Is this a new thing?

Ave Sodalis

So I was shopping in Lidl there yesterday and was in a bit of a rush so only got a few things. Anyways, the guy in front of me was buying alcohol and the woman at the counter asked for ID. Grand, he gave her his driving license which she then proceed to read both back and front which took ages! Then as she was scanning my stuff, she stopped and looked over. The guy in front of me was packing his alcohol and had obviously just bumped into someone he knew. So the woman at the till called this new guy over and asked him for ID too, even though he wasn't buying alcohol and had already gone through the tills. Is it common practice for shops to ID everyone you talk to or is this a new thing? Or was this woman just being a pain? Either way, the shopping trip took far longer than needed be which, of course, is typical when you're already in a hurry..

o1s1n

I've seen this happen in Aldi over a year or so ago, so it's definitely not new. Must just be one of their store policies.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

It always makes me laugh when they ask a clearly old person if they're over 18

kneemos

I've seen them ask obviously middle aged men their ages,I was asked when buying a box of Rennies.
Real sticklers for it.

eviltwin

So if I go shopping with my kids and have alcohol do they not let me buy it cause I'm with someone under 21

Beano

Just pray that it doesnt get as bad as the US. No ID, no booze, no exceptions.

wazky

It's a load of bollox, do they refuse a parent who's buying a bottle of wine if they take the child shopping with them?, do they fcuk.

Peregrine

I know this person had just bumped into someone they knew but it's not new to ask the person you are with for ID. Quite often, if two young people go up to the counter and one is buying alcohol, they both get asked for ID.

D-FENS

So did the second guy actually go over and entertain her?

jester77

Some policies are ridiculous. Last time I was back in Ireland, I decided to stock up on my Lemsip supply to take back with me. The store wouldn't sell them to me, said there was some policy on how many they can sell to a person. So I called over the people that were with me, divided them out, gave them the money to pay and I put them into my bag with the rest of my shopping.

Mr. Incognito

I would have told her politely that she'd want to cop on for herself

Ave Sodalis

D-FENS wrote: »

So did the second guy actually go over and entertain her?

He did yeah. Surprise, surprise he was over 18 too, after a thorough examination of his age card

D-FENS

sup_dude wrote: »

He did yeah. Surprise, surprise he was over 18 too, after a thorough examination of his age card

He's worse so.

M5

I lived in Arizona for a couple of years. If you were in a group of 2 or more at the till everyone had to show id.

My Mrs ID was out of date (Arizona drivers licence) one time and we were refused!

Useful.Idiot

This has always been the case with Lidl and Aldi for years. It must be store policy. They're really strict on ID there and because of this, people with IDs will often buy drink for their ID-less friends (who would be well over 18) who may possibly also be hanging around the store but not buying the alcohol themselves. Lidl/Aldi realise this and will try and ID anyone they suspect.

messrs

maybe the cashier thought the other guy had asked the customer in front of you to buy the alcohol for them so she was just covering herself?

connollys

happened me in Dunnes, myself and a mate in one lunch time. He buying a bottle of powers and a lemon to make hot ones to help with a cold. Now, this guy is 28. Asked for ID, has none. Im waiting by the door and he calls me over. I try to buy it as I have my drivers licence in my wallet, Nope, cant sell to you either cause you are with him.

We just laughed and left it to her. What young lads are going in buying Powers and a Lemon to go on the tear anyway?

osarusan

jester77 wrote: »

Some policies are ridiculous. Last time I was back in Ireland, I decided to stock up on my Lemsip supply to take back with me. The store wouldn't sell them to me, said there was some policy on how many they can sell to a person. So I called over the people that were with me, divided them out, gave them the money to pay and I put them into my bag with the rest of my shopping.

This happened me too. Was home on holiday and wanted to take a few bottles of Calpol back with me, as there's nothing as good here.

Staff wouldn't let me buy them at first, as there was a limit. When I explained my situation, she gave them to me.

jimgoose

I'm not surprised. Applying The Rules without any sense or discretion like an IBM 3090 clattering through the monthly payroll would be a very Teutonic way of going about it right enough. :pac::pac::pac:

Connavar

jester77 wrote: »

Some policies are ridiculous. Last time I was back in Ireland, I decided to stock up on my Lemsip supply to take back with me. The store wouldn't sell them to me, said there was some policy on how many they can sell to a person. So I called over the people that were with me, divided them out, gave them the money to pay and I put them into my bag with the rest of my shopping.

In fairness to the shop, I think this is a law to do with selling penicillin in Ireland(not saying the law isn't stupid)

jimgoose

Connavar wrote: »

In fairness to the shop, I think this is a law to do with selling penicillin in Ireland(not saying the law isn't stupid)

That law would be quite stupid indeed. There's no sodding penicillin in Lemsip, the issue is paracetemol.

Rory28

Can't blame her for asking for ID. If she doesn't she will probably get a warning or sacked.
Mystery shopper paranoia.

Connavar

jimgoose wrote: »

That law would be quite stupid indeed. There's no sodding penicillin in Lemsip, the issue is paracetemol.

Woops, thats the one I meant(link to the limit i was mentioning)
http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/6947/

freshpopcorn

jester77 wrote: »

Some policies are ridiculous. Last time I was back in Ireland, I decided to stock up on my Lemsip supply to take back with me. The store wouldn't sell them to me, said there was some policy on how many they can sell to a person. So I called over the people that were with me, divided them out, gave them the money to pay and I put them into my bag with the rest of my shopping.

I thought this was introduced because there's paracetamol in lemsip and there was a time when people were going into supermarkets and they were buying a good few paracetamol products and heading home and taking an overdose.

KungPao

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I thought this was introduced because there's paracetamol in lemsip and there was a time when people were going into supermarkets and they were buying a good few paracetamol products and heading home and taking an overdose.

Imagine drinking 50 lemsips though, you'd barf it up before you felt any ill effects.

Tilly

So both guys were past the till and on their way out when she asked the second guy for id? What if he didnt have any? Would the guy with id be told to bring the drink back?

Tiddlypeeps

I worked in Aldi many moons ago. When they train you in they make an absolutely huge deal about asking for ID at the tills unless the person looks middle aged. They also make a big deal about asking any other people the person is with for ID if you have any suspicions whatsoever that the alcohol might be for them. So a person with a toddler or two hanging over them is fine, but if they go through the tills with a teenager in toe then you are not supposed to serve them.

I don't know if that was an Aldi wide policy, or just something the nazi area manager insisted on. But I can say for sure that any cashier who breaks the rules is risking their job, so getting angry at them for enforcing it is kind of dickish and is going to achieve nothing anyway.

the groutch

Tilly wrote: »

So both guys were past the till and on their way out when she asked the second guy for id? What if he didnt have any? Would the guy with id be told to bring the drink back?

Maybe they could make a "citizen's arrest" on the belief that the person was buying alcohol for a minor?
Although I couldn't be 100% sure of the legalities.

She had already made the sale. The alcohol was the property of the customer. Absolutely ridiculous to ask for ID at that stage, if she had tried to take the alcohol back it would have been theft.

sunshine and showers

Aldi are a pain in the hole about this. Did a shop with my roommate that included a bottle of wine and they wouldn't sell it to us because only I had id. My roommate was 23 at the time. The cashier and security guard both accepted she wasn't under 18, but still wouldn't give it to us because she "didn't look over 25". Couldn't even go back and queue myself to buy it.

Kenny Logins

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

I worked in Aldi many moons ago. When they train you in they make an absolutely huge deal about asking for ID at the tills unless the person looks middle aged. They also make a big deal about asking any other people the person is with for ID if you have any suspicions whatsoever that the alcohol might be for them. So a person with a toddler or two hanging over them is fine, but if they go through the tills with a teenager in toe then you are not supposed to serve them.

I don't know if that was an Aldi wide policy, or just something the nazi area manager insisted on. But I can say for sure that any cashier who breaks the rules is risking their job, so getting angry at them for enforcing it is kind of dickish and is going to achieve nothing anyway.

I'm sure I've read this on here - a customer refused alcohol because the person with them was a teen.

gypsylee

I bought alcohol in Aldi and my teenage daughter was with me. The cashier asked if she was my daughter. When I said yes I was allowed buy the alcohol. Guess they figured I wouldn't buy alcohol for my daughter. Anyway she doesn't like bourbon!

Beano

gypsylee wrote: »

I bought alcohol in Aldi and my teenage daughter was with me. The cashier asked if she was my daughter. When I said yes I was allowed buy the alcohol. Guess they figured I wouldn't buy alcohol for my daughter. Anyway she doesn't like bourbon!

more of a single malt person?

Duggy747

When I worked in Lidl, asking for ID was number 1 priority because each and every till was watched like a hawk with a camera above you and management would come down on you like a ton of bricks if you didn't ask for one.

I wouldn't really blame the staff, they're forced to do it and have enough on their plate dealing with the soul-destroying experience of working there, having to scan 1,245 items a minute while explaining to a customer why their electric fishing rod can't connect to the bluetooth in their car radio.

gypsylee

Beano wrote: »

more of a single malt person?

Cans of cheap lager actually . I reared her well!

The King of Moo

When I was in New York I saw a sales assistant refuse to sell a bottle of wine to a man in his seventies or eighties. He just stood there confuddled and rechecking his wallet to try to find some form of ID, and after each unsuccessful search the sales assistant reminded him that she couldn't sell him alcohol without ID.
Fortunately the manager passed by and noticed the situation, and immediately told her to let him have the wine, so common sense did prevail.

I do have sympathy with sales assistants, unless they've been told to use their discretion in cases of people who are clearly middle-aged or older. There's no point taking a chance of being disciplined or kidding your job, especially if you've been told to be strict.

leck

A bit off-topic but still on the subject of applying rules ...

Recently I was paying for petrol at a Tesco filling station and attendant left the till to go and admonish a man who was filling up. He had a child, who looked no more than four years old, filling the tank. She warned him that he couldn't do that. He then took the pump from the child but she warned him to put the child back in the car before he could proceed. He finally complied.

She said situations like these occur more often than you might imagine.

Rory28

leck wrote: »

A bit off-topic but still on the subject of applying rules ...

Recently I was paying for petrol at a Tesco filling station and attendant left the till to go and admonish a man who was filling up. He had a child, who looked no more than four years old, filling the tank. She warned him that he couldn't do that. He then took the pump from the child but she warned him to put the child back in the car before he could proceed. He finally complied.

She said situations like these occur more often than you might imagine.

Damn right. 4 is plenty old to be pulling your weight. Sure he should be paying rent as well the little freeloader.

Firefox11

eviltwin wrote: »

So if I go shopping with my kids and have alcohol do they not let me buy it cause I'm with someone under 21

Yes!!! You shouldn't be feeding your kids alcohol like that!!!:p

sbsquarepants

kneemos wrote: »

I've seen them ask obviously middle aged men their ages,I was asked when buying a box of Rennies.
Real sticklers for it.

There's an age limit on rennies?

KungPao wrote: »

Imagine drinking 50 lemsips though, you'd barf it up before you felt any ill effects.

Paracetemol is one of, if not the single most dangerous over the counter drug available - it's extremely easy to kill yourself or cause yourself irreparable damage with a fairly small amount. The stuff is bloody lethal!

Capt'n Midnight

She was probably taking time looking at the license because that was the third time she'd seen Prawo Jazdy

razorblunt

Happened to me in Sainsbury's not too long ago. Was doing the weekly shop on Friday evening and was asked for ID for the bottles of wine I had. The cashier then asked for my gf's id, who wasn't carrying her purse so didnt have any. The cashier refused to serve me, gf was about to run out to the car for her driving licence but I told her hold on.
I questioned why I was being refused and she stated that the gf could be underage, right I said so the lady ahead with the kid and the lady behind there with the baby in the trolley are getting their drinks refused. Manager was called and waved it through.

Had to apologise to the woman behind for putting her wine and beer purchase in jeopardy!

Only found out afterwards the cashier was aggressively descanning the wine from the total indicating I wasnt getting them, after the manager gave the go ahead she put them in them bag, never scanned them back in again. Saved about £15!

kneemos

sbsquarepants wrote: »

There's an age limit on rennies?


Dunno,came up on the till to ask for ID.May have been a mistake unless there's a use for them I don't know about.

snubbleste

I assume people are aware of the law. It is quite draconian
Dunnes had to close for four days and pay a fine of €1500 for selling vodka to a 16 year old http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/dunnes-sold-alcohol-to-underage-girl-in-sting-operation-29074954.html

Roger Hassenforder

kneemos wrote: »

I've seen them ask obviously middle aged men their ages,I was asked when buying a box of Rennies.
Real sticklers for it.

lols
we used to call them rubber johnies in my day...

dirtyden

I am feeling quite left out. I never get ID'ed in Lidl or Aldi and I am quite a fresh looking mid thirty year old.