Are you over 21?

[JZ_UK]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7003325.stm

Man, 72, refused alcohol over age

Supermarket staff refused to sell alcohol to a white-haired 72-year-old man - because he would not confirm he was over 21.

Check-out staff at Morrisons in West Kirby, Wirral, demanded Tony Ralls prove he was old enough to buy his two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mr Ralls asked to see the manager who put the wine back on the shelf.

The grandfather-of-three said he had refused to confirm he was over 21 as it was a "stupid question."

Mr Ralls, a retired insurance firm regional manager, said he expected the store manager to resolve the situation but he was disappointed.

"I felt like saying 'What do I look like? Are you a fool?'


It's bureaucracy gone mad
Tony Ralls

"He picks up the wine and, in the manner of a child taking home his ball, says 'Well, we won't serve you'."

The pensioner abandoned his shopping on the conveyor belt and left the store - but not before demanding a complaints form and phone number for Morrisons' headquarters.

Mr Ralls said: "It is bureaucracy gone mad. If the check-out lady, who was about 40, had asked me with a twinkle in her eye perhaps I would not have been so tetchy.

"But she asked me the question with a perfectly straight face and I said I wouldn't dignify the question with an answer.

"And if the manager had explained that all the staff had to ask everyone because they had previously been fined, but said I was clearly over 21, it would have been fine - but he showed no sense of humour."

Mr Ralls added that he felt embarrassed to return to the supermarket and wanted an apology for "the stupid and unnecessary confrontation."

He added: "I applaud any efforts to stop kids being served and standing on street corners getting drunk. But this was just totally stupid."

A Morrisons spokesman said: "We take our responsibility with regard to selling alcohol very seriously and all our stores operate the Task 21 scheme, which addresses the difficulties our staff face in being able to determine if a customer is legally old enough to buy alcohol.

"To further limit any element of doubt staff at the West Kirby store are required to ask anyone buying alcohol to confirm that they are over 21."

Whats quite funny to me is that the Task 21 scheme is about asking people if they look under 21 to prove they're over 18 (our legal age to buy alcohol... though not to drink it... thats 5 and 14 in public with a meal, though I've no idea where thats written down). Hell, I'll be a happy man if at 72 someone asks me to prove I'm over 18!

 

[Damnyankee]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7003325.stm



Whats quite funny to me is that the Task 21 scheme is about asking people if they look under 21 to prove they're over 18 (our legal age to buy alcohol... though not to drink it... thats 5 and 14 in public with a meal, though I've no idea where thats written down). Hell, I'll be a happy man if at 72 someone asks me to prove I'm over 18!

And so my trek towards anarchism continues.

 

[Snowball]

Utter idiocy.

 

[LightFang]

That's awesomely funny. However, there is a disease, albeit rare, that causes people to age in a very accelerated manner, so that in fact when they're only like fifteen they already look like an aged senior citizen.

 

[Bill3000]

CVS has a rule that you have to look over 27 (arbitary age, I know) to not get ticketed for an ID for cigarretes, the legal age of which is 19 here. When it comes to alcohol, all licenses must be presented.

 

[downtown]

If you only have to be 18 to buy, why would he have to prove he was 21?

 

[JZ_UK]

If you only have to be 18 to buy, why would he have to prove he was 21?

If you look under 21 they ask you to prove you're over 18, it doesn't make spades of sense but thats what they do... my assumption is its to save face rather than saying "You don't look like an adult, prove you're one."

 

[armathas]

I am tickled pink every time I get carded..wish it would happen more.

 

[LucyDuke]

Well, it's stupid, but understandable, really. The store is required to check the ID of anyone of questionable age. Rather than trust clerks to judge "questionable age" and let slip an old-looking 20-year-old, the policy is "check all ID no matter what". The clerk follows the rule.

Dumb, yes. But with liberty and lawsuits for all, to be expected.

 

[Irish Caesar]

The store is required to check the ID of anyone of questionable age. Rather than trust clerks to judge "questionable age" and let slip an old-looking 20-year-old, the policy is "check all ID no matter what". The clerk follows the rule.

Agreed, but the manager should have the sense to know when to over-ride that rule when prudence dictates.

 

[Japanrocks12]

funny stuff

 

[QuoVadisNation]

Wow. When I was working as a chasier for Shop Rite, we only had to card them if they looked any younger than twenty seven. 72 is crazy; was that company policy or law?

Also: In my experience, telling someone they look 'younger' than they are and that they should be flattered when they're being denied beer or cigarettes isn't a compliment. Apparently, it merely evokes further hatred. Trust me.

 

[Damnyankee]

That's awesomely funny. However, there is a disease, albeit rare, that causes people to age in a very accelerated manner, so that in fact when they're only like fifteen they already look like an aged senior citizen.

Wasn't that the movie Jack? Anyway, even if a 15 year old had the body of a 72 year old, are you really going to not give the guy beer when he will be 110 in a year, lol.

 

[woody60707]

blah, I have to carry around a legal form of ID all the time to buy beer, or get in too clubs/bars. Don't see why he's so special.

Hell, even then I still get refused a sale if I don't have the form of legal ID they want to see. My friend from the UK couldn't buy beer with her passport once, and I couldn't buy beer one time with my military ID. (note: under IL law, State ID, Driver license, Military ID, and Passports are all equally legal forms of ID)

I kinda don't understand his reaction. He's not being ask to give up any rights, he's just being treated like everyone else.

 

[Damnyankee]

blah, I have to carry around a legal form of ID all the time to buy beer, or get in too clubs/bars. Don't see why he's so special.

Hell, even then I still get refused a sale if I don't have the form of legal ID they want to see. My friend from the UK couldn't buy beer with her passport once, and I couldn't buy beer one time with my military ID. (note: under IL law, State ID, Driver license, Military ID, and Passports are all equally legal forms of ID)

I kinda don't understand his reaction. He's not being ask to give up any rights, he's just being treated like everyone else.

Thats another thing, though not really related to old men getting smashed, if a man or woman enters the US military, he or she should automatically be granted the right to drink. After all, if you are old enough to die in Iraq, you sure as hell should be old enough to get . .. .. .. . faced. Plus, it wouldn't exactly harm recruiting, lol.

 

[Bill3000]

Wow. When I was working as a chasier for Shop Rite, we only had to card them if they looked any younger than twenty seven. 72 is crazy; was that company policy or law?

How the heck can you see that someone looks younger than 27 anyhow?

Also: In my experience, telling someone they look 'younger' than they are and that they should be flattered when they're being denied beer or cigarettes isn't a compliment. Apparently, it merely evokes further hatred. Trust me.

I've had both.

Thats another thing, though not really related to old men getting smashed, if a man or woman enters the US military, he or she should automatically be granted the right to drink. After all, if you are old enough to die in Iraq, you sure as hell should be old enough to get . .. .. .. . faced. Plus, it wouldn't exactly harm recruiting, lol.

Last thing soldiers need to do is get drunk.

 

[QuoVadisNation]

How the heck can you see that someone looks younger than 27 anyhow?

Funny story. There was once this woman who I worked with who looked very young. Upon inquiring what year of high school she was in, thereupon she broke down, started crying, and started hugging me passionately.

She was forty years old. So yeah, to answer your question, I was terrible at the 'guess your age' game. I went by the smooth skin = check ID rule, for what it's worth. I may have been overly cautious. But I had no idea how other people determined if a person was over 27.

 

[StarWorms]

If you look under 21 they ask you to prove you're over 18, it doesn't make spades of sense but thats what they do... my assumption is its to save face rather than saying "You don't look like an adult, prove you're one."

Sure it makes sense - it gives a greater assurance that you'll stop children illegally buying alcohol. If a 17 year old looks 19 then the cashier would just let him buy it, because he looks over 18.

 

[AL_DA_GREAT]

They usualy sell to people who actually are under 21.

 

[StarWorms]

They usualy sell to people who actually are under 21.

That's an over generalisation on so many levels.