To be baffled by Morrison's ID policy

[Babyfacemortified]

I am really at a loss to understand what I have just experienced. Very minor in the scheme of things but I have been left with a lingering uncomfortable feeling.

I made an unplanned stop at my local Morrison's store for a bottle of wine and didn't have my purse with me, just my bank card. So I didn't have any ID with me but I am 33 years old and was dressed for work in business wear so it never crossed my mind that I would be asked for it, even with challenge 25 as I am 8 years over that but to my amazement, I was asked. In many ways, very flattering. This isn't the part that annoyed and bewildered me....

I previously worked in that store for 5 years (starting 16 years ago) and am still on good terms with many of the staff, including management. It's a small town so I still chat to my former colleagues when I see them and keep in touch on Facebook. I didn't have ID, so was refused the sale. This is fine as for whatever reason, the checkout assistant was not confident that I was old enough to buu alcohol.

I asked whether a different member of staff on another checkout could serve me as they would know for a certain fact that I am old enough but was told rhat no, that is not possible and the assistant refused to let me take the wine to another checkout or call a supervisor.

The people behind me in the queue were really nice, as they could obviously tell I am clearly well over 18 (and 25, unfortunately) but I still felt really embarrassed not to mention disappointed at having to leave the lovely Malbec I had been looking forward to!

On the way out, I spotted a supervisor I used to work with and explained the issue to her, told her I realised it was totally my own fault for not having ID but I really did fancy a glass of wine and had a friend coming the following day so could do with something in to offer, so could she aerve me on her checkout but she also refused. She said that although she knew my age, it would be against the law for her to serve me now that her colleague had questioned my age!

Surely this is madness? I absolutely respect the right of the first checkout assistant to refuse if she isn't satisfied that I am old enough, as the consequences of serving someone under 18 can be very serious, but if another checkout assistant and supervisor knew that I was in my 30s they can't be prohibited from serving alcohol can they?

Name changed as very outing.

Total lack of common sense and if people are being sacked for selling alcohol to people in their 30s who might look under 24 in a very flattering light, someone needs to start bringing unfair dismissal claims as it is totally ridiculous.

This happened to me in another supermarket. I was in my late 30s and while I do look young for my age (to the poster who asked which moisturiser to use, it's simple, you just need to use any old moisturiser with sunscreen in it, it's all that is needed) they were totally happy I was over 18, but not sure I was over 25 so the sale was refused. They knew no law was being broken, but would not budge from the company's advisory policy.

I was asked for ID once when I was about 22 (because I looked under 25), by a girl I went to school with. It was my weekly shop and I was buying a small bottle of cooking wine, along with £100 worth of food. She refused to serve me because I had no id - I rarely carry it because I never get id’d, especially when doing a weekly shop 🤦‍♀️

I just couldn’t get over the lack of common sense in the policy - we were in the same class at school, therefore the same age. We had a chat before she came across the wine, so she knew who I was. She knew we were both 22, possibly 21 or 23, but definitely not 17.

Well the supermarkets are applying it that you need to prove you are over 25, as I said above, they were certain I was over 18 (I was 38 FFS) but not that I was over 25.

I was ID-ed at Morrison's when I was 36 (THIRTY-SIX YEARS OLD) and trying to purchase a single bottle of beer.
I was absolutely elated and beamed my way out of the store despite not having any ID on me and therefore being denied the beer. It is absolutely BONKERS. I often wonder if staff are actively encouraged to abandon their common sense...

Your colleague is correct this is the law. Also it would be pretty shit of the supervisor to undermine the decision of the junior colleague.

I was asked for ID in Tesco, by a girl that didn’t look old enough to even have a job.

I’m 43, my response was “ don’t be ridiculous , authorise the transaction”
she dithered for a few mins, then cleared it.

Stupid policy when I’m obviously not under 25!

I worked in another of the big supermarkets.
I was told that if a member of staff could vouch for the customer (for example, if my sister or an old school friend came in-people that I was 100% sure about their age) I could override the member of staff saying no and serve them.

It's not the law, and provided the supervisor/other staff member knows for a fact you are over 18, they're not doing anything wrong by authorising it themselves.

It's up to the original person if she then wants to take their word and serve you, or allow someone else to put the transaction through and take responsibility.

I'm pretty sure it's not against any law to serve alcohol to someone over the age of 18.

This moral panic that a 17 year old might get a swig of cider is getting ridiculous.

our local Spoons refuses to serve alcohol to anyone if the whole group/table don't provide ID. DD2 got in bother because she didn't have ID (for her lemonade!) because her friends had a bottle of cider each. Worst thing was, they were refused by someone who had been in their year at school, knew them, and knew exactly how old they all were.

They got round it it by walking out, walking back in again, and DD going to the other end of the bar for her lemonade .

So it seems that supermarkets applying the best practice Think 25 policy are randomly challenging people in order to tick boxes and meet targets. That explains why I was ID'd in Waitrose. I'm 55.

Luckily common sense is applied in my local Morrisons and when this happened to me , the supervisor served me instead on the quiet. (Known her for years).

It’s ridiculous, shop policy being quoted as if it’s law. I certainly wouldn’t want any staff member to lose their job but I also want shops to stop being stupid about insisting on ID when people are clearly old enough to legally purchase a product.

Your colleague is correct this is the law

No, it really isn't the law

It may be store policy, but its certainly not the law.

I was refused my wine from a supermarket (ocado) online. I’m 40 (ish) and the delivery driver said I didn’t look old enough. So as I didn’t want to try and find Id (no passport) I had to call my DH to come and take the wine. He looks quite a lot older and the delivery driver laughed his head off and said to him, “no I don’t need to see your ID!”

But he had to hand it to DH, I wasn’t allowed to touch the wine. DH had to be seen to walk off with it. It was a very strange experience and I’m sure the delivery chap was enjoying getting us to perform for him for wine,

This was the rule at Morrisons when I worked there 15 years ago and I'm not surprised it still is. They would rather lose a sale than their liquor licence. and as a shareholder, I agree with them These schemes only work if the staff have the confidence to challenge and know they will be backed up. I can understand why you are annoyed though! I would also like to know what moisturiser you use.

www.wsta.co.uk/images/Committees/RASG/2015/HowtoadoptChallenge25.pdf

Support staff –Challenge 25 only works if the staff have confidence that the decisions they make will not be undermined. It is therefore important to ensure that difficult decisions staff have made are not challenged and overturned.

This happened to a friend of mine when we popped into Morrisons to buy some wine on the way to a birthday party years ago.

She is one of the most tenacious and determined people I've come across, and was also very clear on the difference between a company's policy and the law. She absolutely refused to accept no for an answer and argued her way through the checkout operator, her supervisor, and the deputy store manager, before having the manager pulled out of a meeting to deal with the situation. He quickly told staff she was clearly older than the policy age and to to sell her the wine...

I think it's the officious way they do it kalinka. They challenge you completely straight faced as if you're doing something wrong, when there's no way on god's green earth you could be underage . I always now say "Seriously?" and make them explain exactly why they are ID'ing me. It's a bit of fun to have them say out loud to the checkout queue that they aren't sure that I'm over 25, then I ask the next person in the queue what they think, and discussion about the nonsense ensues. If they're going to inconvenience me, I'll inconvenience them. Waitrose are the absolute worst supermarket in every conceivable way, and deserve it.
Don't tell me to shop elsewhere- I do when I can, but sometimes it has to be there because they're nearest.

The law is that you much not sell restricted items to people who are underage.

That's it really.

Everything else is store policy on what to do to make sure they adhere to the law.

Which often includes challenging anyone who looks within a 'near miss' age bracket of the defined age and requiring that person to prove their age. It's entirely up to the store whether and how to do that. And what OP described is a counterproductive mess.

That's absolutely ridiculous! She knew your age so there is no way they could have got into trouble for serving under age. They were being awkward and I wouldn't go there again in fact I would delete them from my Facebook friends

It's not undermining to say I know this person is over 18 I'll process the sale.

Legal penalties are for selling to underage customers not selling to 33 year olds who don't have id on them.

There tends to be that fine line in your early 20s of being pissed off with it and then a small period of being quite happy. The thing that used to bug me when I was refused was the logic of what I was buying. I could be 23 in business dress buying a bottle of wine alongside some brie and cleaning products on a credit card and still get refused. Whereas when I was 16 and dressed for a night out, I had no problem buying alcopops with cash.

The self service till in Waitrose wouldn't continue until I'd been ID'd the other day as I was buying birthday candles 🙄