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 agree. The laws need to be changed. Refusal on any grounds, it’s up to the discretion of the retailer.

This burden should not be put upon a shop assistant on minimum wage!! OP is clearly a good person who tried to do the right thing, she is now worried for her livelihood.

I only had one kitchen knife at least into my 30s.

I would not feel comfortable selling a single sharp knife on its own to a young person. Or a carton of eggs and a bag of flour near Halloween.

If they were buying a chopping board and some onions as well, maybe I would feel differently.

Steady on there tiger!
Knife laws are completely inadequate if we go by the levels of knife crime, obviously
The solution to the problem isnt shop workers making up the rules to suit instead

Age is one of the characteristics protected under the equality act as is sex

Yes thank you, I have indeed noticed this. That doesn’t mean the OP can suddenly decide she won’t sell a knife to someone legally entitled to buy one just because she gets a funny feeling.

I bet it was more than a ‘funny feeling’.

Yes. Literally. Because there was no reason.

I work for a supermarket and I'm fairly sure this example appears in the training video around Think 25 and we are told to use our judgement.

Or let’s just trot out trite “Things need to change!!” chants, with no real idea of how.

What was it then?

I remember my training at Tesco about 5 yrs ago and we were told we could always refuse sale of restricted goods at our own discretion because we were personally liable for prosecution if we were caught selling to someone illegally. We were also told that our supervisor and manager would always back us if we refused someone.

I’m as sure as I can be without being there that I would have refused to sell a single knife to an 18yr old in a high knife crime area. And I know I would have been backed up by management.

All the virtue signallers and the permanently offended on behalf of others out in full swing. There is a definitely a correlation between people like that and a lack of critical thinking and even very basic reading comprehension. Read the OP posts again. And again in your case.

Don't worry you did the right thing. How many 18 year old go legitimately shopping for a knife and nothing else

And as I have said, if she has a genuine way of recognising those likely to be involved in knife crime, she should share that with her manager and the store. I'm sure they'd be glad to know it.

Probably buy some fairy, deodorant, oxo cubes, loo roll and some sugar too.

I’ve never just came out of one of those cheap shops with exactly what I went in for. They deliberately get you to snake around for you to pick up extra bits you didn’t realise you needed/wanted.

If he didn’t own a knife before why didn’t he get a chopping board to go with it? Presuming he’s not living with his parents/living by himself so I’m surprised he didn’t need any more bits?

Or does mum still buy his shower gel/kitchen roll/antibac wipes because he’s still living at home and mum would notice on knife missing from the stand?

In these kinds of situations there should be a reporting process to the police.

Not the same scenario in the slightest.

Buyer came to desk. Opbresused sale based on how op looked, asked for ID. Buyer had ID and was over age. Manager sold item as per policy.

You can refuse servcive to someone presenting as under the influence of alcohol without needing a breathalyser.

OP said straight up in opening post that she refused sale on how the person looked - you simply cannot do that.

And yeah it might be dodgy as hell an 18yr old male running into shop to buy a single knife - that doesn't stop the kid jumping on amazon and ordering a knife for next day delivery.

Who are you talking to?

I used to be a retail manager and I would have backed you up and refused the sale.

Yep, you’re in the wrong here. If the person had valid ID you had no excuse to refuse the sale. You can’t refuse based on their appearance.

All you can do at this point is explain to your manager what you’ve explained on here and your reasons.

I think I may have done the same, anyone coming into a shop and JUST buying one large knife would worry me.

I am 30 and I have recently been turned away for buying kitchen scissors and red bull. Nothing would surprise me when it comes to shopping and their store policies.

Eh?

I've done that before when I needed a new knife.

So 18-year-olds can join the army and kill people in other countries, but not buy a knife to chop onions with?