sainsburys and their (frankly ludicrous) alcohol serving policy
last night i was in sainsburys with my girlfriend picking up a few bits for the home and a bottle of teachers whiskey for my Pop, as it was on offer.
Went to the checkout and the checkout girl asked for my ID, no probs i thought. Wasn't even offended considering that i'd not shaved for a week and thought i was looking particularly rugged and manly. Gave it to the girl who checked it, all ok.
And then, she asks for my girlfriend's ID...
'She's not buying it, i am' i said.
'sorry,' the checkout girl said, 'i have to see both your IDs'
now my girlfriend is 24, but had left her purse with her ID at home because i was paying for the shopping. So without her ID we couldn't get the whiskey.
WTF!?!?!?!?
Doesn't anyone else think this is utter bullshit, or is it just me?
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no, because it's the law
is it really so hard to keep your ID on you? the poor sod who's serving you could get fined £5000 if they're caught and lose their job.
Generally I am supportive of such efforts
but there's been a definite slide towards supermarkets being completely over-zealous and basically making their own laws. It's pretty easy to tell most mid-twenties people from sixteen year olds.
It IS bullshit, though.
The law shouldn't be allowed to police 'thought crime', which is really what this is about. As Plasticnicki says below, it's an issue that an adult isn't allowed to buy alcohol in presence of someone who might not be because we're then presuming they're going to share that alcohol with the underage person.
It's clearly bullshit on the presumption and it's secondarily bullshit because (so far as I know) it's not illegal for people under 18 to drink, it's just illegal for them to buy stuff. Thirdly, if you COULD prosecute a supermarket for selling alcohol to someone who's legally allowed to because they might give it to someone who's not, this is also utter bollocks. You can't make a better society by this method of law enforcement.
It's the nanny state gone mad, you disgusting Blairite Stalinist.
:'D
brilliant riposte!
"You killed your argument with hyperbole."
Dear pot, meet kettle. Cheers.
i understand that, and i agree that it is a stupid policy
(and this is not directed at you theo, just in general): BUT IT'S NOT THE CHECKOUT PERSON'S FAULT. IT'S NOT THE SUPERVISOR'S FAULT. IT'S NOT THE SUPERMARKET'S FAULT.
as a former checkout person, it's absolutely infuriating when people go on about how the checkout person didn't allow them to buy their precious whiskey ONE TIME AT ONE SHOP.
i mean, write to your MP or trading standards office or ombudsman something if you're really so outraged about it.
Yeah fair point.
I think he has a right to be pissed off about it, though. It's not the checkout staff's fault but I'd imagine if someone actually did prosecute a major supermarket chain for this their lawyers would get them off in seconds. So really it sounds more like the supermarkets being run by a bunch of numpties...
your absolutely right that its not the checkout girl's fault
and i made sure not to blow my stack at her, so 'oops' if it came off that way.
i see your point about writing to MP, and if i could be arsed i would, i'd just rather come on here and bitch about it to you guys and really see if anyone else knew about this policy, because it was the first i'd heard of it.
it is when they are being a dickhead about it
It's just the lack of common sense that annoys me
It's like refereeing.
You've got to hope that someone can display a bit of common sense about it, if there is one guy and loads of mates and only the person buying has ID and he's getting a crate or something I can understand it and would agree that it's responsible retailing, i'd applaud it in fact.
My example below where i'm buying one 89p can of cooking wine or when there is two obvious adults involved is absurd though.
their reasoning for it
is that if they start using common sense, rather than black and white rules, it gives them more problems.
Say, for instance, behind you in the queue is one 18 year old with a crate and a load of mates. they go mental if they see you getting served then are suddenly all asked for ID 1 minute later. too much hassle, lost sales, lost profits, targets missed, no pay-rise at the end of the year.
not necessarily saying i agree with them btw
Yea I agree with that from a checkout point of view
But the supervisor has got to step up and make the call though surely?
unfortunately for the customer
the supervisor will in 99% of cases side with the checkout person, if the checkout person is refusing an alcohol sale.
like, they're actually taught this in training - it's better to be safe than sorry, basically.
The whole damn system is flawed!
In fairness it used to really annoy me when a supervisor wouldn't back me up in situations when I had any sort of job that involved dealing with the public.
supervisors will back the original decision 99.9% of the time
supermarkets made it policy to do this after too many overworked and under pressure supervisors used to just give in and approve sales without id, to avoid arguments. this in turn meant the checkout staff didn't give a shit either and loads of shops were caught out by undercover police checks
Re: Common sense.
Sadly, there's no such thing. Sense is not a common trait.
Probably true :(
It's not the law though is it wishpig?
That's the point of this discussion.
Legally, you don't need to see ID from everyone at the counter - only the person involved in the transaction. If you did need to see ID from EVERYONE at the point of purchase then a mother and child wouldn't be able to do grocery shopping, and a family in a restaurant couldn't be served wine. This is fucking idiocy. And the way it's being applied is discriminatory.
Aside from everything else it's also totally redundant from a legal perspective. Presenting ID is essentially a mea culpa on your part. Sainsbury's aren't liable for your actions after the point of purchase. Give booze to a fucking cat if you want. The RSPCA won't come banging on Sainsbury's door.
yeah
they're just covering their asses because if your girlfriend was underage and you did give her that alcohol that girl could get into a lot of trouble for selling you it without IDing you.
brilliant first post.
You don't live in London do you wishpig?
You don't walk around in London with your ID on you if you can avoid it. Bag snatch, identity theft, bank account robbed.
I don't even carry anything with my address on it when I am out and about if I can avoid it.
you're such a fucking moron sometimes.
I love that youre pettiness knows no bounds.
Not even over 8 months.
I've heard about this,
specifically parents who have been shopping with teenage kids weren't served because the kids were UNDERAGE. Absolutely fucking ridiculous really.
Oh God yea, they do this in Tesco as well
I never ever get angry with checkout folk because i've been the other side and know how pointless it is but there was a time when I was nipping over to a mates house to watch the football, his mum asked if I could nip into Tesco and get some cooking wine en-route. I did so and got ID'd for it which i'm used to given I look about 11 but another mate was with me, didn't have ID and they wouldn't let me buy it.
They'd established that I was 23, he looks his age and was also 23, the woman on the checkout next to us actually knew my mate and could vouch that he was 23 and, most crucially, it was a can of COOKING WINE. I really got very angry indeed, supervisors were brought over etc. Utterly ridiculous policy.
Yeah, I got ID'd for cooking wine the other day
I couldn't be bothered to point out that if I wanted to get drunk on a small bottle of something that's 4.8%, I'd probably choose something that isn't full of salt.
i'll tell you what's the worst
being refused to buy scissors from wh smiths because you don't have id. i tried explaining to them that i was 16 SIX YEARS AGO, i had a uni card and everything but i had to leave that shop scissorless
it's a bit ridiculous
cos if you were buying alcohol for someone underage you could just make sure they didn't go to the till with you. verdict: utter bullshit.
Bingo!
this is what i thought. if she'd have stayed in the car or fudged off for 10 mins my dad could have been necking whiskey by the mugfull.
as it is he's sober as a judge.
wankers.
Yeah, this has been policy in a lot of places for years.
Used to catch me and friends out all the time.
The interesting issue comes when a Dad is out shopping with his six-year-old son, say. He has a trolly full of normal weekly shopping, plus a bottle of wine - will the store refuse to serve them? Dunno.
no, because it's based on common sense and general trust
checkout staff will only usually ask for both IDs when both shoppers are friends or around the same age, and that age is indeterminable to the naked eye.
by the same token though
does this mean that i can't be trusted to not give alcohol away to underage people.
And even if that was my diabolical plan, surely any responsibility comes back to me, not on the supermarket. They sold it to an overage person, if i'm enough of a prick to give it to a youngun, then i should suffer the consequences, not them.
yes, but that's not what the law says
aye, if they think you might be buying it for someone you're with
who doesn't have id and therefore might be underage it is their responsibility not to sell you it. Infuriating but not their fault.
but it is so subjective and impossible to prove that the staff "'thought they might be buying it for someone else"
impossible to prove and therefore impossible to prosecute
this is a genuine question:
what law is that then?
Also, if that is their policy, shouldn't they have a sign up or something so as to avoid the poor checkout person facing the wrath of irate alcoholics?
n.b. not that i had a go at the checkout girl, but it's likely to happen.
it says something like
'it is an offence to sell alcohol to somebody who may supply alcohol to an under-18'.
(it's also illegal to buy alcohol to give to under 18s)
it's also illegal to sell to policmen/soldiers in uniform, and people who are already drunk. Refusing sales to middle class mid-twenties people is NOTHING compared to trying to get rid of a drunkard with a 3 litre bottle of cider :D
once drunk man threw some muffins at my supervisor because
she wouldnt sell him wine.
this was in waitrose.
once drunk man threw a bottle of wine at me
he didn't have any muffins
Once a man came to my till, so drunk he could no longer talk
and absolutely covered in blood, someone had given him a damn fine beating.
He was attempting to buy 24 cans of Tesco own brand bitter
well?
Did you serve him?! Don't leave us hanging.
"it is an offence to sell alcohol to somebody who may supply alcohol to an under-18"
i hope it doesn't say that as I think that includes EVERYONE IN THE WORLD
Exactly.
The scenario I suggested of a man shopping with his child is just as capable of giving booze to someone under age.
it is not illegal to buy alcahol and give it to someone under 18
or at least it wasnt ......when was that law introduced?
yes but that first line is so vague as to be meaningless
and therefore is not enforcable.......because basically anyone MAY supply alcohol to an under 18....so they shouldnt sell it to ANYONE
That's what I said two years ago
Bit late creaks
My brother made the same point when refused alcohol in Morrisons...
He won't shop there now as a result. I'd love to see a hilarious buffoon or TV prankster buy a case of wine (or sprits) with his child in tow and then return five minutes later with Serve Legal and a huge hilarious court case.
THINK 45
It's pretty common amongst most of the supermarket chains, and I'm sure it'll only get worse. This happened to me and some friends (four of us, all over 25) once in a branch of Tesco outside Ipswich. It was after an incredibly stressful car journey and on the way to a festival and I almost had a meltdown at the branch manager.
Oh, and a friend was IDed in a branch of Waitrose and was told it was because she didn't look 21. She said that the age to buy alcohol was 18, and got a HURRR back from the shop drone.
i got asked for ID in sainsbury's earlier this year...
and i'm THIRTY SIX. i scoffed at the poor dear and told her to sell me the booze before i got REALLY CROSS. of course i didnt have any ID on me. FFS.
its utter nonsense of course....obviously they have been frightened into behaving like this
(I suppose that it was out of the question for you to just go to another checkout (on you own))
Its particularly ridiculous, because if I am shopping with my family, and my son is clearly underage, I am not prevented from buying beer.
Attention-seeker loser in new username shocker after realising there isn't much room for interaction with one-word posts.
And if it's for a party
do all the people going to your party have to send in a copy of their driving license?
Bloody stupid.
FREEDOMSMASH
Blame the Portman Group for forcing ridiculous policies like this
on retailers.
I can't go in to big details, but their nannying has forced quite a few start up businesses to go bust. They are a self appointed board of overseers, funded mainly by the alcohol industry in their desperation to appear to be responsible, who meddle and impose stupid rules that serve no purpose other than to inconvenience responsible drinkers like yourself.
They're responsible for the Drink Aware campaign, for example.
They're the ones who thought restricting access to alcohol related websites by making you enter your age was a worthwhile and effective use of money.
So if you want to see Carling Cup highlights on Carling's website, you have to tell the website your date of birth. It's a good job that's an absolutely fool proof mechanism for stopping under age people seeing images of alcohol.
A guy I know used to sell alcohol gift packs and had a great little business. He sold to Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Netto and John Lewis.
One of the gift packs was a "Congratulations on your new baby" themed product, containing two Champagne flutes, half bottle of Champagne and a teddy. The Portman group ruled that this product was directed at children and had it removed from the shelves.
That is the sort of mentality at play and is the reason why you couldn't enjoy the smooth, mellow flavours of your preferred brand of whiskey last night.
Yes, it is utter bullshit.
^
the supermarkets could tell all the drink-aware lot to shove off and sell to anyone they like (within reason), but while the government and press are still gunning for them re: CHEAP BOOZE FLOODING OUR NATION, all the 'think 87' 'challenge 46' helps them out a bit
Aye, but not quite.
It's one of those 'voluntary codes' that they all agree to sign up to together. Retailers are so scared of the law regarding alcohol sales being changed that they'll happily sign up to a bullshit voluntary code instead.
Where do they draw the line~
Oops
I was going to say, if you had a baby in a pushchair with you would they refuse to serve you alcohol?
you can't give booze to a baby
Why not, Bob?
IT'S QUITE A BROWN BOOZE
Me and my 7 year old son have never had such issues.
OUTRAGE
more likely the beard
Just carry ID
In a country without any form of standard ID card
this is a stupid argument. No one should have to carry their passport around (particularly not if they've decided they don't yet need one) and not everyone can drive.
No, Craig.
I'm suggesting someone needs to think things through differently.
CRAIG?
:D
Well oneWordNigel --> sevenwordsSteven?
I've not even bothered to check, I'm just assuming.
it was my assumption too
owN is surely craig, but maybe ssS is like one of those TV spin-offs, where the original series creator has nothing to do with it
Hmmm.
theiinthepoem
filopastry
SketchesForSilence
NoNoNoROBOTS
DinoMAN
onewordNigel
sevenwordsSteven
Possible pseudonyms for zqxjkzqxjk
deadonthestairs
zqxjkzqxjk
:)
NoNoNoROBOTS was my fave
but onewordNigel quickly became a contender for the number 1 spot.
If you don't have a passport
and don't have a driving licence then get a Prove It card.
It's still a load of hassle when you don't even want alcohol.
Missing the point
Theo is right, people. I know, I initially struggled with it too.
I do understand
but it's not hard to have and carry suitable ID.
I think strict ID policies are more good than bad.
prove it cards get rejected!
'we only accept passport and driving license'
I've encountered ^ this in so many places recently.
I can't drive - my sight is too bad. So despite being in my mid-twenties I have to carry my passport around with me if I want to be able to rely on getting served. Which is ridiculous.
Also, unlike other aspects of crazy ID policy, this one is entirely the retailers' fault. Why shouldn't they accept government-accredited cards?
you can get a provisional licence for £30 that lasts ten years
I'd have to lie
about meeting the minimum eyesight requirement. Admittedly the possible repercussions of that are probably small, but all the same - don't see why I should have to lie to the government to avoid carrying my passport around.
aye, but some people can't get driving licences
for one reason or another. everywhere should accept Prove It cards.
Or, you know, maybe we need to examine what part of our culture
makes alcohol so enticing to kids and so easily within their financial grasp?
Or indeed what parts of our society make going nuts on alcohol a really good thing?
we should discuss this further over a few pints at the local
good idea but...
costs 50 quid and i'm only gonna be here a year. WHOO!
This too.
There isn't any form of ID that you can fully trust apart from a passport or a driving licence. If a £5000 fine rested on it I'm not going to trust some dodgy card that looks like it was knocked up on a mate's PC.
I'll bow to this fact
I didn't realise they took that line.
Hmmm
way to go!
national ID card got refused four times and they told me to present my passport. started bringing my passport to places where i'd be drinking/smoking; passport got refused once (because it wasn't in english); passport got stolen in a pub HAHAHAHAHA (next four months after that; most painful time of my life getting passport & visa back). decided to fake a french ID (wasn't even that impressive) never got turned down again. yeah guys, this will definitely sort out the under-aged drinking problem! way to go!
has happened buying drink for a festival
1 person out of the 6 didnt have ID and wasnt even buying any drink but because he was there the other 5 people all over 21 and who had showed ID couldnt get served. Pretty ridiculous and argued over it for a good while.
excatly the same thing happened to me.
luckily we both had ID. but i didnt really understand the policy.
That seems pretty daft
In line with company policy, but daft nonetheless.
Semi-interestingly, it does seem to work that way for DVDs or games. Many a time during my working heyday at MVC and Woolworths did a child attempt to purchase a 12, 15 or 18 certificate and all I had to was receive the payment from and give proof of purchase to an adult, even if the kid was there and the item was blatantly for them.
I worked in Virgin for a while.
My method for the 'insistent/oblivious mum buying GTA for their small child' was just to point out that the game was '18' rated and not suited to anyone under that age. Sometimes I stated bluntly that "You can kill prostitutes, y'know", just to make the point unambiguous. I don't recall one parent reconsidering their purchase. Once you've done your responsibility bit there's naff all you can do if they're dead set on buying it for little Johnny ("They're not daft. It's just a game. They can handle it..." "Er, yeah, but..." *ah fuck it* ).
Also: The bosses couldn't give a sensible answer when I asked what the valid forms of ID were for checking ages when selling '12' rated games and DVDs. In the end it boiled down to the foolproof method of asking them their birthdate.
Trivia: although it's illegal to buy alcohol to give to under 18s
It is completely legal to do the same with cigarettes. TRUFAX
Isn't that because you only have to be 16 to smoke?
But 18 to buy them?
I'm not sure though...
nope
give 'em to a ten-year-old if you like. Apparently the loophole's going to be closed, but for now there's nothing stopping you at all. You monster.
Blimey!
Good fact
another reason to support your local off licence
:D
what?
I have heard this before but I've been ID'd for such stupid things
The other week: Superglue. She asked what I was going to do with it. I said I was going to stick my shoes together. She laughed. I wasn't joking.
About year ago: Paracetomol.
When I was 18: A 12a FILM!! Stupid woman asked for my ID for a 12a film. I had to produce it and she done that annoying thing where they take ages to look for your date of birth.
I've also seen a woman REFUSED a sharpener in Tesco because she had no ID. She was about 30.
JOBSWORTHS!
I got asked for ID to buy Rizla once
in a scavvy pound-shop type place.
I was taken aback.
Didn't mean to ^this that
My mate got id'd for rizlas recently. He had a pouch of tobacco in his pocket which he showd the person behind the counter AND THEY STILL SAID NO
When I was 17 I got ID'd in Asda for trying to buy About A Boy on dvd, I just wanted to watch the bit where he throws the bread off the duck. About a boy is a 12 rated film. I didn't have ID. I wasn't allowed to buy the film.
:(
:D
I got ID's for a 15 DVD the other week and i'm 24
So depressing
i asked it before and i'll ask it again
how did you walk with your shoes stuck together?
shut it you
The superglue wasn't strong enough :(
the checkout lady sold you rubbish stuff, that's why she was laughing.
Go back there and work your magic and get some SUPERglue.
Got ID'd for some PLASTIC knives on a camping trip when i was 17
didn't have ID. Couldn't buy the knives.
fuck sake
twats would seem to be a better description
A SHARPENER? really?
Its generally getting worse and more like america where its ID even if u
have false teeth and grey hair.
I've been a few clubs recently where friends have been turned away due to lack of ID and all my friends are in their late 20s. One that got turned down is 30 with full back length dreads and a beard that would put even moussey to shame but no dice. The 15 year old with the fake id behind him was ok though.
its probably because anyone with full back length dreads
isnt mature enough to be considered an adult
bob marley dissagrees with you
If he's so clever how come he's dead?
Yeah, it's the most retarded thing ever
The only thing more retarded is people who think it's not retarded.
^^
I was ID'd in Waitrose once buying a bottle of cola
"But it's cola," I protested, "and I'm 29". The checkout lady let it pass.
she could have been fined £5000
She put her neck on the line for you.
I reported her to her manager on the way out
I COULD HAVE BEEN 15
I never take my ID out with me
Because frankly, I'd lose it.
Luckily I look old. (am old)
Bought ale before my GCSE geography exam in school uniform
when asked for ID I promised to drop it in the following day, walked out ale in hand. As far as I am aware he is still waiting.
20 years on.
I threw a bit of a strop in sainsburys the other week
i was buying loads of stuff to make a nigel slater creamy pasta dish including a little bottle of marsala (masala?) and the guy ID'd me. I think i was mroe annoyed about the fact he was younger than me. Also, what kind of underaged drinker actualy drinks masala(marsarlar??)
I like getting IDed
generally happens in Aldi & Waitrose, the fact I may look under 25 is very pleasing....
and I normally have small children with me which doesn't seem to be an issue
ORWELL WUZ RITE!!!111!
I know your jesting,
but check out this diary entry of his from 70 years + 2days ago:
http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/25-10-40/
I think it's fair to say that the guy was a bit hit and miss, to say the least.
Dear lord
*you're
Eric Arthur Blair wept.
I always figured Orwell for a blogger man, personally
The moral here is
always shop alone.
Happened to a friend of mine.
at our local tescos. He ended up walking out the shop, and back in alone while his girlfriend waited in the car.
Went to the same person at the till and got served no problem.
Bangor, North Wales.
ahhhhhh
my mistake..
I set off alarms on the self service machines
for trying to but too many products with paracetamol in. Some rule they decided on a few years ago to stop people overdosing meant sales had to be restricted as extra inconvenience would save lives. Luckily, the woman who turned the alarms off told me that I could go next door to buy more from Boots.
I got ID'd when attempting to buy the following items from Homebase,
aged 30, wearing work clothes (shirt & tie): Garden spade, garden fork, hand trowel, hand fork.
BUT AT LEAST ALL THE KNIFE STABBINGS HAVE STOPPED.
Actually, the sensationalist reporting has kinda dried up. Guess they got bored once some shitty blanket laws had been put in place.
You have to have ID to buy a BLANKET?!?!?!?!eleven
That's it, I'm emigrating.
*Does a Scooby Doo double take*
Ahhh, I GET IT*.
*I think.
country's going to hell / you couldn't make it up / political correctness gone mad etc
at the end of the day, if someone sells alcohol to an underage person, they could lose their job and the shop could also be fined, so you can hardly blame them for being a bit overzealous with their IDing policy. And it's not like everyone doesn't know that you have to be 18 to buy alcohol and that sometimes people need to prove their ages.
Long story short, MTFU and make sure you and whoever you're buying alcohol with has ID.
nope, sorry
i don't mind abiding by 'the rules' as long as i know what they are beforehand. If they are going to adopt these types of policies they have a responsibility to advertise it, which would have saved me a whole lot of time and agro.
I was 100% aware that you have to be over 18 to buy alcohol and have ID to prove it (that's why i had mine with me), but i had no idea that my girlfriend had to have ID too.
Now that i do i'll make sure she has it or tell her to piss off for five minutes, but i feel fully justified in getting pissed off last night because i feel it's unfair to expect people to automatically know this sort of thing.
GTFO WITH YOUR VOICE OF REASON
People are trying to be outraged here.
Not so much the voice of reason,
as the voice of blind support for ill-thought out laws and policies.
I never said I supported these policies
I said that this is how it is.
They've done this to me
my girlfriend is 23 (without ID) and they refused to sell me a bottle of ale.
How old is your girlfriend with ID?
you should've licked it
once you lick it, it's yours.
i have
Wheeey!
I got ID'd to get into a bar in Flagtaff, AZ
when I was 28, produced my UK photocard driving licence and was told they only accepted passports or US driving licences. So a forged US driving licence would have been better than my real UK driving licence. That's sensible.
huh
i got done a few weeks ago when me, and my two UK mates, got IDed in a bar in houston. they said that they couldn't verify our UK licenses. however, the peice of shit texan ones are fine
Have you seen/read Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure
There's an amusing passage about his experience of being ID'd in Texas
One balmy summers day
me and a friend tried to buy some tins of cocktails to go and drink down by the river. The woman in M&S wouldn't serve us for reasons i forget. She was 18, I was 19. We got her dad to go in and buy them for us.
ALSO
Where i live there's a policy in the town centre that means under 21s can't buy alcohol in offies after 3pm on fridays and saturdays. I can't wait until i'm 21. I'm going to buy so much booze on behalf of my 20 year old friends.
without getting all OH I'M SORRY I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA
Can they really bar under 21's from buying booze? That's crazy!
invitation to treat, innit (probably)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invitation_to_treat
no-one is obliged to sell anything to anyone
^massive overgeneralisation
When I used to work in Oddbins....
...we had to use this all the time. There was this old geezer who used to come in, switch the little cardboard price labels around on wine, then try to demand we sell them to him at the price it said. He used to love shouting that he "knew his rights" and that we ought to sell him a £20 bottle for a fiver.
He never got away with it, but would try it about once a week.
yup, happened to me few years back.
Was in Tesco with my mates, got a load of beer - went to pay and the oldest one out of us didn't have ID so they refused to serve us. So we left, sent non-ID boy back to wait in the car, then went back into the shop, got the alcohol again and went through a different till. Job done.
Things I've learned from this thread: there's such a thing as cooking wine.
I doubt it
Most places have a drivers licence or passport only policy.
My friend got one of those government recommended ID things when he turned 18 (he didn't want to blow £60 on a provisional with no intention of learning to drive), and absolutely nowhere accepted them, and they're supposed to be all official and shit.
This is totally stupid
But as it is a supermarket you can't blame the till monkeys, or even the special tabard brigade of supervisors - it is a company policy that if anyone could possibly be under 25 they will ask you for ID - they are only doing their job. But it is obviously stupid that they don't allow some degree of common sense, as the drinking age is 18 rather than 25. I'm 26 and I probably look a bit younger so fair enough that I'm in their "possibly under 25" bracket, but while I hardly look like Patrick Moore, there is absolutely no way I could realistically be under 18.
I had a very similar situation to the original post where a few of mates came down to stay at my house, and I took them to Sainsburys for them to pick up some booze - I wasn't buying anything, was just literally walking them there and back so hadn't grabbed my ID before we left - we were in a group of four and were told we all needed to provide ID. The other three had ID on them - one was 26, two were 25. They didn't serve my mates simply because I was there in the shop.
I pointed out to the supervisor that there was a man on the till next to us buying alcohol and he was with what I assume was his son, who was about 10. She had no answer as to why they were allowed to serve him and not us, literally just looked sheepish and ignored the question. After she blurted out a string of pre-rehearsed "I'm really sorry, but..."'s we walked out and went to an independent off licence just down the road where we didn't even get asked for any ID at all, giving them around £40-£50 of business with our combined purchases.
£50 is a drop in the ocean for Sainsbury's obviously, but surely this must happen quite a lot everyday around the country! While they need certain rules in place to avoid chavvy 16 year olds getting their hands on big bottles of WKD, surely the supervisors should be allowed to excercise some level of discretion when it is a group of four 25/26 year olds buying red wine and Cointreau.
In other news there are some clubs in Brighton that have a blanket ID everybody policy which is just bizarre. Once saw a guy who I'm pretty sure was actually Rolf Harris get turned away for not having ID. This man may not have actually been Rolf Harris, but was clearly at least 60. Quite funny in the moment, but not really is it?
I never bothered asking people for ID when I worked in a shop
apart from one kid who asked for cigarettes whilst wearing school uniform.
^Thinly veiled 'I have a girlfriend' thread
Alternatively, that's mental.
Just to mix things up a bit...
I got ID'd whilst reaching for a free taster of Prosecco in Sainsburys last month. I'm 26. The two guys who I was with were allowed the taster and neither got ID'd. What does this mean/say about me?
It still blows my mind to this day - A free taster!!!! Oh and I didn't have ID on me as was on lunchbreak so couldnt sampl their fuckin disgusting prosecco. Needless to say I took some stick for it at work.
i wasn't allowed to buy myself any alcohol on my 27th birthday having produced ID because my girlfriend had left hers in the car
20 frickin' 7! i'm seriously here have some flaming common sense. i ended up getting all diva on there arse and storming away from the self service checkout without returning the other goods i was trying to buy and also refusing to buy anything if they were going to ruin my birthday. it's my flaming birthday and i have the right to get trollied!
You're 27? Really?
I always think of you as a brash 21 year-old.
Also Sophia does look really young.
steve's probably the least brash person i've ever met!
he's 28 in just over a month, too.
also hey! i dont look that young! do i? :(
^ this is probably what I'd wind up doing.
Having a massive strop and leaving all the other groceries at the checkout and flouncing out, possibly whilst shouting and being generally arsey.
Yeah Sainsbury's are bullshit
I've always thought, what would happen if I was with a younger brother or sister of 15/16 years old doing the weekly shopping.
It IS stupid
Equally I had one last week. I bought some alcohol then went to the sundries counter to buy a lottery ticket and the woman said pretty much this 'I know you're about 19/20, but can I see your ID?'
me: 'yes I'm 20, you want to see my ID for a lottery ticket?'
her: 'it's challenge 25, if you look under 25 then I have to ID you for anything'
me: even scratch cards? so if I look nearly 10 years older than the age to buy one you still have to ID me?
then after the transaction she said 'do you go to Brunel uni? I think I've seen you in the lecture centre this week'
I mean, ffs she knew I went to uni too!
Christ man, she was trying to chat you up!
You're like the George Costanza of DiS.
"getting a hard on at the check out" thread coming up.
'it's challenge 25, if you look under 25 then I have to ID you for anything'
Pish.
Challenge 25 only applies to alcohol.
http://www.wsta.co.uk/Challenge-25.html
They do have the responsibility to verify age for other 'age sensitive' items (such as DVDs, games, knives, etc) but that's over 18. The Challenge 25 campaign isn't set up to prevent sale goods other than alcohol. If you have a purchase challenged for anything other than alcohol under 'Challenge 25', ask to see a copy of the C25 policy, which they must have displayed and ask for them to point out where the non-alcohol item is noted.
Whilst the bother of having to have appropriate ID on you when you're doing your shopping is a pain, it could be worse if this is widely introduced...
http://www.challenge25.com/
AgeSafeHD: Where your passport/ID is scanned as part of the age verification process and the CCTV footage of the sale is kept for a week, just in case.
I did find this though, http://www.oldenough2drink.co.uk/site/whatdoido.html
Mystery shoppers for the Challenge 25 campaign. I'm 'too old' (but probably not 'too old' to be carded or refused sale) to be involved, but some of you might be able to use this to get stuff for free.
The worst thing about this, is that it's breeding a nation of jobsworths.
"your passport/ID is scanned as part of the age verification process and the CCTV footage of the sale is kept for a week, just in case"
Fucking hell. And I thought the crapping of ID cards and it's database was supposed to signal a move away from that shit.
ASDA this time....
My housemates boyfriend got served for alcohol without getting asked for ID, then nipped to the ciggys bit on the way out and got ID'd for cigarettes. He got very annoyed and said 'You've just served me for alcohol' and asked to see the manager, who then told him without ID they couldnt let him take the alcohol he HAD ALREADY BOUGHT. He lives just around the corner so went to get his ID and they apologised and gave him a £5 voucher.
Madness all round. How can they not let you take something you've already bought?!
How can they not let you take something you've already bought?
Good question. If they don't want you on their private property, then fair enough. But surely they can't take it off you once they've taken payment. That'd be actual theft.
If I remember the story correctly
the manager said that it was a mistake by the checkout person not to check his ID so because he didnt have ID on him then he wouldn't let him take it. Not sure what would have happened had he tried to leave the store with it...
he should have just left with his goods
If the manager had tried to stop him he could have simultaneously reported him for theft/mugging and reported the store for selling alcohol without requiring proof
also, it's never 'a mistake by the checkout person' - the manager is the responsible party ffs
Quite.
-Oops, we want to unsell that stuff we've just sold because we forgot to check comething.
-Tough shit. Bye.
Should have threatened to shop them to
whoever enforces this 'legislation'.
"How about 40 fags and a litre of vodka and we'll just act as if this never happened?"
he should have said
"you can buy it back... hundred quid ... cheaper than a five grand fine."
then
"Let's see your ID"
etc
Genius
Contract is formed at the point of sale
i.e. in this case the till.
Once that contract happens (i.e. money is handed over) the goods are yours and the manager can do one.
Sounds bang on to me.
thin end of the wedge
http://www.thelocal.se/8955/20071031/
stupid policy
Wot, no link to pictures of sexy laydeez aaaaat on the taaaaan in the sidebar?
I might have to actually read the article now.
I love the modern persona of wishpig.
For some reason it reminds me of this guy (see wheelchair):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sumhMzCNh4g
actually it's not a wheelchair
it's a mobile seating apparatus.
Teacher's is a scotch whisky and should be spelled without an "e"
ERGO you are too immature for spirits and Sainsbury's decision holds.
I usually...
...grab the beer then tell my mate to go pay for his stuff at another checkout whilst I buy the alchohol.
HACK THE SYSTEM.
Rules are rules
though we may not accept those kinds of rules, but that saleslady is just following her orders, The Do's and Don't s or serving alcohol. i guess she has her <a href="http://rsacourseonline.com.au/"><b>RSA certificate</b></a> that is why she is very careful of serving alcohol
become old
problem solved
Brooner, joeymahone and I got IDed at the Taunton Morrisons on our way to 10 Year ATP
By some proper fucking jobsworth. I think only one of us had ID, so she refused us.
We were like "Uh, what?" on account the fact that we all look about 40 (well I do at any rate)
So she called the supervisor. Who came over, looked at us really puzzled and went "Err, yeah I think they're fine"
In Canada you have to produce TWO pieces of ID
In liquor stores, bars, clubs, everything. The second piece just has to have your name on it... which surely could be something you got with the other piece of ID, which if it's fake is fucking pointless.
Last night they were cracking down in town because of St Paddy's Day, and I had to do my signature THREE TIMES even though I am quite clearly well above the drinking age. My signature is from when I was 16 and looks nothing like my current one, but I still got let in fine. Completely pointless.
What I like best about this pants pissing party
is the people acting like being served boozohol is a HUMAN RIGHT which those CRYPTO-FACISTS at Sainsbury's are TRAMPLING ALL OVER.
The truth is that Sainsbury's can sell what they like to who they like, especially when criminal law is involved, and if you don't like it you can fuck off and buy your ever-so-slightly-above-budget whisky from some other neon warehouse who will be glad to accept your dandruffed fivers.
:D
the right to shop is the only true freedom we have
</tom morello>
relevant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHIZ2Jl2vuQ
I know a 31-year old who was refused in Sainsbury's
The woman on the till asked for ID, he produced it only for her to claim it was fake as she didn't believe that he was that old... Got it in the end when he got the manager involved.
On a similar note, the self-checkout at Asda refused to let me buy 2 lemons the other day - restricted items apparently - this despite them selling half a dozen in a bag together :-/
Seriously, this is much worse in NZ / Australia
They cant even sell spirits in supermarkets. Only beer & wine, also ID anyone who looks under 30. Only accept international passport or an NZ driving license. I get refused if I try and use my UK driving license. As if I'm gonna carry my passport around.
I once refused a 26 year old wanting to buy alcohol
She had to go back home and get ID to prove her age.
You all hate me.
I ID'd a 31 one year old Canadian lady once
Her only ID was her (Canadian) passport, which I wasn't supposed to accept, but I did anyway. 'Cos she was 31.
She wasn't even flattered, the bitch.
wow, this is a sillyness I dont experiance like you guys
I was once flumoxed when i tried to buy lots of cheap asprin and paracetamol for stocking my post apocalyptic stores, but the mart checkout said i couldnt have more than 2 lots of paracetamol, so i went and put back all but two of the paracetamol, then the checkout said i could only have two of the asprin, i pointed out that asprin didnt have the same problems as paracetamol, but to no avail, so i left it all there and walked out, I think that this is the best policy of protest, after all if the checkout staff have been given strict instructions then it is the marts fault, I guess
in america you get in no where without an ID
even if your grey and wrinkled. stupid is stupid as. welcome to le nanny state.
She did the right thing
I run training for responsible service of alcohol at http://www.rsa-certificate-online.com.au/.
I recon she did the right thing. Only because for every 100 legitimate buyers like you and your GF, there is one nuf-nuf. Its impossible to tell who's who, just by looking at someone or listening to their reasoned arguments. The safest approach is just to enforce the law.
nuf-nuf
!!
NUF RESPECK
this is
the best bump i've ever read
How effective is your certfi
^'Nuf Nuf administers cholorofom'
Nothing to see here. Keep walking please. Everything is as it was.
well its simple isnt it get your groceries
then leave these with your gf outside the store.
then go back in and get the bottle of whiskey
yes its a pain, and it does make supermarkets SLIGHTLY less convenient
but its a much easier option than having a dramaz
I once tried to buy lots of cheap analgesics (to stock up for armageddon....you know) the checkout said, no I couldnt.....so i just brought the 2 packs that I was allowed leaving the remaining 100 packs on the converyor :D
leave it up to the supermarket
If you feel like you want to make a point do something similar
stack your trolley with loads of booze, put it on the conveyor, when asked for id, shrug your shoulders and leave the mart to put it all back.....its no hassle to the employees, they still get paid, they merely carry on with their job, but, it does slightly inconvenience the supermarket
I finally have something worthwhile and important to contribute to this thread!
This is a great story: brace yourselves.
The checkout lady was a very jolly rotund sort of woman.
CL: I suppose I should really ask you if you have some ID.
Me: Really? I'm 33! I haven't been id'd for a decade! That's so cool *starts dreaming up facebook updates crowing about youthful appearance, bragging to friends etc etc*
CL: Oooooo 33! Really?
Me: Yup! *Reaching in my wallet* I've got my driver's lisence here....
CL: Oh no don't worry about it! 33!
Me: But I've got my....
CL: Don't worry I believe you! 33 eh?
Me: .... *put id away sadly and pay for selection of ales*
Told you it was a great story.
I got IDed in Whole Foods earlier but I didn't really mind
as the girl serving me was (a) cute and (b) had an accent that was a crazy mix of Welsh and Texan.
I love acute girls
Love 'em
I find them a bit severe at times...
especially ones with a great b-had, huh?
dear god
I like mine just right
and that just about covers it, folks
let's move on.
mmm... alcohol
it withstood a homer simpson reference,
I don't think there's anything else that can be done
I were 24 right now, I'd be going around annoying the f*** out of local supermarkets
Alas i am now 50, i just didnt update it
a couple of years doesnt seem so relevant at this stage
sorry if this has already been posted, but:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/02/id-checks-infantilising-shoppers
I got Id'd for Mario Kart in Sainsbury's a few months ago.
It was ages 3 and up. I am not shitting you...