Too Old to Drink
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?'
"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."
- One more thing to look forward to...
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?'
"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."
- One more thing to look forward to...
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Well, while I agree it is ridiculous, it is only fair; if you are going to have an "alcohol with ID only" policy, there should be no exceptions- otherwise it is left to the discretion of the employee, and I've seen 14 year olds who could pass for 21 (I was one) and 30 year olds I swear are 14. Now 72 is a bit silly, but still, I think I side with the store on this one. 0 -
I suppose your only option to change a zero tolerance policy is to not shop there anymore and let management know they are losing customers. Businesses are required to check ID but it does get to the point of being silly when it is obvious that the person is of advanced age!
If you want to expand your business you have to provide customer service and educate your employees that these are sensitive issues to some folks and have to be tactfully handled.0 -
I was carded this week, and 21 is 40 years in my rearview mirror.
She was so serious about it I was not even flattered. Stupid indeed.0 -
Yet more dumbing down so much that we can't even let people make *any* judgements whatsoever. The Brits are as bad as we are, if not worse about this. 
Sad day indeed.
Merc0 -
I get "carded" frequently, and will be 46 in November!
I would like to feel flattered, but can find no other feeling than the same thing grandmothers must feel while they are being searched by the screeners at the airports, while "towel head" types, walk right through.
I don't really get worked up about it, but it is just moronic, when PC policies get out of control,.........and I DO believe they ARE in the good ole USA.
It will eventually result in our demise, if it continues![xx(]0 -
I'm on the fence on this one ...beleive it or not! "IF" I was told to card EVERONE that was trying to purchase alcohol, because it was my job! ...I'd do it! Kind of like checking your commanding officer as he was coming thru the gate ...you know who he is, your just showing him your doing the job! BESIDES ...sometimes in this life you have to answer "dumb" questions ...just because. ...And what did it hurt!?? ...Someones feelings?? 0 -
And if he was a secret shopper sent by the chain to make sure everyone is being carded and he wasn't then the clerk would have lost their job. I know this as I am a secret shopper and have done some very interesting things in stores and chains to see if people are doing their jobs 0 -
I havn't been carded in 45+ years.
Got a lotta miles on the ol chassis but I don't think I look ancient.
(Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess).
[8D]barto[8D]0 -
Heck, I used to love getting carded til I read this...
Thanks mateo, you burst my bubble.....0 -
i always see signs around here that say, If you look under 40, please have ID ready. 0 -
Maybe she thought he was a hottie and just wanted his address. Don 0 -
Chronic drinking can age you prematurely, perhaps they believed he was on a beer run for his fraternity. 0 -
I'll be 70 soon. I buy beer at a nearby grocery store where I know all the clerks, and they still ask for my ID every time. Sure it's stupid, but the clerks aren't to blame. It's the law, enacted of course by our brilliant politicians.
Interestingly, I can go next door to a liquor store owned by the very same people and fill my trunk with Jack Daniels, and I DON'T have to show an ID. It isn't on the law books for liquor stores, just grocery stores.0 -
Dan you remind me of the codger that was being interviewed about his great age. He allowed the secret to his longevity was, "I drink a quart of whiskey every day, smoke 7 cigars every day and sleep with 3 women every night. That is what has kept me going for so long." The interviewer asked "Exactly how ancient are you anyway? "Twenty-seven." 0 -
quote:Originally posted by He Dog
Dan you remind me of the codger that was being interviewed about his great age. He allowed the secret to his longevity was, "I drink a quart of whiskey every day, smoke 7 cigars every day and sleep with 3 women every night. That is what has kept me going for so long." The interviewer asked "Exactly how ancient are you anyway? "Twenty-seven."
What station was that on, I missed it. Don0 -
also down here, its a 500 dollar fine for selling to underage persons. the police get kids to ride with them, and they go store to store, and issue tickets to clerks. So many times a year, and the store will not be able to sell liquor/cigarettes. 0 -
State buying laws vary. TN, this year, began checking I.D. from everyone - by law. I was checked going into my favorite sports bar in Johnson City while going to the Bristol race. No big deal, I knew of the new law. B.T.W. - I'm on the wrong side of 67! 0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcon12
quote:Originally posted by He Dog
Dan you remind me of the codger that was being interviewed about his great age. He allowed the secret to his longevity was, "I drink a quart of whiskey every day, smoke 7 cigars every day and sleep with 3 women every night. That is what has kept me going for so long." The interviewer asked "Exactly how ancient are you anyway? "Twenty-seven."
What station was that on, I missed it. Don
It was only broadcast in the United States, not in Texas.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Mercury
Yet more dumbing down so much that we can't even let people make *any* judgements whatsoever. The Brits are as bad as we are, if not worse about this.
Sad day indeed.
Merc
+1
I'm only 28 and I haven't been carded in a long long time.0 -
The last time I was in a bar and they were carding people at the entrance, they asked to see my gold card! 0 -
did anyone see the MTV show Jackass ? they got a 17 yr old kid and had their crew put one of those special latex faces on him to make him look like an elderly person. it was so real looking NO ONE could tell.
in todays litigious society i dont blame the store.0
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