Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

To have a mini rant about inconsistent ID in shops.

65 replies

Notss · 16/10/2020 17:11

Yes. I know.

There are a million and one more important things right now. I know it’s the law, and I know shop workers are under a lot of stress at the moment. I am grateful for what they do; and I used to be one many moons ago.

But, it’s been a very long and stressful week and this little annoyance has just been the final straw on the camel and now I’m just really in need of a rant.

Stop into a big Sainsbury’s on way home from work (on a retail park, you can’t really just walk to it) - buying £50ish worth of groceries, including a reasonably priced bottle of red wine. Get to the till (still wearing my very obvious public sector uniform with photo ID lanyard). The assistant asks for ID and I realise it’s still on the sideboard as I removed it from my purse so my DM could use it to pick a parcel up from the post office the other day.

So I don’t get served the alcohol, big queue, slightly embarrassing; but I’m really polite and say don’t worry about it.

So, I get home, get changed into scruffs, grab my ID and pop back out to the Sainsbury local, as I needed the wine for a recipe. Now I fully expect to be ID’d as I’m wearing trackies, trainers and ponytail; buying only two bottles of plonk.

Doesn’t even ask for ID...

Argh!

OP posts:

Vello · 16/10/2020 17:16

In a lot of places they just have to challenge a certain number of people per shift. If you have to make your numbers up you ask a nice lady who won't get the hump with you.

Whatwouldscullydo · 16/10/2020 17:20

Thing is its all personal opinion isn't it.

Sainsbury have a think 25 policy so to some you look old enough others you won't. All depends on the person.

Ultimately its to make sure that there are zero sales of alcohol and cigarettes to under 18s. Whether one person thinks you look 26 and another 24 well that happens...

Vivana · 16/10/2020 17:23

Sorry but they have to ask for I'd if you look 25 and under so take it as a compliment.

Sparklesocks · 16/10/2020 17:25

I’m finding I’m getting ID more regularly now I’m wearing a mask in shops. They can’t always see!

doadeer · 16/10/2020 17:29

Oh I always get ID'd I'm 30 (nearly 31) even when i have a trolley of bleach and boring household items and often my son 🤣 the funny thing is I usually buy the mini bottles of wine. It's embarrassing.

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 16/10/2020 17:29

I think mask wearing is causing some interesting decisions at the moment. I think judging age from just your eyes can be a lot harder.

I'm working from home, and hours are flexible so I went to the supermarket at about 3.45 thinking it would be busier later. I wasn't let in at first because they thought I was from the local senior school...

OddHappenings · 16/10/2020 17:32

Asking for ID is based on their perception of your age. Everyone has different perception, therefore it's going to be inconsistent.
The only way to make it totally consistent is to ask everyone.
And yes as a pp said shops often have targets, licencing check on the policies that are used and therefore records are kept, you don't have to just prove you've got the policy (challenge 21 or whatever) but also that you're using it, sometimes that means IDing people regardless so you can write down you have and thus prove the policy is being used.
Not unusual for the management to get wind of an impending inspection and send the ID book around each till operator for some 'creative' entries.

Whatwouldscullydo · 16/10/2020 17:33

I think mask wearing is causing someinterestingdecisions at the moment. I think judging age from just your eyes can be a lot harder

Between hats and hoodies and masks you can barely see anyones face at all I get alot of strange loos from older people but honestly when all you have to go by is a backwards baseball cap...

Plus to be fair not only di staff have to worry about internal and external ID testing , there's now mask compliance spot checks to worry about too. 😬

RollaCola84 · 16/10/2020 17:34

@Sparklesocks - I got ID'd buying canned gin and tonic in Marks over summer, I was wearing a mask and sunglasses (I wear glasses and had left my normal ones in the car) but the assistant still looked at me, nodded and pressed the 25+ button. Made me worry how bad my forehead wrinkles are...

Oulidae · 16/10/2020 17:37

Whether you look under 25 or not is completely subjective and very difficult to tell when everyone is wearing masks that cover 75% of their face

BettyBooper · 16/10/2020 17:40

My 32 year old husband got IDd in Aldi the other week. He showed them his USA drivers license and they wouldn't serve him as it 'wasn't British ID'.

Umbridge34 · 16/10/2020 17:41

I agree the inconsistency is annoying. Part of me wishes they did as they do in some areas of the states and just request id from everyone regardless of how old they look (my grandma got turned down for a glass of wine last time she was in Orlando without her id).
However I recognise that not everyone has photo id and a policy like that would disproportionately affect the most vulnerable who have just as much right as anyone else to a glass of wine at the end of the day.

SachaStark · 16/10/2020 17:44

I’ll never understand why asking for ID for alcohol is ever something to be complained about.

Just carry your ID with you, it’s hardly like it’s heavy or bulky.

Some of the responses I got from people back when I used to work in retail were fucking disgusting.

(Appreciate this isn’t at all what you were like, OP. Just general observations, really.)

SachaStark · 16/10/2020 17:45

Which is totally fine, @BettyBooper. Why isn’t he carrying his British ID with him?

Or, do you expect retail staff to learn what every single driving license in the world looks like, just in case they are handed a fraudulent one?

nikkylou · 16/10/2020 17:46

Its difficult, as it's all kind of personal opinion. Probably why its challenge 25 even though its 18, because being a couple of years off (so assuming someone is 25 when they're 23) is still 'overage' where as the same for 18, could well much more underage.

I wonder if it depends on the age of the checkout worker. A perception as to whether you're older or younger than them.

Plus I think there's something in confidence somehow. Plonking down two bottles of wine with nothing else, is probably not standard underage behaviour. I wonder if they're more likely to 'hide' their purchase with sweets and random crap.

And no offence...but don't underestimate the ability of loungewear / scruffs / trackies to make you seem older.

Whatwouldscullydo · 16/10/2020 17:49

Of course its gonna be inconsistent when ots based on personal opinion.

Plus if staff remember you from before or their colleague who was in your class at school has already told them " don't worry s/he's old enough" then they won't ask you.

If they don't know you and are even the tiniest bit unsure they will ask.

The amount of people who say things like " but I'm 23" .... yes so you are under 25 then the staff member was right to ask and there are posters everywhere , its the same in every supermarket and off-licence and casino or whatever and has been fir years ..so A) why are you surprised akd B) if you have it which you claim to have "in the car" or took the time to take a picture of it just in case why don't you just erm....put it in your wallet..

Umbridge34 · 16/10/2020 17:50

I’ll never understand why asking for ID for alcohol is ever something to be complained about.

Just carry your ID with you, it’s hardly like it’s heavy or bulky

Some people don't have photo ID. Of the 11 patients on my ward right now only 1 has a form of photo ID.

Whatwouldscullydo · 16/10/2020 17:54

Then if they look under 25 they will have to accept that they won't get served.

There are several options to get ID , ajd its the law to ask
Alcohol can kill . The need to protect youngsters from hurting themselves or being exposed to harmful activities must come first.

mysticpistachio · 16/10/2020 17:54

@sashastark what will his "British ID" be? Maybe he doesn't have a uk driving licence. I wasn't aware we had an ID card in this country (we don't). He presumably also has a US passport.

What if he's just on holiday? Not allowed to buy alcohol at Aldi???!!! 🤣🤣🤣

BettyBooper · 16/10/2020 17:56

@SachaStark

Which is totally fine, *@BettyBooper*. Why isn’t he carrying his British ID with him?

Or, do you expect retail staff to learn what every single driving license in the world looks like, just in case they are handed a fraudulent one?

Ha! So noone from abroad on holiday in uk should be served alcohol because they dont have British ID? And British abroad should not be served in US without US ID? Give me a break...

Vello · 16/10/2020 18:04

I don't carry ID. This is my right as a British citizen. I refuse to ask permission to walk down my own street in my own country.

(Yeah, I'm one of those wankers, but it's important!)

Sparklesocks · 16/10/2020 18:05

[quote RollaCola84]@Sparklesocks - I got ID'd buying canned gin and tonic in Marks over summer, I was wearing a mask and sunglasses (I wear glasses and had left my normal ones in the car) but the assistant still looked at me, nodded and pressed the 25+ button. Made me worry how bad my forehead wrinkles are...[/quote]
😁

Sparklesocks · 16/10/2020 18:06

@Vello

I don't carry ID. This is my right as a British citizen. I refuse to ask permission to walk down my own street in my own country.

(Yeah, I'm one of those wankers, but it's important!)

And nobody is saying you have to, but it just means you might have trouble buying a bottle of plonk if you look under 25!

islockdownoveryet · 16/10/2020 18:07

I don't think the ops issue is that she was asked for ID it was that she returned to same shop later to purchase same wine and was not asked . So yes I can understand your frustration do you look old enough or not .
But any constellation op I have still been asked on occasion and I'm early 40s it's quite nice . but I remember recently to my horror I forget my license and had to return with my ID only to you guessed it didn't get asked but it was a different person serving .

OddHappenings · 16/10/2020 18:07

@Umbridge34

I’ll never understand why asking for ID for alcohol is ever something to be complained about.

Just carry your ID with you, it’s hardly like it’s heavy or bulky

Some people don't have photo ID. Of the 11 patients on my ward right now only 1 has a form of photo ID.

In order to get served once you've been asked for ID it has to be photo ID.

Flip

1 2 3