To think Tesco make it up as they go along

[Devilishpyjamas]

Son just popped out to buy some AA batteries from the Tesco down the road.

They refused to serve him saying they’re ‘not allowed to sell batteries to children’. Eh? Since when?

Ds3 is nearly 14 and has bought AA batteries from there (unaccompanied) before.

It’s not a matter of ‘would you risk your job to break the rules for a customer’ it is a matter of - why has a company created nonsensical rules that have no basis in law or common sense - and why do they expect you to enforce them - and why do they throw customer facing staff under the bus.

Everyone saying they work retail, it isn’t the employees fault that the rules are stupid, the customer should tweet/ complain to management, head office etc. Well, sure, but so should the staff. The people who are being disproportionately affected by stuff like this, the common denominator in ALL of these tales, are the checkout/bar/wait staff. These staff (of which I have been one, yes, for several years, and yes, I did stand up against these policies then) are the people who are put in impossible no-win positions up against angry and frustrated customers and threatened with job loss, disciplinary procedures and fines.

The service staff are the most affected and should be the leading voice on the ridiculousness of these policies, out in place entirely by management who do so in order to wash their hands of the whole thing.

They haven’t answered my query on twitter either @adviceonthepox I bought them myself from Sainsbury’s today!

We bought batteries in Tesco today - they weren't age restricted. Maybe it was an error only on the ones that he was trying to buy?

@ChanklyBore

If you've worked in a store then you will know that no one takes any notice of what the staff say.

Some of the rules are nonsense, like the teaspoons, but others like painkillers, energy drinks etc aren't. My local store won't sell eggs or flour to under 18s in the run up to Halloween because of the trouble that some teens caused. The police asked the store not to sell them and the store agreed. Annoying if you want to buy it but also the store trying to be responsible.

Yes, I have worked in stores and in the service industry and as bar staff and wait staff.

I did not accept then and I do not accept now that “no one takes any notice of what the staff say” and that is definitively not a good reason to accept the ridiculous status quo.

Then I wish that I had your experience.

I've never worked in a company that listened to staff concerns about company policy. In fact if you did ever try to raise it you were viewed as a trouble maker.

@Devilishpyjamas hope you get a response!

The thing most consumers forget is that as a store assistant/manager you have to protect yourself. Follow the rules as laid out in company policy or you risk your job and getting a huge personal fine.
If I served an underage person with anything I could lose my job, if I serve someone else with that product knowing it was for someone else it's the same as serving the underage person. I understand it's annoying I know people don't get it. But it's the law not just company policy and the grief you get from the customer is nothing compared to what you can get from the relevant authorities.
We have no way of knowing if it's a test purchase from trading standards/police/internal store test, or just an average joe bloggs.
We have no way of knowing if that person behind you in the queue is an off duty police officer or a trading standards officer or just someone that could land you in trouble because you didn't do what is expected of you.
I once had a "man" threaten to beat the shit out of me because I had asked for ID from his daughter to buy wine and cigarettes. He came in and kicked off that she was 19 and shouldn't have to prove how old she is. I refused to serve him as I knew it was for her. It's what I have to do. He came back at store close and was outside waiting for us. I had to ring the police, and wait for 2 hours before myself and my staff could leave with an escort to our homes as he was still there waiting. I know that is an extreme but it does happen.

The day after my 18th birthday a bouncer refused to let my twin and me into a club. We both showed ID and he still refused to let us in because “if the police come in it’s more than my job’s worth”. No it wouldn’t have been, you twat, because the police will look at our IDs and there will be no problem because we are 18.

@ChanklyBore

Yes, I have worked in stores and in the service industry and as bar staff and wait staff.

I did not accept then and I do not accept now that “no one takes any notice of what the staff say” and that is definitively not a good reason to accept the ridiculous status quo.

What do you suggest then? Because many of us do feedback to higher levels, as do a minority of customers. Yet the policies still exist. In this area and also another popular topic here on staff approaching customers repeatedly and upselling at tills.
We feedback what the customer feedback to us - sometimes not word for word because it wouldn't be appropriate to use that kind of language! But many do - yet it's still happening - does that sound like anyone is listening to you? Plus, shop floor staff aren't trusted to make a judgement call regarding just about anything, we're hardly held in high regard.
Higher management take about as much notice of staff on these matters as customers do when we try and explain that we have to do it. And to be quite honest, like everyone else, I have bills to pay, I can't afford to push it too far and risk getting disciplined or worse.

So you can 'not accept' it as much as you like - it's happening, and threads like this prove it.