My helmet in Morrisons caused uproar

My helmet in Morrisons caused uproar

Author
Discussion

PHlL

Original Poster:

1,538 posts

139 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
I'm still slightly shocked by the whole incident as never been told to take my helmet off, ever. This particular Morrisons I must have been to on average 3 or 4 times a week for the last 3 months to get things throughout the week and at least half of those on my bike.

Bare in mind I have a modular helmet which was fully up and whole face visible. I usually go after work, but went in at lunch today to get 4 pints of milk. I walk past number of staff, no issues. Get the milk which costs £1 and go to the tills. I'm there waiting in a small queue and then a member of staff comes over and tells me to remove my helmet. I was a little shocked and said I always come in this shop and no issues. He then walks off and in about 10 seconds returns with about 4 members of staff and they proceed to tell me it's the law to take off my helmet.

I tried to reason and say again I come in here all the time, you can see all of my face, here is my driving licence with my address in case I do anything illegal, here's the £1 coin for my milk and I will be on my way. By the end of a brief 30 seconds arguing this point, there were about 7 members of staff and everyone is looking around. Honestly, if you came into the store you would think I'm a serious criminal the way staff had surrounded me.

I then said it's fine, I won't buy the milk and started to walk out the shop, and the staff wouldn't let me leave telling me I needed to remove my helmet now. I proceed to gently squeezed through their huddle around me and walked out.

Nothing has changed overnight has it? I probably could have just taken my helmet off, but it would have been longer to do all of that, to then hold my gloves and helmet and struggle to get into my wallet and also into the backpack. But for that minute in Fleet Morrisons today, it practically shut down the shop and I was made out to be a complete criminal.

Rant over. Just a completely bizarre situation I've never had before. Crazy.

Edited by PHlL on Thursday 30th July 18:46

No Bend

591 posts

122 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
For anyone who has been robbed by a helmeted one I could understand their concerns.

But a full face covering where you can barely see eyes is ok if it's religious. That's something I find hard to swallow.

R8VXF

6,788 posts

115 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
Put a burka on over your helmet. That'll confuse them...

Baryonyx

17,996 posts

159 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
No Bend said:
For anyone who has been robbed by a helmeted one I could understand their concerns.
Armed with a few bottles of milk and waiting for the till? Sounds more like a case of Jobsworth culture...

Rick101

6,969 posts

150 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
Idiots.

Tell him you'll take your Helmet off if he takes his trousers off.

aka_kerrly

12,417 posts

210 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
No Bend said:
But a full face covering where you can barely see eyes is ok if it's religious.
eek

First response and you've played that card.

Having worked in a supermarket many years ago there were a couple of occasions when security staff pretty much wrestled a bloke to the floor, THEN asked them to remove their helmet...

moto_traxport

4,237 posts

221 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
You could have shouted "everyone against the wall and if any of you motherfkers moves... Etc" which might have been funny / interpretated incorrectly by armed police.

Or take your lid off.

RichB

51,560 posts

284 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
I don't ride a bike but, maybe naively, I must ask what's the issue with being asked to remove your skid lid?

No Bend

591 posts

122 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
aka_kerrly said:
eek

First response and you've played that card.

Having worked in a supermarket many years ago there were a couple of occasions when security staff pretty much wrestled a bloke to the floor, THEN asked them to remove their helmet...
Hey, where some wanted man can escape the country by wearing a womans covering unchallenged...

No Bend

591 posts

122 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
Baryonyx said:
Armed with a few bottles of milk and waiting for the till? Sounds more like a case of Jobsworth culture...
Depends if it was full fat or skim.

The Mad Monk

10,474 posts

117 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Any chance of a translation into something approximating to English?

bicycleshorts

1,939 posts

161 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
Don't think some people have fully read the OP's post. He has a helmet like this which was in the "up position", i.e. picture 1:


So not far from asking someone to remove a beanie hat. Jobsworths is a pretty apt description imo.

RichB

51,560 posts

284 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
RichB said:
I don't ride a bike but, maybe naively I must ask what's the issue with being asked to remove your skid lid?
Anyone?

RichB

51,560 posts

284 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
Yeah, I read all that but just don't see the issue. Perhaps it's a biker thing. I'll leave you all to it. wavey

irocfan

40,416 posts

190 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
jobsworths, they can see your face what's the problem?

evil len

4,398 posts

269 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
RichB said:
RichB said:
I don't ride a bike but, maybe naively I must ask what's the issue with being asked to remove your skid lid?
Anyone?
Personally, it's a pain in the arse. If I'm wearing gloves, they have to come off first (can't do the catches etc with them on). Then I have to fiddle my glasses out past the visor (mine is a full face). Then undo the strap and pull it off (mine is a latch which is easy, the Mrs is a D strap with press stud for the 'tag end' which is fiddly), most helmets are deliberately quite tight and will pull at your ears. Then put glasses back on. Then presumably they wouldn't let you put the helmet back on, so you've got to walk around with it and whatever else you are carrying (gloves, milk, wallet) and juggle. And then reverse all of that to put it back on again, fiddling for a bit to get the glasses to sit right.

The end of the world ? Hardly. More than just a few seconds hassle ? Nope. But irritating when there's absolutely no point to having to take the helmet off, bearing in mind the OP was stood there with a £1 coin and a pint of milk. A bit akin to them insisting you remove your trousers (take your shoes off first etc) for no reason.

RichB

51,560 posts

284 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
evil len said:
Personally, it's a pain in the arse.
Fair enough, I can see that. As I say I don't ride bikes but can whip my lid off at a track day no issue but I don't have gloves on for that so perhaps I couldn't see the issue.

bass gt3

10,193 posts

233 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
evil len said:
But irritating when there's absolutely no point to having to take the helmet off, bearing in mind the OP was stood there with a £1 coin and a pint of milk. A bit akin to them insisting you remove your trousers (take your shoes off first etc) for no reason.
Maybe, and this is just a big maybe, whilst the staff can see your face in a flip up lid, the ever present " Eye in the sky" CCTV cameras can't, being mounted high up towards the ceiling??
So if something were to occur, identification would be difficult??

HustleRussell

24,687 posts

160 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
Who wants to wear a helmet unneccesarily anyway? As RichB said, what's the problem with just taking your helmet off?

evil len

4,398 posts

269 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
RichB said:
but I don't have gloves on for that so perhaps I couldn't see the issue.
For me it's the glasses that's the biggest PITA to fiddle with.

Saying that though, I still wouldn't walk around Morrisons with a full face on, that would just be a bit ... weird.