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

Yabu. My 18 yo might decide to buy a kitchen knife at some point because he has started getting into cooking. He thinks my knives are crap and wants some better/fancy ones. He wouldn’t be able to afford a set so would just buy one. I wouldn’t like to think people in the shop would automatically assume he wants to stab someone with it!

In this case you may have had concerns based on your experience but that doesn’t make you right. He is buying something he is legally entitled to buy. If you disagree with the law maybe take that up with the politicians.

I think you’ve done the right thing! Something felt off for you- you were brave enough to not just blindly follow the rules. You had all the grounds to feel how you felt.
Hope it goes well for you today with management, but morally you’ve done what was right!

@Sneakyarcher Lol. That's just bollocks though isn't it? If retailers felt they had that kind of responsibility they wouldn't sell UPFs or sugar-laden cereals, or clothes made in sweatshops, or probably sell alcohol or cigarettes or lottery tickets at all.

I'm telling you in good faith that someone who sits on a checkout deciding who gets to buy which items is on a power trip, yes. However moral they may feel about it.

And before you jump on me, obviously the checkout operator should follow wider laws and policies e.g. instituting age restrictions on eggs at Halloween, like some retailers do.

Also, I worked in retail. I've had a group of lads threaten me after I asked for ID and they didn't have it. I've had a middle-aged woman throw a tin at my head because it had a dent in it.

At no point did I think I was the moral arbiter of who gets to buy tinfoil. Frankly, why make my job even harder and invite more customer abuse? I was fully aware that my managers wouldn't have backed me up, they just wanted to sell the tinfoil, because it was a shop and that's what shops do.

That's obviously because you're the right demographic! It depends on who you are. I always get interrogated - even in really nice places. Nothing racist. But I look very young.

If they refuse to sell to anyone who might drive like a knob, there will be a lot of bankrupt dealerships.

Still, society will be better off for it.

Luckily they didn't realise we are both gang kingpins (queenpins?) 😅

That article is the perfect thing to have in mind when having a meeting with your manager. Say you'd seen it before and believed you were in your rights to refuse a sale and then ask what your company's policy is in relation to knife sales and ask for training.

To me, the key point of the article is "It is against the law to sell to anyone who is under the age of 18, but businesses should also never sell if they have concerns about how the buyer may use the item."

I would feel very uncomfortable in selling a knife in OP's circumstances and I commend her for saying no.

Your manager sending you a message to your personal phone, asking you to come in on a non-working day is another matter entirely and is unacceptable too IMO.

Well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree as to how you want to interpret my words and phrasing😅

Fortunately the actual law and official guidance says “staff”, so that should be suitably unambiguous.

It's still unusual for anyone, of any age, to enter a shop and buy only a knife.

And yet, the law would be fully on OPs side, that she shouldn’t sell to him if she had any concerns.

If you disagree with the law, maybe take that up with the politicians 😉

How did you get on today @LemonBlueberryX ?

Believe it or not, criminal types are not the brightest people in society. Nor are they typically calm, rational people. Whenever someone loses all proportion and kicks off with me at work over something trivial (like: "can I see your ticket please?), it usually turns out that they're not unfamiliar with the inside of a prison cell.

Is it really "losing all proportion" to ask for the manager when a shop assistant has refused to serve you and you think they are wrong (and the manager does too)?

If people who demand to see the manager when they feel they are not being treated correctly in a business are all convicted criminals, there must be one hell of a lot of criminals posting here.

Anyway, you ask people for their ticket, and they refuse and demand to see the manager? And it turns out they are convicted criminals? How do you come by this information? Why do they demand to see the manager if they haven't got a ticket? More information necessary please.

Had a similar experience when I was 18 and needed kitchen scissors, except that the staff was insisting that I couldn't be 18 (their maths was wrong for how someone born in the year I was born would be).

Update about the meeting. Turns out it was for something unrelated!! I'm not in trouble. Feel like I've been on edge for the last 24 hours for no reason !

Brilliant news

Could you not buy it for him, given the ongoing knife crime problem

Yeah it was a review / to tell me i'd passed my probation. Not sure why I had to come in on a Friday for that? i'm a bit pissed at my manager for being mysterious about the meeting.

He’d more likely buy “good knives” online or in a high end shop. If his mum’s knives aren’t up to scratch, I can’t see him going to BM for his specialist equipment.

Ha! Well, there you go then. Relax until officially actually given something to worry about next time.

Not home bargains. but we sell the same type of stuff

Although I disagree with you, I'm glad you're not in trouble OP

Phew! What a relief.

Good news OP but always trust your own instincts, sometimes you will get it wrong and sometimes you will be right but will never know either way!