Was I wrong to refuse sale at work urgent advice needed

[LemonBlueberryX]

So this morning at work (I work in retail - but not a supermarket, think along the lines of b&m), someone came in and tried to buy an item. I was working on the till. When they came to the till I felt frozen on what to do as I didn’t feel comfortable selling this item in these circumstances (based on a stereotype of what this person looked like). I asked for ID (it’s a look25 item) hoping they wouldn’t have it so I could refuse sale but they did. After that I felt I had to make a choice and so I refused sale. Because of things that have happened in my area recently I felt that by allowing this sale I would be personally contributing to bad things.

They kicked off and asked for the manager who came over and asked me why I refused the sale and I just froze and couldn’t answer. Manager took over the till and served the person. The rest of my shift went on as normal but Managers just whatsapped me an hour ago asking me to come in at 10 tomorrow for a chat. I don’t work saturdays so not usually in. What do I say?

I dont really want this getting back to my manager so have tried to be vague about said item

Well, shops aren’t sentient so I think it can be reasonably interpreted to be the assistant at point of sale.

I thought it was “look 25 item” yet the lad was 18

If you look under 25 you need to show your ID to prove you are 18+.

If a worker behind the till deems the customer to look 25+ then they don’t need to ask for ID.

Or even more reasonably interpreted as the owner/manager. Especially given that, in this case, the manager has both overridden the OP’s decision and wants to discuss it further.

I agree with you op, given how bad knife crime is all over this country I’d refuse too.

But as far as your jobs concerned or your manager, say you were worried about him smelling of drugs, fake I’d or any excuse that gets you off the hook.

id then be looking at ways to get out of these sales going forward.

Maybe also put your concerns forward to the police, local MP. It’s all well and good for people to say stand your ground or raise with head office, but doing this could easily put your job on the line or make trouble for you at work.

What kind of knife? My son bought a single knife once, it was for camping.

Exactly. All those giving an OP a hard time, would they be saying the same if the man's mugshot then appeared on TV days later for stabbing someone to death - with a knife he'd just purchased from B&M!
And how awful do they think OP would feel knowing she'd somehow facilitated said crime?
This scenario proves, you should always trust your gut - if something seems off, it very likely is.

Yes, I'm all for trusting your gut, but even if OP had no alarm bells going off, she isn't personally responsible if someone misuses an item and does harm. Just be honest with the manager. Hopefully at worst they disagree with your call, but surely you employ staff to make these calls?

Don't say you thought the ID was fake!

Because you then let the manager sell to someone you thought had fake ID!

If you allow a sale of an age restricted product, even when you aren't the one actually selling it, you can be liable too.

i think you done the right thing refusing this sale. Pity your manager didn’t follow suit.
there was a teenager killed last week where I live.
I just hope your manager doesn’t live to regret the sale!

Thats completely untrue. If a sales assistant refuses a sale, based on moral, political or religious grounds then management are required to back you.

Is it home bargains you work at op?

Well thats on the management. If he suspected the person was under 25 then he needed to ask for ID and make his own call

Oh come off it! You’re not going to pretend you don’t know what OP means? Are you for real?!?!

No

If you allow a sale to go through which you suspect is to someone below the age limit then you should step in

"Their ID looks fake"

Not just stand back and let it happen

You are just as liable if you ignore and let it happen

We get told this all the time at work. If we see someone serving someone we think is underage and they don't ID then we should step in and ask, if we refuse service then alert everyone as to why etc

You did nothing wrong OP. Well done for standing up for what you deemed to be the morally right thing to do. I would’ve done the same. IF this lad went on to fatally wound someone and it turned out later to have been the lad who you served, you’d never have forgiven yourself, even though you wouldn’t have had anything to forgive yourself for as you’d have just been doing your job but you know what I mean.

He was literally called over because she refused the sale after ID was produced.

Nope, only the person who allowed the sale is responsible. No one else. That's literally why you do so much training in retail regarding think25. And the reason management back you up, because they know its only you responsible and the one who could be prosecuted, not them.

You have my sympathy, I don't think you were unreasonable.

If you went against training you would be in trouble, if you followed training you would be golden. As there was no training it is the store/chain's problem, if the chain has training requirements and the store/location didn't follow them thew manager has a problem.

Good luck tomorrow/today

What percentage of knifes sold are used to stab people do you think?

Just tell the truth, you were not comfortable selling a single knife to this person. Or as PP said say you also thought he was high.

I wouldn’t sell a knife to an 18 yr old boy if he just entered the shop alone or with mates.

If as a couple buying household goods then yes.

The posters on here always tell you to trust your gut feeling and then pile on 🤷‍♀️

Perhaps if more people were to step up, the streets wouldn’t be in such dire straits.

Say you believed the id was faked and it was a safety concern.

And as an aside, given the stats confirm most knife crime is black on black kids, I could never understand why their mothers aren’t begging the police to do more “stop and search” rather than citing racism if their kids are profiled.

Beats me cos I’d rather my kid was hauled over regularly and checked.

Then that is a good defence for you. (Though your manager could ask how you know what weed smells like…)

I Asked so they had the opportunity to provide a reason that isn’t discriminatory.

How you handle it with your manager depends on the store’s policy on selling knives. So check back through your training or on their website. If you have a workplace union, consult your rep.

This may be helpful: www.gov.uk/government/publications/sale-of-knives-voluntary-agreement-by-retailers/sale-of-knives-voluntary-agreement-by-retailers.

It says all staff who sell, or who supervise or approve the sale of knives will be provided with training, with that training being refreshed at least once every year. If the store is a signatory of this voluntary agreement and you haven’t been trained once a year, your employer may have breached this.

Also this, which appears to be good practice rather than a legal requirement: https://www.essex.police.uk/news/essex/news/news/2024/november/call-for-shops-to-sign-our-pledge-to-sell-knives-responsibly/?utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery. Stores must not sell knives or blades to anyone who is drunk or who appears agitated or aggressive. Staff should also consider the sale carefully if the customer is presenting any signs of being in crisis or other such vulnerability.

I believe retailers have a right to refuse to sell knives to people over 18 if they have any concerns. So, I’d mention to your manager the young man smelt of weed, as that’s definitely relevant. If he became aggressive or threatening when you refused to sell it to him, that’s also worth telling your manager about if they didn’t witness it all.

I doubt you’ll get in much trouble. You were being responsible. The manager will probably remind you of their policy. You should point out you had concerns, even though the customer was over 18. I’d also mention your past experience of two of your friends being stabbed, as that’s also relevant.

However, if the store’s blanket policy is to sell knives to everyone who produces ID without question (even though that may go against police good practice advice) you will have breached the policy and you may (at most) get a verbal warning.

Even if morally your gut was waving hundreds of red flags.

Just state you became unclear on the policy. It was think 25 for the purpose of the ID check, but you doubted yourself when you saw the customer was recently turned 18 and you could smell weed. Could you please have some refresher training on the think 25 policy.
You would prefer to refuse a sale, than mistakenly make one. And you’re grateful for your managers assistance.
If you emphasise a need for additional training, and you mention there’s a lack of, it’s going to be really difficult for them to pin much on you. It’s a restricted item.

Well done OP.

you felt uncomfortable but you challenged what you were unsure about.

In this day and age , it’s more likely that it was going to be used for violence rather than its purpose.

We can all pretend that we would never judge someone by the way they look and that you have no idea of the stereotype of someone who may stab someone else but if you are honest - you do. You just prefer to make sure you stay politically correct. It’s not about race either before someone jumps on me.

Think of the lives that could have been saved if more people stood up and challenged .

I would go in with your head held high and be honest with your manager.