Customer Has ID, Cashier Has No Idea

I am a shift lead at my store, meaning I am responsible for training new cashiers and making sure they are up to standard.

Today, I have been asked to watch one of our newer cashiers. She seems like she is very competent, but there have apparently been some questions about her checking IDs.

So far, there have been no issues. She’s been polite, efficient, and generally on point. Then, it happens. A customer comes to pay, and their items include bottles of wine. The customer looks to be in their early twenties, so the policy says to check ID.

Cashier: “Can I please see your ID for the wine?”

Customer: *Fumbling for their ID* “Yeah, sure. It’s been a while since anyone’s asked me for that.”

The customer pulls out a card and shows it to the cashier. At once, I notice an issue, but I stay silent to let [Cashier] do her job.

[Cashier] glances at the card before pressing the “confirmed” button.

Cashier: “All right, thank you. You can insert your card when you’re ready.”

This is when I step in.

Me: “[Cashier]! Please take another look at that card.”

[Cashier] looks at the card again and realizes that the customer accidentally provided what looks like a work ID, with no birthdate or identifying information, instead of a government-issued ID.

The customer realizes their mistake.

Customer: “Oh, I’m sorry about that. I must’ve stuck that card in the wrong place.”

They then provide their actual ID, which confirms that they are, in fact, old enough. I let the cashier finish the transaction but immediately tell her to close down and follow me to the office.

I grab the manager on duty and inform them of the situation.

Manager: “[Cashier], what were you doing? You clearly weren’t actually checking ID. Why?”

Cashier: “Well, I just figured that they must be telling the truth because they gave me an ID.”

Manager: “They didn’t give you an ID. You don’t seem to understand the consequences of selling to someone underage. This will be a write-up, and you’re going to have to be retrained. “

Cashier: “That’s not fair! I didn’t actually break the law, so you can’t punish me.”

Manager: “That certainly isn’t true. You have two choices: accept the write-up and retraining, or we let you go right now.”

She reluctantly accepted the former but was let go a few months later when this happened again.