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.

Nokidshere - My DS has never been id’d for alcohol either, my DDs used to send him to Tesco as they were always being id’d and didn’t always have passports with them (until they passed their driving tests)

I was nearly 50 and a young boy in a camping store wouldn't sell me a penknife as I didn't have ID. The whole thing is bizarre. Re the alcohol, the law is that they can't sell to under 18s or to over 18s if they believe it's to supply under 18s. I don't however envy them the job of identifying over 18s as it's quite hard to judge.

I'm under 25 (23) and only buy my alcohol from the local corner shop because they don't ask me for ID there.

My cousin was working on customer services so could be absolutely certain how old I am, but her colleague refused to let her sell it to me

Oh yes the old "I can vouch for them" trick.

It was alcohol-free why wouldn't she be served that

I got asked for ID in Morrison's, I took a step closer and the woman looked at my face and said "oh it's alright just forget I said that".
I was gutted 😂
So they can change their mind in my case.

I know exactly what you mean OP.

I got asked for ID when I wanted to buy fireworks in Aldi by an idiotic man. He was around my age, 44 at the time, so he should have known better. You have to be over 18 to buy fireworks. My daughter was 6 at the time! He eventually sold them to me after I showed him up to be the plonker he clearly was.

Same branch thought the woman's booze behind me was mine but it wasn't. The checkout woman said "Good job cos I was going to ask you for ID". I said are you serious?! I'm 46! Just no common sense whatsoever!

Strangely discomforting and not a bit flattering, just bloody daft and inconvenient. I never ever got ID'd in my 20s!

I am 28 and went through a period where I didn't get carded and now I get carded all the time lately. I don't look younger than i am i think. I can understand it when I am buying multiple beers or somethig on offer but I got carded at Morrison's buying a bottle of nice whiskey for my husband for Christmas. What kid is going to spend £45 on whiskey when they could just buy bells? I think there is a quota.

I also am American and don't drive here (I live in a city centre) and my state id is really confusing to cashiers.

I’ve got a photo of my passport and they accepted that.
But I am 40
I always get id by really young or really old assistants.

It was alcohol-freewhy wouldn't she be served that

Alcohol free wine diesnt have to be alcohol free to be classed as alcohol free wine iirc

It can just he very very very very low alcohol . 0.5 percent or something.

Least that was the case with so called alcohol free beer.

Prepared to be corrected though I'm talking from a good few years bag now it's been a while

Some of you are missing the op's point she was known to them they know her age she used to work there. no common sense whatsoeverhmm

And some of you are missing the point that it's policy that once ID is asked for and not provided, no one else in the store can serve them. No matter how well they know the person. To serve them while not illegal, is against company policy and the supervisor could have been reported by the original cashier and faced disciplinary action. Common sense doesn't come into it, they are literally risking their job if they apply common sense. It's got nothing to do with the law it's the policy of the company, and as with any policy, willfully breaking it puts your job at risk.
Is it a stupid policy? Yes!
Can the person behind the till/supervisor change it? No!
Should they lose their job potentially for not following company policies, so you can get a glass of wine? No, they bloody shouldn't.

It's not a difficult concept to grasp!

Again, even more comments have re-enforced my thoughts that mainly people don't like being told no by those they perceive as below them! And that a lot of people have a very wierd sense of entitlement to alcohol.

maintainthemolehill That happened to me a year at 28. I handed over my ID and she peered at me and said "oh yes I do see it now. I think it's because your hair is messy."

My 19 year old tried to buy a bottle of wine in morrisons . They asked for Id which he provided. They then asked his 16 year old brother for his id. He said ' I don't have any.. it's not my wine"
They wouldn't sell the 19 year old the wine despite him proving he was perfectly legal.
Bonkers.

I hate these posts, they always turn into stories of people being really unpleasant and difficult to people in retail/hospitality who are just following policy and trying to keep their jobs.

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.

The average person working at a Morrisons checkout cannot afford to bring an unfair dismissal claim on the company, especially if they're sacked for not following their own policy!

Some people have no idea about what it's like to be min wage staff, the pressure that's put on you, how often management are breathing down your neck, and how little room there is to stand up for yourself.

All those people who are making some kind of "stand" at the checkouts, you're directing your anger at the wrong person.

No-one is going to jail for selling wine to a 33 year old.

No, but they could be sacked. Is that honestly a risk you'd want someone to take so you could get a bottle of wine?

Darn
I’ve had this at my Morrison’s a few times (I’m 34) and was quite flattered. But maybe it’s just Morrison’s?
One time I didn’t not have my ID but she did serve me anyway though so...

No, but they could be sacked. Is that honestly a risk you'd want someone to take so you could get a bottle of wine?

Of course not - but just repeating "it's policy" or falsely claiming it's the law doesn't change the fact that it is a shit and stupid policy.

To be clear - I am not advocating rudeness to staff at all. I recognise it is not their fault and they are only obeying (stupid) orders.

@badlydrawnperson Fair enough. There have been several instances of people on this thread being downright shitty to people who have no control over those stupid policies, though, and that's not ok.

You have to think about why it's in place in the first place.

It's not to piss off customers . Its because some people look a damn sight older than they are. A think 25 policy dramatically reduces the chances of an under 18 being able to buy age restricted products a 17 yr old could under some circumstances pass for 19/20 . They wont pass for 25 I'm.most cases.

Alcohol
Gambling
Cigarettes etc

Are all addictive and it takes a surprisingly small amount of alcohol to kill you if you are taking and not used to drinking.

It's for their own good.

I think Morrison’s have a particularly odd policy. My husband (40) has been refused there on the basis that I (35) didn’t have ID with me, although he did and was the one paying. Apparently if he’d had a child with him that would have been ok. And I’ve also seen them refuse to accept a non-uk driving licence as proof of ID for someone again clearly over 18. Seems a bit ‘computer says no..’

goodwinter - my DD works in a large supermarket, but repeatedly tells us that she uses common sense when assessing whether someone needs IDing, unlike some of her colleagues. Not all supermarket staff have no common sense, and they aren’t all on minimum wage - she earns above it.

We were recently shopping in our local supermarket and bought some alcohol. She didn’t have her ID on her so I suggested that she go back to car whilst I went through the till. She didn’t and was not ID’d! She herself said that she should’ve been!!

I was id’d at an Aldi last year I didn’t have it with me and so they couldn’t sell it to me.. I was 30 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ I’ve always been told I look a lot younger but it was super annoying as when I do have it with me they never ask me for it..

The level of rudeness to retail staff astounds me. I am a manager in a very large supermarket and almost all of the colleagues I work with are either working their way through uni, returning to work after being a SAHP (with varying education levels) or on a manager training programme. They are certainly bright, intelligent people.

I've worked in retail and I have a PhD.

My local Sainsburys employs people with learning difficulties. In that context, some of the things said in this thread are not just rude and abusive, although that's bad enough; they verge on disablist.

Thanks for your replies everyone.

Just to be clear, at no point was I rude to any of the staff. I was a checkout operator for years and I know how difficult these situations can be. I agree it's a good rule for another member of staffnit to be able to undermine on the basis of opinion, but I can't see that it would have been undermining for the supervisor to say she would serve me as she knew no laws were being broken and therefore no risk to the company.

As for carrying ID, I almost always have it with me, even though I wouldn't expect to need it, it was just bad luck this happened the one time I didn't have my purse.

1. The law is pretty shit. Yes shopkeepers should take reasonable steps to avoid selling alcohol to underage people but key word is reasonable. They should only be prosecuted if they are deliberately or carelessly doing so.

1. Fear of these laws are leading to overly cautious policies.

1. How those policies and laws are interpreted lead to them being misapplied and people prevented from carrying out completely legal actions on the side of both retailer and customer.

It's a farce.

The thing is, on the subject of being a good thing for potential alcoholics etc, those sort of people will get their hands on what they want somehow. It might slow down the process but won't stop it. In OP's case common sense went right out the window.