73-year-old asked to prove he is over 18........
Discussion
http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/40...
73-year-old from Bermhill asked to prove he is over 18 in shop
Great granddad John Payne was stunned when a store assistant refused to let him buy fishing equipment until he could prove he was old enough.
Mr Payne, 73, of Bremhill, was buying a fishing catapult at the Original Factory Shop in Melksham when he was asked to show valid identification proving he was over 18.
He said: “At first I thought that she was just trying to be humorous. But when I cheekily replied ‘do I look 18?’ she asked if I could prove it, and then asked me to verify this with some form of identification.
“At this point I realised that she was in fact being serious.
“As much as I am not impartial to a little humorous flattery, on this occasion I felt extremely humiliated by the assistant’s obvious lack of judgement and the suggestion that I was not a responsible enough adult to purchase a catapult designed for the purpose of firing maggots into the river to attract fish.”
Mr Payne then produced his driving licence, which he has held for 55 years.
“I am 73 years old and have grandchildren who are probably older than the girl serving me,” he said.
“I have a 50-year-old daughter for goodness sake.”
The great-grandfather of nine has been fishing in and around Wiltshire for more than 50 years and has never encountered this sort of problem before.
He said: “I have bought other equipment in the past with no trouble. Surely it is obvious that I am going to use the catapult for its intended purpose. I understand that the girl had a job to do, but she should be able to show some discretion.”
But Mr Payne is now laughing about the incident.
“I have told all my family and we have had a good laugh about it,” he said.
“I had never shopped there before but I saw the catapult in the window and it was a lot cheaper than in a fishing shop. I will go back there if I need another one.”
A spokesman for the store said: “I am sure the assistant was having a bit of fun with the customer and did not seriously expect him to show identification.
“But this does prove that our staff are very vigilant about asking for identification.”
73-year-old from Bermhill asked to prove he is over 18 in shop
Great granddad John Payne was stunned when a store assistant refused to let him buy fishing equipment until he could prove he was old enough.
Mr Payne, 73, of Bremhill, was buying a fishing catapult at the Original Factory Shop in Melksham when he was asked to show valid identification proving he was over 18.
He said: “At first I thought that she was just trying to be humorous. But when I cheekily replied ‘do I look 18?’ she asked if I could prove it, and then asked me to verify this with some form of identification.
“At this point I realised that she was in fact being serious.
“As much as I am not impartial to a little humorous flattery, on this occasion I felt extremely humiliated by the assistant’s obvious lack of judgement and the suggestion that I was not a responsible enough adult to purchase a catapult designed for the purpose of firing maggots into the river to attract fish.”
Mr Payne then produced his driving licence, which he has held for 55 years.
“I am 73 years old and have grandchildren who are probably older than the girl serving me,” he said.
“I have a 50-year-old daughter for goodness sake.”
The great-grandfather of nine has been fishing in and around Wiltshire for more than 50 years and has never encountered this sort of problem before.
He said: “I have bought other equipment in the past with no trouble. Surely it is obvious that I am going to use the catapult for its intended purpose. I understand that the girl had a job to do, but she should be able to show some discretion.”
But Mr Payne is now laughing about the incident.
“I have told all my family and we have had a good laugh about it,” he said.
“I had never shopped there before but I saw the catapult in the window and it was a lot cheaper than in a fishing shop. I will go back there if I need another one.”
A spokesman for the store said: “I am sure the assistant was having a bit of fun with the customer and did not seriously expect him to show identification.
“But this does prove that our staff are very vigilant about asking for identification.”
kwits.
In those kinds of jobs you often don't have any choice in wether to be a jobsworth or not.
"I used my judgement/common sense, the guy has been around for longer than this f**king shop" is not a valid response to "You didn't as EVERYONE for ID like it says on page 17 of the training booklet."
So the lass at the counter has the choice of a load of hassle from a customer or a load of hassle from a manager. And only one of those two people signs her paycheques/sorts out the shift rota...
"I used my judgement/common sense, the guy has been around for longer than this f**king shop" is not a valid response to "You didn't as EVERYONE for ID like it says on page 17 of the training booklet."
So the lass at the counter has the choice of a load of hassle from a customer or a load of hassle from a manager. And only one of those two people signs her paycheques/sorts out the shift rota...
Edited by crofty1984 on Thursday 22 January 13:19
crofty1984 said:
So the lass at the counter has the choice of a load of hassle from a customer or a load of hassle from a manager. And only one of those two people signs her paycheques/sorts out the shift rota...
Sorry, it lacks common sense, the reason ID is asked for is for "proof of age". The risk of a 70+ yr old guy really being under-age is so infinitesimal that it just seems mad to require a document to prove it. I suspect jobs-worth are a side-effect of paranoid arse-covering. I'm not sure any one person is to blame, rather it's a culture at blame. Still, makes for amusing anecdotes 
Edited by scorp on Thursday 22 January 13:34
scorp said:
crofty1984 said:
So the lass at the counter has the choice of a load of hassle from a customer or a load of hassle from a manager. And only one of those two people signs her paycheques/sorts out the shift rota...
Sorry, it lacks common sense, the reason ID is asked for is for "proof of age". The risk of a 70+ yr old guy really being under-age is so infinitesimal that it just seems mad to require a document to prove it. I suspect jobs-worth are a side-effect of paranoid arse-covering. I'm not sure any one person is to blame, rather it's a culture at blame. Still, makes for amusing anecdotes Edited by scorp on Thursday 22 January 13:34
The reason the Boss tells them to do it is for a proof of age check. But thats not why they do it.
I still get id'd for cigs and rizla in my local late shop even though I have a teddy older than half the staff who work there and insist on iding they have servied me for as long as I can remember, I can't produce any form of ID as I lost the card part to my licence and my passport was stolen from my handbag about4mths ago. So I just have to make do and return later on when I have got ready to go out and guaranteed the same person who id'd me will serve me.
scorp said:
crofty1984 said:
So the lass at the counter has the choice of a load of hassle from a customer or a load of hassle from a manager. And only one of those two people signs her paycheques/sorts out the shift rota...
Sorry, it lacks common sense, the reason ID is asked for is for "proof of age". The risk of a 70+ yr old guy really being under-age is so infinitesimal that it just seems mad to require a document to prove it. I suspect jobs-worth are a side-effect of paranoid arse-covering. I'm not sure any one person is to blame, rather it's a culture at blame. Still, makes for amusing anecdotes Edited by scorp on Thursday 22 January 13:34
madala said:
....they I.D everyone in the bars of Chicago O'Hare airport.....even if you are ninety....it's always good for a laugh watching the reaction of some peoiple.....
Chicago Airport Tannoy: The USO bar is open 24 hours a day and is located on the 2nd floor in terminal 2. We welcome all armed forces personnel.Repeat every 5 minutes...for 4 hours....gaaaaaa
For some things you have to ask regardless. Our local clubs ask everyone (including my mate who was in his late 40s) - but I think that's more so they can be sure you've got ID if you need an ambulance or something.
The catapults though, are those sort of purchases not recorded with your details? I know our local shop used to operate a scheme like that with the Police for airsoft guns and the like - and used to insist on ID even if you were clearly old enough to legally buy them.
The catapults though, are those sort of purchases not recorded with your details? I know our local shop used to operate a scheme like that with the Police for airsoft guns and the like - and used to insist on ID even if you were clearly old enough to legally buy them.
I popped in to a pub in Wimborne a couple of years ago on a sunday lunchtime, the kid on the bar looked about 17, he asked me for ID I was 29 at the time, I had some he started to serve me. I asked my mate (41 years old) what he wanted, kid piped up I'll need ID for him as well. Kid got asked if he was taking the piss (mate was balding and grey haired), kid said no. Mate didn't have ID, kid refused to serve him, these people are out there.
Munter said:
I disagree. The reason proof of age is asked for is because the Boss told the shop staff to do it. Thats it. Most shop staff would happily sell anything to anybody if it got them out of the shop and cash in the till. But the Boss will sack/fine them if they do.
The reason the Boss tells them to do it is for a proof of age check. But thats not why they do it.
I agree, sorry i wasn't clear in my first post, but i was meaning more the attitude, the boss is also responsible. Even if it is required by the staff, it doesn't make it any less ridiculous.The reason the Boss tells them to do it is for a proof of age check. But thats not why they do it.
scorp said:
Munter said:
I disagree. The reason proof of age is asked for is because the Boss told the shop staff to do it. Thats it. Most shop staff would happily sell anything to anybody if it got them out of the shop and cash in the till. But the Boss will sack/fine them if they do.
The reason the Boss tells them to do it is for a proof of age check. But thats not why they do it.
I agree, sorry i wasn't clear in my first post, but i was meaning more the attitude, the boss is also responsible. Even if it is required by the staff, it doesn't make it any less ridiculous.The reason the Boss tells them to do it is for a proof of age check. But thats not why they do it.
Quite frankly, the old man should be a little more sympathetic and this isn't really a story.
Idiots are all around us but an idiot who sticks rigidly to the rules is no danger to anyone. It's the free thinking ones who will kill us all.
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