AIBU about these customers?

[PeacockFeathers]

Was spoken to like crap today at work by two very well spoken and dressed youngsters. DP was stood nearby in the shop making purchases coicidently and thinks I WBU.

Two young people wanting to buy wine. Both look under 25.

He has ID, she doesn't. I tell them I need to see both or I can't sell it to them, the law is clear on suspecting they are purchasing it for someone who is underage.

He offers uni ID with no date of birth on it, I tell him sorry but its not an accepted form of ID.

Both proceed to have a rant at me, telling me the law only applies to who is buying the alcohol. Tell me to use my common sense.

Call my supervisor over who backs me up and asks them to stop speaking to me like that.

Boy rants about how I am supposed to provide good customer service. Asks for my name and says they will complain.

DP thinks I ruined someones night. I think the boy looked anywhere from 16+ so was right, but feel shite at how patronising they were.

YANBU because it's store policy and obv not your fault, but this is one of my pet hates! I am 27 and I get IDed ALL the time because of the "challenge 25" policy. What the hell does a 25 year old look like anyway? In America they ID everyone, it's much fairer and less irritating to be singled out because a random person thinks you look 'under 25' which is 7 years older than you bloody well need to be to buy drink anyway!
Also the thing about having people with you - this just encourages people to hide outside/send older friends in alone - I bet the person you refused just went into another store alone and bought his alcohol in peace.

I think the idea that you must look 25 to be able to buy something restricted to under 18s is ridiculous. You should need to look 18.

actually you need to be 18

they were obviously together, she had no ID = no sale!

You don't have to look 25! but if shop staff think you don't look 25, they have to ID you. You then need to produce ID to prove that you are at least 18 years old.

OP, YANBU please ID women who look over 25 occasionally as well, it makes my day and happens too rarely

Clearly you cannot sell alcohol to someone who can't provide valid dated ID.

Whether you should worry who they are with I find less clear.

DD1 is 14 and perhaps once or twice a week has a glass of what we are having.

So technically I am buying alcohol for a minor, but she is allowed to drink in her own home.

So do you refuse to serve me, when I have over a £100 worth of food in the trolly, which I assure you I will leave for you to put back.

Do as they always have and serve me and DD helps pack.

Or do I have to send DD out to the car so you don't know I have a teen.

Whole thing strikes me as barking mad.

Me and DP are 23 and 24 respectively, we fully expect to be IDed and have been turned down for buying a bottle of wine in the past when one of us has forgotten ID! They were just idiots and as they caused such a fuss about it, I would suspect she wasn't 18 yet! I used to sell cigarettes in a corner shop and the only ones who kicked up a fuss were those not 16/18 yet (I worked through the change, had some very angry regulars for a while!)

i too think EVERYONE should be id'd, and show a picture id, from 18 year olds to 90 year olds. most teenagers nowadays look to be early 20's and personally, i suck at guessing peoples ages (i used to work in a supermarket), everyone would know where they stand and cashiers wouldnt get so much abuse (i know what thats like too). same goes for fags.

no id = no sale

Startail- A parent and child with a weeks worth of food is different. Unless you said something to her like "I'll buy this for you", I have no reason to believe you will be giving it to her.

Two young people, buying a couple of nibbles and a bottle of wine I will assume they are going to drink them together.

Is your DP prepared to support you fully should you get the sack for not following company policy and the law?

Quite frankly I am offended that my 45 year old self does not get IDd at all!! RUDE!!!

YANBU, and your DP is being a tool, it is ILLEGAL not just spoiling someones fun and it shouldn't matter whether he agrees with the policy or not its what your empoyers want and so you do it to keep your job he should resoect that. You do only have to be 18 to legally purchase alcohol but on a training session I recently did with photos of people ranging from 14-28 no-one guessed their ages right - so how can you be sure, can anyone afford to gamble 6 mths in prison/ £5000? put in the challenge 25 of if they look younger then ID. to be safe. I doubt it was a spot check though, they aren't allowed to argue back or make themselves look older - they are there to see if you do genuinely I.D those who look younger NOT to catch you out. I also thought if you suspected it could be being passed o to underagers you refused sale/asked all for I.D. You did the right thing they were being arseholes :)

I'm with you MammaTJ it is depressing when the people on the self-service checkouts in Tesco tick through the 'customer looks under 25?' question without even looking up!

When i was in the US with my family my mother and i were asked to provide ID when buying a bottle of wine- i am 50 and she is 72. Boy did we laugh!! It is very normal over there for everyone to be asked for ID.

Well I dont think yabu at all. But there are cases when its just stupidly interpreted - such as the stories of people in their 40s being refused alcohol if they have their teenage child with them, in case the alcohol is for them which is bonkers. My DS is now 19 so wouldnt be seen dead in a supermarket with me but there were times he was, I would hate to think I couldn't get a bottle of wine just because he was with me.

combine it would not have been illegal for her to sell the alcohol to the guy with ID. The fact that the friend did not have ID is a company policy not he law.

My DSis got IDed buy a 15 video game. She is 30. That was ludicrous. Buying alcohol I haven't been IDed for about 5 years sobs

A few posters have said abotu getting IDed at various ages... it suddenly stopped for me after having DC. I look my age now.

My friend had a whole trolley full of shopping in Morrisons once, but as she had a bottle of vodka and her 17 year old ds with her they wouldn't sell it to her.
If I'd been her I'd have left all the shopping at the checkout and walked out but she decided to pay and just forgo the alcohol as it would have been too much hassle doing it all again.
The law says 18, and if it's clearly an adult and/or parent doing the shopping then it's bloody ridiculous.
I would also resent everybody having to show id, I''m 56 and do not live in a police state.

You weren't being unreasonable, you need to ask people for ID because it's your job and risk getting into a lot of trouble. I can see why they were irritated, it is annoying getting ID'd when you're over age and you've not conveniently got your passport with you especially when the other person has ID with them and is buying the alcohol but you both need it. But they shouldn't have spoken to you nastily or threaten to complain.

You've not ruined their night though, they could just go elsewhere and get their drink or go and pick up the other ID. Don't feel guilty.

YANBU.

They shouldn't have had a go at you for not selling them alcohol. It's annoying when you get caught without ID when the cashier thinks you look too young, but the cashier has to follow company policy and the law and get ID.

After all, it's your job on the line if you go ahead and sell them alcohol when they've failed to produce ID on request.

I'll ask her, Notactually me . I thinik she got it through being in the police cadets.

I'm blessed with good genes from my mum's side of the family and have always looked younger - I LOVE getting ID'd (I'm 34) - last time it happened was on Friday when I picked up some lagers for DP on my way home from work, made even more flattering by the fact the girl who asked was quite a bit younger than me!

It was a bit annoying when I didn't actually have any photo ID and was refused a sale (I've only just learned to drive and didn't have a passport until a few years ago) - but after working in pubs/shops for a few years myself I always took it with good grace and just tried somewhere else!

it would not have been illegal for her to sell the alcohol to the guy with ID. The fact that the friend did not have ID is a company policy not he law.

The law is that it's illegal to sell alcohol to someone if you think they will pass it to someone underage. It's not unreasonable to assume that 2 young people buyin alcohol together will be sharing it

I hold a personal alcohol licence and when we did the course, it was drummed into us that if we suspected that people buying alcohol together would be sharing it, we had to ask for ID from all of them.

I got called a cunt once for refusing to sell alcohol at 7am on a Sunday morning

Yep it's illegal to sell alcohol to anyone you suspect may be buying it for an underage person.

It's also illegal to sell alcohol to a policeman in uniform, a known prostitute, or a drunk person! (Personally I've only refused underage and drunk people! )

I'd love to be young enough to go around testing shops to see if they ID me

Isn't it illegal to sell alcohol at 7am on a Sunday morning even if the customer is a pensioner who's got a passport and photo driving licence with them?

Yes, you can't sell alcohol before 10 am or after 10pm on a Sunday - or at least you couldn't when I last worked in our village shop a year ago