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

Which one? Because that cannot be true.

That's why (s)he's a manager but you are not - they were probably balancing the reputational risk of refusing the sale vs. the life risk of allowing the sale to someone with a legit ID.

Perhaps the better approach would have been to call the manager yourself rather than decline the sale and let the customer do it.

For the meeting, you need to know what the company policy is about refusing a sale, and whether you complied with it, or not. If not, just apologise profusely and say you'll call the manager yourself next time, or whatever it is that you should do per the policy.

I would be prepared for some kind of HR action - hopefully this will be a warning but honestly, you may be accused of gross misconduct depending on the 'stereotype'.

And I agree with @BarbaricYawp

I would have felt weird about that too. A single kitchen knife, not a set, and with no other purchases is something that would set alarm bells off for me too.

I think the only thing you could be pulled up for is not seeking advice from your manager before you refused the sale but I understand you can be flustered in the moment.

Good advice from some PPs. Ignore the people mouthing off about discrimination.

The equality act is in place to stop businesses discriminating based on things like age, race and disability so you actually can’t just refuse to serve someone because of your stereotypes because you’re putting your company at risk of liability if someone can prove you’ve behaved in a discriminatory way. You need to have a real reason not to serve someone and if you just have a funny feeling you probably should have asked your manager to help you make that decision

It means you have to look 25 to buy the item without ID. Similar with alcohol sales etc.

I used to work in retail with a pharmacy counter. We were required to shake up the bottles of kaolin and morphine so the little old ladies couldn’t just neck the morphine off the top. If they objected then we refused the sale.

If you’re selling a restricted item then it’s a personal responsibility. I can understand why you refused.

She actually says in her OP she didn't want to sell to him due to a stereotype of what he looked like.

What IS that if not discrimination?

Age, sex, race. All aspects which OP made judgements on to refuse service.

Only the op will know how this lad appeared in demeanor and body language and that tells way more than an 18yr old bought a knife.
It's the same as keeping an eye on certain people in in case of shoplifting, some call it racist or discrimination but there are types that are more likely to do so.

A business also can't arbitrarily refuse service to people based on discriminatory perceptions.

This is meaningless. You had no grounds to refuse the sale.

It is discrimination because you didn't liked how he looked. Your morals don't come into it. Get another job.

YANBU op, I think you were trying to do the right thing.
If I worked in retail and a young man came in only to buy a knife (!) I would also jump to conclusions. It’s an epidemic in this country.

I honestly have no idea what the rules are regarding the sale of these items so I have no advice on what to say to your manager.
But if I were you, I’d rest easy knowing I tried to do the right thing.
You seem like a good person, regardless of what other posters are trying to accuse you of.

Hopefully he just needed it to complete his new kitchen…. 🫣

What a bizarre comparison, condoms are absolutely nothing like knives! I’m with you OP and I hope your manager sees sense and apologises to you. Precisely this issue was on the news today with the teacher that survived the Southport attach launching a campaign to get people to swap pointed knives with ones that have round ends. While I personally think that is a bit over the top, I am also horrified and saddened by the issue with knife crime in this country and so many youngsters including children killing each other. I would be scared to raise a child in a community where this is prevalent. Is your store part of a chain? If so, I would campaign for stricter policies on the sale of knives. Good luck!

Again there didn't seem to be a store policy stating she could refuse in this instance.

If you’re moving into your own place, you can buy a lot of stuff online. However, it is much more difficult to order and buy a knife online. When my son went to university, we got all his stuff online. But we had to go into a shop to buy a decent kitchen knife. So I can see why the young person might need to buy a single knife.

I can completely understand why you felt uncomfortable but unfortunately you can't stop adults doing something they want to do. If i think someone is buying something a little bit unusual I just take a bit more notice of what they look like and the time, just incase something happens

Keeping an eye on people because of the possibility of shoplifting is not a valid comparison. Shoplifters are committing an offense on the retailer's premises. The knife buyer is acting within the law, unless he stabs a fellow customer before he leaves the store.

Morally, I understand your dilemma. An 18 year old lad buying a single knife is unlikely to be heading home for a chef style cooking extravaganza.
Legally, however, it won’t wash. You have no grounds to discriminate if he has fulfilled the purchase requirements re ID

I don’t think you were being unreasonable OP.

But then I’ve also have lived experience of knowing people involved in fatal knife crime.

There was an outcry that Axel Rudakubana was allowed to purchase a single knife from Amazon so I’m not sure what the difference is where an 18yo male buying a single knife on its own is normal.

In a similar vein. Should a car dealer refuse to sell to a 17 year old yoof with backwards facing baseball cap, because he may drive like a knob?

I bought 1 single kitchen knife when I noticed that the blade on the one I had in my kitchen had chipped. Maybe he was buying 1 because he needed 1.

An 18 year old lad buying a single knife is unlikely to be heading home for a chef style cooking extravaganza.

He could very easily be a student who just needs to chop a carrot though.