YOUR OPPIONIONS PLEASE

ponyirl

My girl friend and i went to LIDL last saturday to do our weeks shopping,we bundled up our stuff and headed for the counter on the way i picked up a slab of beer .
So the girl at the check out scanned all the grocerys coming to a total of 117 euro then she came to the slab of beer she said to my girl friend do you have ID and my girlfriend did not.
So i said i do and took out my age card the girl then said i have to see hers aswell i said why... she said because you are buying the beer for her, so i said leave the beer to one side and i'll buy it in a few mins my self she still said NO . she went on that if the garda stop me she could loose her job and the shop could be closed for 3 days
I then finding it hard to keep my cool said get the manager. she rang the bell up comes the so called manager who never spoke to me or my girl friend about the situation , but instead the two LIDL staff started gibber gabbing in their own language and she stormed off. leaving us back to square one . in the end she accepted my girl friends driving licence as ID and we left .

what i'd like to know is had she any right to do this? when i had a valid age card and was the one paying.

should i have stood my ground? should i be compensated for the embarrassment?

what would other people do?

( i am 23 by the way and my girlfriend is 20 and i fully agree with being asked for ID but not in the manner described above)

Paulw

ponyirl wrote: »

what i'd like to know is had she any right to do this? when i had a valid age card and was the one paying.

should i have stood my ground? should i be compensated for the embarrassment?

Yes, they are well within their rights to ask for ID. If your girlfriend looks under 18 (in their opinion, not yours), then they are within their right not to sell you the alcohol.

As for you being compensated - why? They are doing what they are supposed to do - ensure that alcohol is not sold to or for those under age.

Nody

1) Stop using all caps thread titles
2) Well with in their rights
3) No, if anything you should go back and apologize for being a git

Tom Dunne

ponyirl wrote: »

should i be compensated for the embarrassment?

WTF kind of mentality is that? Compensated? Get a grip, will you?

However rude or abrupt the person was, she was upholding the law. Ok, she could have been nicer about it, but she was well within her rights.

It's a pity more shop assistants wouldn't do that, might stop the idiot kids getting their hands on drink.

ponyirl

Paulw wrote: »

Yes, they are well within their rights to ask for ID. If your girlfriend looks under 18 (in their opinion, not yours), then they are within their right not to sell you the alcohol.

As for you being compensated - why? They are doing what they are supposed to do - ensure that alcohol is not sold to or for those under age.

i know they are with in their rights to ask for id but my point is if i were to say bring my 15 year old neice shopping with me .that they have the right to refuse me alcohol on the grounds that it might be for my neice???

(sorry about the caps on the title)

compensation for me would be an appoligie by the lidl staff too nothing else

Paulw

ponyirl wrote: »

i know they are with in their rights to ask for id but my point is if i were to say bring my 15 year old neice shopping with me .that they have the right to refuse me alcohol on the grounds that it might be for my neice???

compensation for me would be an appoligie by the lidl staff too nothing else

Yes, if you had your 15yr old niece with you, then they could stop you, if they are under the impression that you are buying the drink for her.

But, your situation, as you posted, you were shopping with your girlfriend, so the assumption would be that you were sharing the drink. So, in that specific case, they are well within their rights to refuse you.

As for compensation - maybe you should go back and apologise to them?? They were doing exactly what they should do.

ponyirl

i am happy to say now that i.ve seen the bigger picture i didn't know you could be refused alcohol on those grounds in future i will purchase and alcoholic beverages on my own and will duely apologise to the girl if she remembers

dahamsta

ponyirl wrote: »

she said to my girl friend do you have ID and my girlfriend did not.

ponyirl wrote: »

in the end she accepted my girl friends driving licence as ID and we left .

Errrr...

Horsefumbler

dahamsta wrote: »

Errrr...

My thoughts exaclty...

jor el

Was there a reason she didn't show the driving licence in the first place, or did they refuse to accept it?

the_syco

jor el wrote: »

Was there a reason she didn't show the driving licence in the first place, or did they refuse to accept it?

Some places have a "Garda ID" only policy.

I know other driving licences (such as the old Polish one) were laminated, so the policy may exclude all driving licences, to avoid discrimination against the dodgy looking ones.

foggy_lad

they do not have to sell you anything at all so be thankful they let you do your shopping and after checking id they accepted a driving licence which they do not have to do as they have signs at all the tills saying the only id accepted is garda id.

Lollipops23

OP i wouldn't be annoyed about the ID policy, as irritating as it is to me or you, if more places implemented it there might be less 14 year olds getting twisted every weekend.

however, it is incredibly rude of the manager and staff member to have a conversation concerning you in a different language. there's several polish girls where i work and they would never dream of excluding someone like that, it's just not mannerly.

Paulw

Lollipops23 wrote: »

however, it is incredibly rude of the manager and staff member to have a conversation concerning you in a different language. there's several polish girls where i work and they would never dream of excluding someone like that, it's just not mannerly.

What if they spoke in Irish? What if the OP had only poor English ?

Come on, they can communicate in any language they need. The important thing is the communication between the manager and the person involved, not the inter-staff communication.

Lollipops23

Paulw wrote: »

Come on, they can communicate in any language they need. The important thing is the communication between the manager and the person involved, not the inter-staff communication.

there was no communication between the manager and OP!it's just not manners to exclude someone from a conversation(especially one about them!) like that.

Walkman

While I fully agree with the staff member asking for ID I do 100% disagree with the checkout girl and her manager having a conversation in their native tongue. This is bad manners and not very good customer relations. If this happened to me I would have no problem politely asking them to please speak in english when they were discussing me or mrs walkman :-)

amdublin

Why would you be entitled to compensation?

Did you suffer any loss? Would compensation have put you back in the position that you previously enjoyed?

Cabaal

compensation...your kidding me right?
move on with your life is your compensation.

They are well within their rights to ask for ID, also in the end they don't have to sell you something if they don't want to...nothing illegal about this.

Mr.David

What the hell are "OPPIONIONS"? Some cheapo LIDL onion?

albert-bundy

yeah that was the part i did not like i find that so rude and its quite common i know one emoployer who was sued over asking polish to stop talking polisgh on front of his costomers we runs a restaurant .this kind of behaviour would and does drive me mad

Lollipops23 wrote: »

OP i wouldn't be annoyed about the ID policy, as irritating as it is to me or you, if more places implemented it there might be less 14 year olds getting twisted every weekend.

however, it is incredibly rude of the manager and staff member to have a conversation concerning you in a different language. there's several polish girls where i work and they would never dream of excluding someone like that, it's just not mannerly.

cgarvey

How many "i got asked for ID when buying alcohol; am I entitled to compensation" threads is that now? This is at least the third, isn't it?

albert-bundy

whos counting its recession remember compo will be everywhere now

cgarvey wrote: »

How many "i got asked for ID when buying alcohol; am I entitled to compensation" threads is that now? This is at least the third, isn't it?

ponyirl

compensation dosen't have to be in the form of money thats not what was ment as said before an apologie was all i ment bad wording on my behalf

wmpdd3

I really think you should go back and apologise.

This is the law were talking about not just your credit card being refused..

Darragh29

Tom Dunne wrote: »

WTF kind of mentality is that? Compensated? Get a grip, will you?

However rude or abrupt the person was, she was upholding the law. Ok, she could have been nicer about it, but she was well within her rights.

It's a pity more shop assistants wouldn't do that, might stop the idiot kids getting their hands on drink.

+1.

That C word is popping up a lot in Consumer Issues lately, people wanting to be compensated for outrageously insignificant issues if they are even issues at all.

dudara

Mr.David wrote: »

What the hell are "OPPIONIONS"? Some cheapo LIDL onion?

Please do not make attacks like this. It is not appreciated.

dudara

snappieT

Paulw wrote: »

Come on, they can communicate in any language they need.

I don't think this is acceptable. In Ireland, English & Irish can be used, and should be used, for business purposes. It'd be unfair on another member of staff if they didn't understand the language the manager was speaking - that member of staff wouldn't have been able to chime in on the situation just as the other workers did.

MysticalSoul

So, you are saying she had ID in the end - ie her driving license? Was this refused, or did she not offer it in the first instance? Is it a full license or a provisional one, as I know only full licenses are generally accepted as ID.

I know a friend in the UK, who was refused alcohol, as she had her 2 year old daughter with her :eek:. It is the law, if you have someone with you who is underage/has no ID, they are under no obligation to sell it to you.

Random

This whole "Garda ID Only" policy is complete sh!te. It's Ireland. Nearly everyone has a driving license of some form and it wouldn't take much to educate staff in what it looks like. Refusing a passport is even more retarded a policy IMO. If you're gonna have a "one ID only" policy then it should be a passport.

Compensation - are you for real? Get over yourself. If you do feel strongly about how you were treated I would suggest you ask for a meeting with the manager or else send in a letter to them with some constructive feedback. They may send you out some vouchers or something as a "good will gesture" as it seems to be policy in a lot of places to just give out vouchers and ignore problems (in my experience).

I disagree with a manager being called over, ignoring you, and then walking away. The language they spoke is irellevant. If the shop assistant can convey my problem to her manager better in a language other than English then so be it. The manager should have turned around though after and addressed you on the issue (and in English).

I know a friend in the UK, who was refused alcohol, as she had her 2 year old daughter with her . It is the law, if you have someone with you who is underage/has no ID, they are under no obligation to sell it to you.

This is also a retarded policy. Discretion really needs to be applied and in this case .. well.. that says it all.


At the end of the day though the shop didn't have to sell you the beer regardless though.

5uspect

Aldi and Lidl are both very strict regarding the sale of alcohol. I've seen it a several times with college students buying drink in both large and small quantities. They're consistent with this and I applaude them.

As regards the manager and the employee speaking in a language other than english; it's a bit annoying but hardly warrents anything more than a grumble.

the groutch

I don't agree with this whole "GARDA ID ONLY" thing
I understand them not taking student id because there's so many fakes knocking about, but for someone to present their passport, a symbol of their identity as an irish citizen, and then be told that the shop doesnt acknowledge it

lindtee

(off(ish) topic useless info)

When I used to be id-ed for smokes & drink in the past (up until I was about 26-27), I used to be delira and ag sire and smug. Now I wish they'd ID me but I look oh so old now (I look 26-27 but am older:pac::pac:)

And back to OP, no you shouldn't have stood your ground and no you shouldn't be compensated.

I agree with others about it being great that places like lidl are being so strict with ID checks, I for one am sick of seeing gangs of youths with copious amounts of alcohol in my area-wrecking all the local amenities that my children and I enjoy. One might be over 18 buying booze for 15 other (underage) scumbags.

Banes05

I think the op should perhaps educate themselves on the actual consequenses to both the employer and the employee, of being caught selling alcohol to anyone underage. The girl who served you is absolutely right that she would loose her job on the spot and the store would be closed for a minimum of 2 days.

I know that if you go into any Lidl Store in the republic,you'll see signs before the checkouts regarding the companies "challenge 21" policy, meaning that if you look around 21, you're gonna be asked for i.d. which really isnt that much hassle to produce if you're honest, plenty of people will either have a garda id,a passport or a driving licence

At the end of the day, its a policy that helps companies to cut down on young underagers hanging around outside asking other people to go and buy drink for them

Sponge Bob

Banes05 wrote: »

At the end of the day, its a policy that helps companies to cut down on young underagers hanging around outside asking other people to go and buy drink for them

In Galway the underagers nowadays pay winos to get gargle for them in a few 'select' city centre offies . That is because the supermarkets have pretty stringent policies including refusing over 21s because they deem certain under 18s to be 'with them' .

Emerald Lass

Random wrote: »

I disagree with a manager being called over, ignoring you, and then walking away. The language they spoke is irellevant. If the shop assistant can convey my problem to her manager better in a language other than English then so be it. The manager should have turned around though after and addressed you on the issue (and in English).

+1, but then again, if you are working in a job in an english speaking country, in a customer facing role, then your language skills should be strong enough to explain yourself to your manager. By speaking in another language, there is no way for the customer to know what was actually said. Perhaps the reason why the manager dismissed the issue is because of how the staff member explained what was happening. So I think the staff member should have spoken in English. But the buck stops with the manager, who should have told the staff member this, and furthermore as Random says, after speaking to the staff member, the manager should then have addressed the customer. But as I said we don't know what the staff member said - perhaps the manager didn't realise they needed to address the customer.

My OH does not have english as his native tongue. But he would never speak in his own language in front of customers, and exclude them from what was being said. It is rude.

axer

Random wrote: »

This whole "Garda ID Only" policy is complete sh!te. It's Ireland. Nearly everyone has a driving license of some form and it wouldn't take much to educate staff in what it looks like. Refusing a passport is even more retarded a policy IMO. If you're gonna have a "one ID only" policy then it should be a passport.

I agree with you on the second point regarding passports but I disagree about the driving licences. Do not see how much of a joke out licence is? It is laminated paper that is easy to tamper with whereas the driving licence and passports are much harder to tamper with.

dvpower

ponyirl wrote: »

My girl friend and i went to LIDL last saturday to do our weeks shopping,we bundled up our stuff and headed for the counter on the way i picked up a slab of beer .
So the girl at the check out scanned all the grocerys coming to a total of 117 euro then she came to the slab of beer she said to my girl friend do you have ID and my girlfriend did not.
So i said i do and took out my age card the girl then said i have to see hers aswell i said why... she said because you are buying the beer for her, so i said leave the beer to one side and i'll buy it in a few mins my self she still said NO

...
...

in the end she accepted my girl friends driving licence as ID and we left .

ponyirl wrote: »

what i'd like to know is had she any right to do this? when i had a valid age card and was the one paying.

Seems to be like she was a bit out of order, and as you say, they gave you the beer in the end. As to whether she had the 'right' or not, is a seperate matter.

ponyirl wrote: »

should i have stood my ground? should i be compensated for the embarrassment?

Yes, of course you should have stood your ground. You were legally purchasing alcahol and you had the required ID.
No, you shouldn't be compensated for your embarresment. Just put it down to experience.

ponyirl wrote: »

what would other people do?

I would have refused to go through with the transaction without the beer and left the €117 of groceries at the checkout for them to put back on shelves. That might have helped them to concentrate their minds.

delllat

I would also have left the 117 quids worth of groceries at the till and i have done this once in aldi when a similar thing happened

if i was going to have the hassle of going into another supermarket anyway id buy my food there as well

Buffman

ponyirl wrote: »

..........and took out my age card the girl then said i have to see hers aswell i said why... she said because you are buying the beer for her, so i said leave the beer to one side and i'll buy it in a few mins my self she still said NO . she went on that if the garda stop me she could loose her job and the shop could be closed for 3 days

If all their employees took this view they might as well give up selling alcohol!
It sounds like the manager told her to use some common sense.
As for compensation, you got the drink, so whats the problem. I think the fact you even metioned compo turned people's opinions against you.

If they had still refused to accept your ID (as is their right), you should have just left the shopping and never darkened their door again.

parsi

Lollipops23 wrote: »

there was no communication between the manager and OP!it's just not manners to exclude someone from a conversation(especially one about them!) like that.

The Op's posting suggests that English (as she is spoken in Ireland) may not be the Op's first language.

parsi

ponyirl wrote: »

compensation dosen't have to be in the form of money thats not what was ment as said before an apologie was all i ment bad wording on my behalf

As mentioned before - Op's language does not appear to be English (or English as it is spoken/spelt in Ireland)

parsi

ponyirl wrote: »

My girl friend and i went to LIDL last saturday to do our weeks shopping,we bundled up our stuff and headed for the counter on the way i picked up a slab of beer .
So the girl at the check out scanned all the grocerys coming to a total of 117 euro then she came to the slab of beer

117 Euro before beer - in Lidl that must be 47 trolleys !

delllat

parsi wrote: »

117 Euro before beer - in Lidl that must be 47 trolleys !

depends what u buy ,i can fit 70quids worth in a large backpack and i buy a good selection of products

id say a trolley could hold 200+ if u chose hi-value items

grind gremlin

I had the same thing happen in lidl in maynooth. The thing is I am 27 and I do not look under age. I was rarely, if ever, asked for id when I was in fact under 18.
I was shopping with a housemate who is 31 at the time.
We were both asked for id and had none on us. As the lady behind the counter was talking to us she was slowly removing all the alcohol from our shopping and putting it behind her. We were both incredibly embarrassed about the situation as there was a good few people behind us watching what was going on.
While she was polite, i feel it was a bit ridiculous asking us for id..... I mean I'm 27 ffs!


The managers in lidl must have all the staff well warned about serving people underage.... but surely this is taking them mic! Despite this OP, I don't see your reasoning behind a wish to be compensated for what happened to you.

road_2_damascus

"should i be compensated for the embarrassment?"

:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac: South Dublin by any chance?

Buffman

grind gremlin wrote: »

I had the same thing happen in lidl in maynooth. The thing is I am 27 and I do not look under age. I was rarely, if ever, asked for id when I was in fact under 18.
I was shopping with a housemate who is 31 at the time.
We were both asked for id and had none on us. As the lady behind the counter was talking to us she was slowly removing all the alcohol from our shopping and putting it behind her.

I hope you just left your shopping there and walked out. They don't seem to need customers with carry on like that. (And yes, I know it's their right to ask for ID, but it should be done with a bit of common sense.)

axer

Buffman wrote: »

I hope you just left your shopping there and walked out. They don't seem to need customers with carry on like that. (And yes, I know it's their right to ask for ID, but it should be done with a bit of common sense.)

LOL

enda1

axer wrote: »

LOL

?

axer

enda1 wrote: »

?

I'm laughing at the way some people give out about the shop in question doing what they are supposed to do i.e. ensure alcohol is not being purchased for a minor or someone who, in the cashier's opinion, looks like a minor. To say someone should just walk out of the shop in protest or that the shop does not need customers just because they are vigilant with the law is ridiculus.

It is great to see that shops are trying to tackle underage drinking by being vigilant with regards to over 18's purchasing for minors.

Buffman

axer wrote: »

I'm laughing at the way some people give out about the shop in question doing what they are supposed to do i.e. ensure alcohol is not being purchased for a minor or someone who, in the cashier's opinion, looks like a minor. To say someone should just walk out of the shop in protest or that the shop does not need customers just because they are vigilant with the law is ridiculus.

It is great to see that shops are trying to tackle underage drinking by being vigilant with regards to over 18's purchasing for minors.

Would you not say there is a slight difference between somebody in their late 20's, early 30's doing their weekly shopping of <€100 and little anto and his bud's getting a crate of dutch gold? As I said, I know it's the shops right to ask for ID, but I expect them to use a modicum of common sense. I would have no problem in taking my buisness elsewhere.

axer

Buffman wrote: »

Would you not say there is a slight difference between somebody in their late 20's, early 30's doing their weekly shopping of <€100 and little anto and his bud's getting a crate of dutch gold?

No, whats the difference? Is it ok for some in their late 20's, early 30's doing their weekly shopping of <€100 buying alcohol for minors or do you think it is impossible?