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

I think you were a dick. Maybe he's in culinary school, maybe he works as a chef, maybe he's picking it up for his mum. You shouldn't be discriminating because of his age. He's allowed to be assumed a genuine law abiding citizen until he isn't one.

At 18 I bought knives alone when I moved out and learnt that actually a bread knife and table knife were useless when I was cooking my own meals and needed to cut steak or chop veg.

You aren't the police, his morals monitor or a mind reader.

You have no reason other than his age to assume he's buying it for crime. And if you only want to sell items to people where you're comfy their appearance and shopping basket align in a way you're happy with this isn't the job for you.

I did because I moved out with table knives and one bread knife and realised when I tried to make a curry non were suitable for the job so I went to the shop bought one set of 3 different knives went home and finished my food prep

So you purchased 3.knives not 1...

Well yes but in a single 3 pack because that's what they had. But I didn't buy anything else.

Yes but the single pack of 3 suggests you are actually going to be cooking.

I have actually recebtly bought a single knife. However 1 it was not in a supermarket and 2 it was a specialist cooking ahop and 3 it was over £50 so unlikely someone would purchase with harm in mind.

As a cashier you have to make split decisions and for some this will come across as judgement or discrimination as seen on this thread a lot. However that cashier can be personally liable. I think very few who have not been a cashier understands this.

In reality if you are refused and you are genuine you shrug your shoulders and go to another shop.

Imagine the aftermath of a fatal stabbing and people discovering that a local shop sold the knife to an 18 year old with a fake id.

I can see your point right up to shrug your shoulders and go elsewhere.

If I'd been denied after providing ID I'd have asked for a manager and either a sale or an explanation. I wouldn't have shrugged my shoulders but felt judged (inaccurately) for my age and that, that was inappropriate.

Tbh. I think OP was quick to judge and unwilling to own that causing a difficult situation all around. But I can understand her saying I'm not comfortable serving you this item. But then the young lad was reasonable asking for a manager and the manager reasonable for making a different judgement.

Some of you are incredibly naive. All this talk of discrimination. Isn’t it better to err on the side of caution and listen to our gut?
Just last week, a teenage boy was stabbed and killed on the beach not a million miles from where I live.

If you know that you havent got ulterior motivation for the pirchase why is it much more of a concern than the inconvenience of having to go to a different shop?

The cashier is simply trying to keep herself without a fine. Its not personal to you from her but could become very personal for her. She can be fined and loose her job.

My local police have just shared this.

OP was entirely correct to choose not to sell a knife she was concerned may be misused.

You need to make sure you are being paid for the meeting. Any meeting should be scheduled for a working day. You are under no obligation to go in on your day off.

And you think arbitrary refusal of knife sales would have prevented that?

Presumably not having a knife is an impediment to stabbing someone.

I would agree with you OP. Unfortunately he was of age but buying a single knife screams ill intent to me.

So glad the meeting was unrelated and that you passed your probation. I was worried for you.

Dint the Southport sideshow bob make a knife himself in prison, or was that some other sadly-not-aborted waste?

But you would have no idea of whether the person to whom you were refusing to sell a knife was a potential assailant or not.

Yeah, and maybe you don't live in an area of high knife crime involving young adult males. Maybe it doesn't affect your life much apart from the occasional glance at the news. Anyway, you were a young woman buying knives and presumably not in the years since there's been a proliferation of knife crime.

Agree.
But you took a big risk OP esp as you were still probationary.
They could have sacked you on the spot.
You need to decide in advance what you will do when the situation arises again.
And join a union.
Before something goes wrong.
All the best.

Were you sure his ID was valid? I mean, 100% sure? If not maybe your refusal was justified.
I agree that a single kitchen knife seems an unusual purchase for an 18 year old male - of any ethnic group. If he'd volunteered that he was training to be a chef or setting up home, then maybe you'd have been reassured. I'm with you on this, I'd probably have called the manager to ask if the sale was ok, anyway.

Working in the same kind of job where i too have to ID people NO I don't think you were wrong in what you did. If you suspected they were going to use the item for a different reason than it was Intended. It's your job to make the right call and if you think you did then you've nothing to worry about . You are going to have to tell your manager why you chose to refuse the sale though . ( I'm imagining if it was substance abuse ) you are not in the wrong it's your call :)

What happened at the manager's meeting?

Can you explain what you are getting at? Yes you can refuse a sale, but not if it it is because the customer bears protected characteristics. The op by her own admission refused the sale because the customer was 18 and male, both of which are protected characteristics. So I don't understand what you mean....

The law is a funny thing, what they've done is actually write it down, so that people can identify what is and is not legal. Police guidance and general business practice emphasize that businesses do not have to sell goods to anyone if they don't want to, especially for age-restricted products like knives, where there's a heightened responsibility to prevent misuse.

• Age Restriction: It is illegal to sell knives to anyone under the age of 18 in the UK, and actually it would be illegal NOT to ID check a person of this age. However, the refusal in this scenario is not because the person is 18, but due to other concerns.
• Sex Discrimination: There's no indication that the refusal is based on him being male. The key factors mentioned included the smell of cannabis and aggression, not that the person was male.
• Reasonable Grounds to Refuse Sale: Retailers in the UK have the right to refuse a sale if they have reasonable grounds to believe the item might be used for an unlawful purpose or if they have concerns about the buyer's intent. The smell of cannabis, which is an illegal substance in the UK, could reasonably lead a seller to believe that the individual might be engaging in illegal activities or that the knife could be used in connection with such activities.

It would be acceptable in this case to block the sale, or if in doubt for OP to sell the knife and immediately report it to the police. The police at that point may legitimately be asking why she didn't refuse the sale though!

I would have felt uneasy selling a kitchen knife to a teenager ( & after all an 18 year old is still a teenager). Sorry think the age limit should be increased for certain items anyway.