, as i dont smoke and wuldnt if pregnant either,lol), asked for them and i was just getting some money out of my bag for it and this teenage girl behind conunter asked me for i.d i said im 23 and they arent for me either, they for him and hes 27, and she said bcus the money was coming out of my bag she need my i.d! which i didnt have on me, and said she could do the same for cosmetics too!! for fucksake they are just jobs worths, they could use common sense, she didnt even look old enough to sell fags in the first place! Angry

taintedpaint · 06/02/2011 22:12

Oh FFS, how pedantic can they get?! Fucking idiots.

Of course YANBU. I am tempted to take DN into Asda this coming week and get him to put some vodka through the self service till. Will be even more Shock since I'm very obviously pregnant. Grin

CilantroLarry · 06/02/2011 22:14

Mrsfluff, I know why it's annoying but they HAVE to do it that way. It's their job, not something they want to lose because the one time they don't follow procedure, it's actually somebody checking they're obeying the rules.

shakey1500 · 06/02/2011 22:15

I know it sounds completely bonkers but here's another take on it...

I work for a well known DIY store that also has self service tills. We constantly have to verify peoples ages (to buy glue, spray paint etc). As batty as it sounds we are told that even if an adult is present, if an underage person has swiped the item it "can" be deemed that they are "purchasing" the item. Clearly not in some cases (as yours) but bear with me...

Trading standards are known to check this covertly and if it's overlooked or allowed then the store is in for a hefty fine. And it has been done, at least twice, in my store alone.

I am often berated when manning the self service and agree that it seems heavy handed and unreasonable but they're not doing it to be arsey and granted, it seems like common sense has gone on a lengthy holiday but, unfortunately, where trading standards are concerned, it's a big no no.

Makes my job tricky, the customers inconvenienced, the only way i can deal with it is to remember we sell "flange brackets" and that keeps me sane.

TragicallyHip · 06/02/2011 22:17

How fucking ridiculous!!

And to tell you to shop without your children is idiotic!!

KenDoddsDadsDog · 06/02/2011 22:19

Although I understand they have to follow rules, sounds like their interpersonal skills are not great! Plus the point of self checkout is to reduce staffing and you have to get someone to authorise nearly every bastard thing in your basket.

Original poster
pinkheart · 06/02/2011 22:23

they would have told me if they recorded the phone conversation woudnt they? im hoping they do and i have proof of what he said if the complaint goes through. i think he must have known that was the wrong thing to say at the time as he laughed about it, but when i was angry i didnt find it a funny comment to make!

OP posts:
fuzzypicklehead · 06/02/2011 22:24

That's mad, I let my 3 year old scan things. Would they presume she's going to sit doing scratchcards and smoking Silk Cut whilst quaffing whiskey and watching adult films and playing COD? (I don't actually buy any of those things, but dammit, I insist upon having the opportunity to do so!)

Similar threads pop up quite a lot here, where a mum can't buy alcohol because she's with her 16 year old daughter, etc. I understand that stores must have policies to protect their staff, but there must be a better way of dealing with these situations. "Don't shop with your kids" isn't good enough. Perhaps the store need to have some sort of pre-printed waiver available for these situations that an adult can sign to take responsibility for the goods that are being purchased. It would be a PITA, but would cover the store's arse whilst allowing your kids to actually participate in the shopping (!)

shakey1500 · 06/02/2011 22:25

Yes agree it sounds like the staff member was rude. I try and dilute the warrated frustration with abit of humour and a "yes, I know it seems unreasonable" etc.

onepieceoflollipop · 06/02/2011 22:26

It is ridiculous, but in view of what is apparently the letter of the law (i.e. if a child swipes it then = no sale) they need BIG SIGNS LIKE THIS

The signs should be in the relevant departments/aisles (e.g. above the alcohol, dvds, computer games, medicines etc) AND at the checkout.

fuzzypicklehead · 06/02/2011 22:28

Agree on the signs--giving a warning would help.